Isle of Wight Council has launched a new anti-bullying strategy whichaims to help improve children and young people's lives by reducing bullying.
The strategy is on behalf of a multi-agency working group and follows more than two years of planning and consultation.
Among the aims of the strategy is to create an environment on the Island where children and young people feel safe, respected and valued. It alsohopes to raise the profile of bullying and its effects on children andyoung people's emotional health and well being.
The strategy was launched on Friday 23 October by Isle of Wight Council Chief Executive Steve Beynon.
Speaking after the launch, Steve said he is looking forward to the strategy making a difference to the lives of young people.
He said "Bullying in the traditional sense is normally associated as happening within the school gates and involving physical abuse. It isfar more wide ranging than that and can include cyber-bullying often via social networking sites or text messaging."
Meanwhile, Isle of Wight Council has launched a new online based reporting system schools can use to report incidents of bullying.
The new system will help the council to collate a more consistent and accurate picture of any bullying incidents in schools and offer support and guidance where necessary.