CYBER bullying is becoming a growing problem in Worcestershire schools, according to a new report.

The increase has led to calls from teachers to increase the level of support in dealing with the issue which can have “horrendous” impacts on pupils.

Worcestershire County Council is now recommending tight internet security measures in schools to restrict access to inappropriate sites.

A county council scrutiny report entitled Anti-Bullying in Worcestershire Schools said: “It is understandable that teachers and parents or carers are concerned about incidents involving the use of new technology. Bullying in this more sophisticated form can follow a young person into their home and have a horrendous impact on their well-being and self esteem.”

It has now been agreed the use of chat rooms will be banned in schools, a move which is hoped will send a clear message to cyber bullies.

Sean Devlin, headteacher at Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, in Timberdine Avenue, Worcester, said tackling the problem was three-fold.

“It has to be a major part of IT, teaching pupils the responsible use of computers and the way the written word can be abused,” he said. “There needs to be responsibility among children and we need to teach the value of respect. All of these must remind pupils of the importance of how we use media.”

The report also highlighted the use of mobile phones in schools and how they can be used as a means of bullying.

Nearly eight out of 10 high schools in the county allow students to bring their phones into school. In order to prevent them being used as a means of bullying, schools have developed a range of guidelines, which include handing the phone in to reception at the start of the day or insisting they are switched off in lessons.

The report said: “In general, although most schools thought mobile phones had the potential to cause problems, they were realistic enough to acknowledge that a total ban would be very difficult to enforce.”

The report found bullying was no worse in Worcestershire than elsewhere in the country and said there was already good practice in the county’s schools. “On the whole, schools are well placed to deal with bullying incidents when they occur,” it said.

A number of recommendations were made in the report, including: To develop a better system for recording and reporting incidents of bullying, to provide training on dealing with cyber bullying and schools should develop anti-bullying policies and publicise them to students.