SCHOOLS across the town are joining forces to launch a new project in Yeovil to help support children who suffer at the hands of bullies.

It was announced this week that the Yeovil Community Learning Partnership will be working together to devise the Yeovil ABC - the Anti-Bullying Charter.

Three pupil conferences will be held from next month to enable youngsters aged between five and 18 to contribute to a shared document which will aim to support children and reduce bullying in schools across the town.

The project is being spearheaded by Buckler's Mead Community School and deputy head Helen Readman said she was excited about getting children from Yeovil working together.

"We want to get the views of children to allow us to put together something in place which schools can help to reduce the bullying and how we can best support those youngsters who are being bullied," she said.

Mrs Readman said it was important to get a 'common understanding' about the problem of bullying in Yeovil schools.

"I wouldn't say that Yeovil has got a worse bullying problem than anywhere else in the country," she said. "You go to any school and you will find a child being horrid to another regardless of whether they are aged five or 15.

"But it is important that children are involved in this project and hopefully that should help to make them appreciate it more."

Mrs Readman said that although a prime part of the initiative will be to support the victims of bullying, the Yeovil ABC would also try to show the bullies themselves the errors of their ways.

Children from Huish Primary School, Birchfield Primary School and Milford Junior School met with older students from Buckler's Mead and Preston secondary schools to help kick-start the initiative as part of the national anti-bullying week which concludes tomorrow.

Headteacher of Milford Junior, John Gordon, said he was 'extremely pleased' to be involved with the project.

"Each school has got clear policies on bullying and although people do talk about the subject it is not always properly understood," he said.

"The Yeovil ABC will see schools and children from across the town working together and having the same attitude and understanding of bullying."

A nationwide survey recently carried out showed that more than two-thirds of parents across the country were worried about bullying in their child's school. While almost half of the 424 parents polled said they were 'very concerned' about the issue.

The poll was published as Olympic champion Kelly Holmes and England footballer Rio Ferdinand joined with Government ministers and charities to launch the first national anti-bullying week.

Bullying can take many forms. Children, young people and adults can instigate bullying and be bullied in schools.

It can also happen away from school, but the National Children's Bureau believes there is increasing evidence that there are effective strategies that schools can use to reduce its frequency and its impact as well as managing bullying incidents effectively.

It is expected that the Yeovil ABC will use these new strategies to help combat bullying in schools which blights the lives of thousands of children across the country every year.

Although bullying is widely believed to be under-reported, evidence confirms that it is a significant problem.

In 2003-04 more than 30,000 children and young people called ChildLine about bullying to make it the most common complaint.

According to one recent study, one-fifth of primary school pupils and a quarter of pupils in Year Eight perceived bullying as a 'big problem' in their school.

And an NSPCC study found that school bullying was one of the most common forms of harmful aggression experienced by children and young people in the UK.

The Express has backed the Yeovil ABC initiative and hopes it will go some way to stopping the mindless, cruel and emotionally damaging act of bullying.

Editor-in-Chief, Ken Bird, who heads up a group of newspapers across the county, said: "We often hear stories of children being bullied at their school and it is totally unacceptable.

"Anything that can be done to help eradicate this problem should be supported and I hope the Yeovil ABC project is a success.

"Bullying has no place in our society of today."

The Yeovil Express would be interested to hear from local people and their views on bullying. Have you been bullied? Has your child been bullied? What do you think should be done to beat the bullies? Write to Steve Sowden at the Yeovil Express at 46 Princes Street, Yeovil, Somerset BA20 1EQ or email stephen.sowden@countygazette.co.uk