National Anti-Bullying Week shines a welcome light on the problem of bullying and aims to equip young people, parents and teachers with the tools to tackle it.
The theme for the 2013 Week, from November 18 to 22, is: The Future is Ours - Safe, Fun and Connected. 
The organisers, the Anti-Bullying Alliance, want to ensure children and young people know how to recognise and challenge bullying behaviour wherever it happens, whether face to face, or in cyberspace.
Tragically a new Alliance survey reveals that over half of children and young people in England (55.2%) now accept cyber-bullying as part of everyday life.
Throughout the week the Alliance will be supporting schools, colleges and youth workers with advice on anti-bullying initiatives, including how to combat cyber-bullying. They also provide advice on how to recognise and support young people vulnerable to bullying
The Anti-Bullying Alliance defines bullying as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person by another, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can involve everything from name calling and spreading hurtful stories, to actual violence.
Cyberbullying has the same effect as face-to-face verbal or psychological bullying but it takes place via mobile phones, emails or texting.
It can be hard to recognise the signs that a child is being bullied. Parents and carers are advised to look for signs of stress or changes in a child’s behaviour. They might make excuses to miss school, or seem upset after using the internet or their phones. They may make excuses to miss school or have more bruises or scrapes than usual, coming homes with clothes or possessions torn or damaged. Their eating habits could change or they could start sleeping badly.
If you suspect your child is being bullied, don’t panic – your key role is to listen and provide calm reassurance that things can get better. Assure them the bullying is not their fault and you are there to support them. Talk to the school who can provide help and support.
Many schools across the region are participating in initiatives to tackle bullying this week. Sutton Council and the police are handing out 30,000 booklets to schoolchildren to offer help on bullying. Their particular focus this year is internet bullies and they hope the leaflet will encourage more discussion between victims and parents.
"We are concerned at the number of reports of cyber-bullying coming to our attention,” said Chief Inspector Nick Collins, who manages Safer Neighbourhoods policing in Sutton.
“We are keen to work with Sutton Council to make children and parents more aware of the issues.”
For more information visit www.antibullyingweek.co.uk or call Parentline on 0808 800 2222 or visit www.familylives.org.uk