If the Government wants to stamp out bullying, it could start by minding it's own business

"New children's czar vows: 'I'll stamp out the school bullies'", says the headline in today's Observer. I'd be interested to know how he's going to do it.

Only last week, it was reported that a girl was stabbed in the head with a pair of scissors by another pupil. College principal Jerry Oddie described the incident as "shocking and appalling", but said there was a very clear, well-established anti-bullying policy which was enforced rigorously. Well congratulations Jerry, full marks for your anti-bullying policy!

The best policy that schools can and should adopt is to make bullying a criminal matter. School's don't need to wait till blood is drawn, physical assault is a crime. Schools need to make it very clear to pupils and parents alike, that if anyone is assualted, the school will instruct the parents of the victim to press charges.

Presumably the new children's Commissioner, Al Aynsley-Green, will be introducing a new anti-bullying policy of his own. Maybe school bullies will be invited on anger management course where they can express their feelings, and have a friendly chat and a cup of tea with their victim. But maybe he could do better still, and keep his hands off. For many years now, the law has made it harder and harder to restrain unruly pupils, even when teachers intervene to stop a fight, they risk being charged with assault. What schools need is more powers to tackle bullies, the last thing they need is another layer of government bureaucracy.