Cherie tackles 'crisis of bullying'

Cherie Blair today highlighted the importance of tackling bullying amid reports that it has been the biggest problem facing schoolchildren for the past five years.

More than 20,000 children have contacted ChildLine about bullying every year since 1995, making it the most common single problem dealt with by the helpline. Further research has revealed that as many as one in five schoolchildren has been bullied in the past six months, a ChildLine conference was told.

Mrs Blair, chair of the conference, said: "I'm a parent myself and all parents want to know that their children are safe and nurtured at school." She added: "Like most people, I was horrified to learn that ChildLine still receives thousands of calls from children affected by bullying, most of whom find it hard to see a way out the ordeal they endure every day. This conference will show that ChildLine is at the forefront in finding positive solutions."

Chairman of Child-Line Esther Rantzen told the conference, called Bullying - symptoms, strategies and solutions: "Bullying last year for the fifth year running was the biggest single problem that children rang us about. I myself was first alerted to this terrible problem by a call from a woman after she found the body of her 17-year-old daughter in the garage."

She added: "It's time we recognised that bullying has become a national crisis."

The conference, at the Royal College of Physicians in London, aims to combine the expertise of educationalists, researchers and teachers to tackle the problem.