Poor, white children are most likely to be bullied at school - and only half of victims turn to their teacher for help, Government research has found.
Being called names, attacked or insulted using new technology is still the main safety concern for pupils and their families, a study has found.
About half of all children aged 12 to 17 say they have experienced some type of bullying.
The survey, conducted by the research company Synovate for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, showed white pupils are twice as likely to admit to bullying - 61 per cent of their parents said they had experienced problems compared with 32 per cent of those from ethnic minorities.
Only 42 per cent of children from the richest “ABC1” homes said they had experienced bullying, compared with 57 per cent from the poorest “E” households. About half of children from lower middle-class or working-class homes said they had been bullied.
Teasing and name calling was the most common form of abuse, peaking at ages five to 11, when 42 per cent of children said they had suffered. About 37 per cent of pupils the same age said they had experienced physical bullying.
“Children do appear to be more ‘accepting’ of bullying than parents. Just over one third of children, and three in ten parents, agree that bullying is part of growing up,” the research said.
“Almost half of children aged 12- 17 agree that bullying has to be quite bad before they would do something about it. Those who agree bullying is part of growing up are more likely to have experienced bullying.”
