Bullying sometimes goes ignored by teachers because they may:

·         Not have detected it, or they may know that something is going on but not the extent of it or the effect it is having on the victim.

·         Feel powerless to act unless the bullying is physical.

·         Think the child is imagining or exaggerating it.

·         “Turn a blind eye” rather than have to deal with it.

·         Not know how to handle it.

·         Already be working in an impossibly pressurised situation.

·         Feel frustrated without the support of the principal or other staff.

·         Feel disillusioned by the lack of an effective anti-bullying policy.

·         Be slow to admit it as it may damage the school’s reputation, even though having an anti-bullying policy should enhance it. 

In other cases, a teacher may, unwittingly or otherwise, engage in, instigate or reinforce bullying behaviour by:

·         Using sarcasm or other insulting or demeaning form of language when addressing pupils.

·         Making negative comments about a pupil's appearance or background.

·         Humiliating directly or indirectly, a pupil who is particularly academically weak or outstanding, or vulnerable in other ways.

·         Using any gesture or expression of a threatening or intimidating nature, or any form of degrading physical contact or exercise.

·         Unconsciously colluding with pupils – if they find a child particularly irritating, they may allow a degree of bullying of that child to take place. They may at one level derive satisfaction from the teasing or may chose not to intervene.

·         Being unaware that they are bullying but by victimising a child, it helps them retain or regain control of the class by diverting negative attention away from themselves and focusing it on someone else.  

A teacher has the capacity to ridicule a whole class while it has also been known for teachers to be bullied by a whole class of children.