A DETERMINED campaigner says the approach to school bullying must be urgently revised in order to give children the confidence to speak out.

Arron Wallis, 33, from Clacton, is calling for legislation to be changed so children in education can be better protected from physical and psychological abuse.

The activist believes schools across the country are not fully exercising their duty of care and he wants to see more efficient protocols being implemented.

He says schools and teachers are not sufficiently keeping records of incidents which could stop the potential of bullying in its tracks, nor monitoring developing situations.

“It fills me with anxiety and sadness to know that children in schools are not getting the help they need,” he said.

“Bullying is not right, and it is unacceptable behaviour, but it isn’t being truly tackled from the moment when it first starts.

“My main mission is to be able to get new legislation in place to help protect children who are being bullied either at school or while online at home.

“There is no legal definition of bullying, only the certain offences which can be involved in bullying, and that needs changing.”

In a bid to finance his fight, Mr Wallis has launched a fundraising page with the hope of generating £5,000, which will be predominantly used to push his message.

Over the next few months he is planning on organising several community events to further the discussion and hopefully gain the support of fellow parents.

Mr Wallis also wants to change the mentality which is often adopted by children who are being bullied and choose to not speak out through fear of repercussions.

He said: “With this campaign I am looking to help and speak with people who have had difficulties with their school and bullying.

“I want people to come forward and talk about how bullying is affecting their children and to educate parents on the signs of bullying.

“I know how easy it can be for children to say that everything is okay, just so it doesn’t affect them more than it already is.

“But we need to give children more confidence to speak out knowing that they will get the help they need.”

To donate to Arron Wallis’ fundraiser visit tinyurl.com/ryd7l27.