Bullying Alert System Launched For Schools

Published 27th July 2006

B-Aware To Offer Help For Schools Unsure Of Strategy For Dealing With Cyber-Bullies...

Email management specialist Email Systems has launched a new service designed to curb bullying via email in schools and colleges.

The new product, called ‘B-Aware’ will scan and retain all incoming email, alerting the relevant educational authorities – ie teachers, group leaders, IT administrators or year heads for example - when information is received that is deemed to be abusive, threatening or to have infringed the moral rights of the recipient.

The system will not only be able to recognise abusive language – most obviously swearing and threats aimed at an individual – but will also be sufficiently intelligent to understand more subtle types of bullying. Indeed the system will, learn over time what types of behaviour are acceptable - and, moreover, unacceptable - as specific mails are flagged.

Recent statistics have claimed that approximately one in five children have been the victim of bullying via email whilst at school (source: Anti-Bullying Alliance*). Consequently, the government has issued guidelines (*2) to ensure that schools devise appropriate strategies to deal with cyber-bullying in their mandatory anti-bullying policies.

Launching on September 1st 2006, the new service will be available for every educational establishment in the UK and will be the first such tailored product in the UK market. The service is based on Email Systems’ award winning technology; the company already manages and monitors the flow of spam and virus infected email messages on behalf of millions of educational, corporate and public sector users – including more than two million users in education, working with clients such as the London Grid for Learning - across the UK.

Neil Hammerton, COO of Email Systems, commented:

“This country’s schools and colleges are in dire need of a means of curbing the growing threat of bullying via email. With such advanced technology available to us and our strong position in the educational market this project has been part of our development roadmap for some time and we will shortly be in a position to launch to the education sector across the UK, helping them to navigate this incredibly sensitive issue in a way that meets the guidelines set out by the government.”