School bullying sours family relations

School bullying can destroy marriages and relations with children, an academic expert warned a parents' conference in Edinburgh last week.

Andrew Mellor of Edinburgh University's education faculty and manager of Scotland's Anti-Bullying Network, which hosted the conference, said bullying must be brought out of the shadows. Hundreds of parents had called the network's InfoLine (0131 651 6100) since it was set up in 1999, he said. Disagreements about how bullying should be tackled and ill-considered advice had permanently soured some family relationships.