Memorandum submitted by the National Union
of Teachers (NUT)
SUMMARY
1. Bullying wrecks the lives of young people
and staff. It wrecks the lives of young people and their future
self confidence.
2. The NUT welcomes this Inquiry by the
Education and Skills Select Committee.
3. Bullying not only affects young people
personally but is a whole school issue. A culture of bullying
undermines the overall achievement profile of schools. Ignoring
bullying has serious consequences not only for the personal lives
of young people but for the overall performance profile of the
school.
4. The school which condones bullying of
pupils will almost always have a similar culture amongst its staff.
A bullying culture pervades a school ethos and colours the experiences
of staff and pupils.
5. The NUT has supported the DfES anti-bullying
initiative, and the accompanying DfES guidance Don't Suffer
in Silence. The NUT endorsed the Anti-Bullying Charter which
has been sent to schools and is participating in the reference
group which the Department for Education and Skills has reconstituted
to advise on the re-write of Don't Suffer in Silence.
6. The announcement of this Inquiry is timely.
It provides an opportunity to evaluate the Government's anti-bullying
initiative at a time when the DfES is to revise its anti- bullying
guidance.
7. The NUT made a contribution earlier this
year to ChildLine's appeal for funding to continue its 24 hour
helpline. The NUT believes this helpline is essential and should
receive funding from the Government, so that, in particular, the
vital night time helpline is sustainable.
8. The NUT believes the following proposals
would contribute to the reduction of bullying in schools.
(i) Each school should appoint at least
one school counsellor with the Direct Schools' Grant enlarged
to cover the average cost.
(ii) School counsellors should be responsible
for developing peer counselling under the oversight of each school's
pastoral arrangements. Qualified teachers should remain at the
heart of school pastoral structures.
(iii) Teachers need increased time and space
for personal reflection, discussing with each other and with support
staff colleagues incidents of bullying, sharing ideas and following
up incidents of bullying.
(iv) The existing DfES guidance Don't
Suffer in Silence should be promoted to schools through local
authorities, lead behaviour specialists and through the national
strategies. The DfES Anti Bullying Charter should also be promoted.
(v) The development of school councils
should be encouraged further. The Union recognises the essential
role of the student voice in ensuring a happy and positive school
environment. The NUT welcomes the establishment of the role of
the Children's Commissioner in England and in Wales.
(vi) The Government should commit further
resources to continue the ring fenced funding for behaviour and
educations support teams.
(vii) Schools should be encouraged to carry
out audits of pupil perceptions of their safety as part of their
self evaluation arrangements. The views and perceptions of children
and young people themselves should be sought in conjunction with
all anti bullying strategies.
(viii) The DfES should provide a further
year's earmarked funding for the Social and Emotional Aspects
of Learning (SEAL) Programme from the Primary Strategy Standards
Fund so that SEAL can be properly embedded.
(ix) Citizenship and Personal, Social and
Health Education are "Cinderella" subjects of the National
Curriculum; a situation confirmed by Ofsted's recent evaluation
of the introduction of citizenship in schools. Specific and sufficient
funding should be provided through the National Strategies in
order to provide a comprehensive professional development programme
and cover arrangements for teachers taking part in professional
development.
(x) The capacity of schools to reduce and
challenge sexist, racist, disablist and homophobic bullying will
only increase through proactive equal opportunities strategies
to promote race, disability and gender equality across the whole
and to promote positive images of LGBT young people, adults (including
teachers) and same sex couples. Model examples of such strategies
should be available to schools.
(xi) The Government's Personalisation Agenda
will be undermined if it does not include specific strategies
on bullying such as those above.
WHOLE SCHOOL
BEHAVIOUR IMPROVEMENT
STRATEGIES
9. Reducing bullying and harassment of pupils
and teachers goes hand in hand with improving behaviour and attendance
generally. It is therefore necessary and vital to evaluate what
has worked in schools in the area of improving behaviour more
generally over recent years.
10. The DfES Behaviour Improvement Programme,
which started as a series of projects in the mid 1990s which had
the reduction of indiscipline and exclusion as their principle
aim, has been successful. The BIP programme has recently been
evaluated. [14]The
evaluation confirmed that BIP enabled some direct interventions
to tackle absence and truancy (eg, use by schools of computer
programmes to monitor attendance and the use of truancy sweeps).
11. The report, however, provides support
for the view that positive pupil attendance and pupil interaction
is best promoted by tackling the causes not the symptoms of poor
behaviour. The report concluded that developing a range of alternative
provision and curricula to re-engage disaffected pupils and having
whole school policies to improve pupil behaviour are vital to
better attendance and achievement. Such an approach to whole school
strategies is key to reducing bullying.
12. The evaluation of the BIP programme
highlighted the benefits of schools developing a more holistic
approach to behaviour issues and better access to specialist services.
The evidence suggests that the Behaviour and Education Support
Teams (BESTs) set up with BIP funding have pioneered effective
multi-agency ways of working.
13. The NUT believes that local authorities
and senior management teams in schools need to build on and disseminate
these approaches as part of their work on anti-bullying within
the Every Child Matters agenda. The funding for BESTs is
to be continued until 2008. It is no longer ring-fenced, however,
so planning at authority level is needed to ensure that these
multi agency teams or their ways of working are continued for
this in turn to lead to positive outcomes in terms of bullying
and attainment.
14. Most schools in the BIP programme used
some of their BIP funding to undertake behaviour audits and these
have been valued and viewed as working well, although time consuming
to complete. [15]The
audits provided information to stimulate self-analysis, in particular
providing data to support the development of behaviour improvement
plans, a baseline for monitoring progress and a means of making
comparisons with other schools. Schools found that the audits
helped them focus their resources.
15. The NUT has supported the development
of "key workers", such as Lead Behaviour Professionals,
to co-ordinate support as part of the Behaviour Improvement Programme
and behaviour and education support teams (BESTs) This role is
viewed positively by schools and BIP co-ordinators. [16]
16. In the primary sector, LBPs are sometimes
head teachers, or members of BESTs. The BIP evaluation report
concluded that in secondary schools it is important that the LBP
was a member of the senior management team and able to influence
whole school policy. A lack of leadership by the LBP or their
being overloaded was detrimental to successful implementation
of BIP. The NUT believes that schools need Lead Behaviour Professionals
who have the capacity to focus on arranging and co-ordinating
whole school strategies to reduce bullying and support individual
pupils or groups of pupils. They should be members of the senior
management teams for the reasons found in the evaluation report.
17. The "key workers" within Behaviour
and Education support teams were funded by the Children's Fund.
This funding is to be discontinued after 2008. Both schools and
children's services authorities will need further ring fenced
funding on a continuing basis to maintain these lead behaviour
professional posts. If lead professionals are based at school
level there will need to be ring fenced additional resources at
school level.
18. Such posts can provide capacity to introduce
peer mentoring schemes, restorative justice programmes, counselling
initiatives and other pastoral measures.
REPORT OF
THE PRACTITIONERS'
GROUP ON
SCHOOL BEHAVIOUR
CHAIRED BY
SIR ALAN
STEER
19. The NUT was represented on this group,
which came to be known as the Steer Group. The Government established
this advisory group to seek advice on improving pupil behaviour.
20. The NUT provided evidence to the Steer
Group in the form of a Charter. [17]In
this Charter, the NUT asserted the entitlement of children and
young people to learn free from bullying and discrimination. The
Charter highlighted also the responsibility of teachers to prevent
all forms of bullying.
21. In its Charter, the Union argued that
all members of the school community including teachers should
be fully consulted on the behaviour policies of their schools.
Government guidance emphasises the importance of such consultation.
Behaviour and anti bullying policies should be linked to other
school policies. Those that do not reflect the views of teaching
staff and the wider school community are doomed to failure.
22. The NUT believes that teachers should
be entitled also to a strong lead from head teachers and those
with management responsibilities. Teachers have an entitlement
to work in conditions that enable teaching to be at its most effective.
Those conditions should include appropriate class and group sizes,
with counselling and personalised tuition available to young people
if they are being bullied.
23. The NUT endorses many of the recommendations
contained in the Steer report. The NUT believes the Government
should implement the following Steer recommendations in order
to reduce levels of bullying of staff and pupils.
— All schools should make regular use
of self evaluation tools for behaviour and bullying, such as those
provided by the National Strategies.
— The DfES should provide a further
year's earmarked funding for the Social and Emotional Aspects
of Learning (SEAL) Programme from the Primary Strategy Standards
Fund so that SEAL can be properly embedded.
— The DfES should work with the professional
associations and other partners to promote the Anti Bullying Charter
for Action, by promoting it at regional events and re-issuing
it every two years.
24. The Union recognises the essential role
of the student voice in ensuring a happy and positive school environment.
The NUT welcomes the establishment of the role of the Children's
Commissioner in England and in Wales.
NEED FOR
SYSTEM WIDE
REFORM
25. The NUT believes that having an effective
pastoral structure in each school, which is fully responsive to
young people's personal and social needs, is vital to preventing
bullying and to dealing with its effects.
26. The Elton Committee of Inquiry had no
doubt that schools "should base pastoral systems on the strengths
of the traditional integrated academic, welfare and disciplinary
role of the teacher". It considered that "personal and
social education should be a cross-curricular theme in the National
Curriculum". The NUT is firmly committed to that view. Effective
pastoral structures, which can prevent bullying, and practical
personalised learning are integral to each other. Qualified teachers
are essential to such an approach as is the support of trained
support staff.
27. The school meals agreement remains important
because it leaves the space for teachers to be able to have a
mid-day break away from the responsibility of teaching. At the
core of the personal and social element of the schools day, however,
the NUT believes that there should be a space for teachers and
support staff and pupils to sit down, to eat and to talk together.
In this context, personal and social and health education needs
to be at the centre of the curriculum.
SCHOOL SELF-EVALUATION
28. School self-evaluation has a role to
play in preventing and reacting to bullying. Evaluation is at
its most effective when school communities understand its purposes
and relevance. Overwhelming evidence from research and practice
demonstrates that evaluation by schools themselves must be at
the centre of school inspection and support. To quote the Scottish
HMCI "Unless schools know themselves, they cannot benefit
from inspection."
29. The NUT believes that current statutory
inspection arrangements fail to encourage teachers and school
communities to "own" the processes of evaluation. Current
arrangements do not place teachers at the centre of school improvement.
30. The NUT believes that schools should
be encouraged to adopt and develop school self-evaluation criteria
to meet their own needs and local context. Schools are effective
in a variety of different ways, rather than simply at meeting
narrow performance measures. A self-evaluative school is a school
which knows itself.
31. The NUT has developed a framework for
self-evaluation with John MacBeath and the University of Strathclyde.
[18]
32. In developing this framework, the NUT
worked with a number of schools. The most striking finding was
the different standpoints different groups within these schools
took: in other words, the school was a different place for different
people.
33. Pupils put a great deal of emphasis
on the material aspects of the school, such as the school buildings
and resources and their use of and access to them. Most important
to pupils, however, was how they were helped to learn, given feedback
and encouraged by teachers and how their individual needs and
abilities were recognised. [19]The
highest priority for young people is to be safe. The word "safety"
should be interpreted literally for young people. "Safety"
means that they can achieve a just solution to their grievances.
It is vital, therefore, that teachers have the time and space
to pursue and resolve perceived injustice.
34. Classroom climate, a safe pleasant and
orderly environment, was also highly valued. Pupils' levels of
awareness, ability to analyse situations and willingness to discuss
in depth showed the value of listening to pupils and their potential
as a rich resource for school self-evaluation. Clearly self-evaluation
has a key role to play in enabling schools to develop cultures
which do not tolerate or generate bullying. The NUT research on
self-evaluation shows that the top priority for young people is
the need to feel safe.
35. Another interesting finding from the
NUT's work on self-evaluation was that parents tended to be more
informed than school management or teachers about some aspects
of school life, particularly the "underlife" of the
school, such as bullying. Parents have a unique perspective on
aspects of school life such as the quality of welcome to the school,
its use of language and staff/pupil relationships.
36. As a result of this work, the NUT firmly
believes that a school which takes time to think though its own
priorities and values and which tests the fulfilment of these
in practice will, as a consequence, be a better school in terms
of reducing bullying and enabling staff and pupils to feel safe.
This is only likely to happen, though, if there is alignment between
this kind of bottom-up process and the way in which schools are
evaluated by external agencies and valued in terms of national
performance criteria.
37. Since the publication of John MacBeath's
work, the NUT has consistently put forward constructive proposals
to Ofsted and to the Government for alternative inspection arrangements,
which would achieve a balance between external inspection and
internal self-evaluation and which would restore ownership of
the process of evaluation to teachers.
38. Self-evaluation should be at the heart
of school review, inspection, school development planning and
the provision of external support. Successful external evaluation
is contingent on successful self-evaluation. A positive consequence
of self-evaluation is high motivation and, consequently, morale.
Another is the ability to identify the existence of bullying and
to create cultures of safety. School councils can play a vital
role in helping schools "know themselves". The NUT is
convinced of the value of school councils developed and aided
by guidance from organisations such as School Councils UK.
39. For teachers, self-evaluation reveals
that support for teaching is particularly valued—things
such as opportunities for collaboration, the feeling of being
valued, adequate resourcing and access to professional development.
Although their starting point was supporting teaching, their ultimate
concern was with pupil learning and the relationship between the
two. Teachers reaffirmed, sometimes apologetically, the importance
of the "caring" school, but they also endorsed the achieving
school, casting their definition more broadly than test or examination
attainment. Teachers want to challenge bullying and develop caring
schools. [20]
MOBILE PHONES
AND INTERNET
40. The NUT is aware that camera mobile
phones and the Internet can be misused in schools. Both can become
an instrument of bullying or harassment directed against pupils
and teachers. The NUT advises that schools should amend or revise
their behaviour policies to set out how schools will respond to
incidents where a mobile phone or the Internet are being used
to intimidate, threaten or bully staff or pupils.
PERSONALISED LEARNING
41. Effective personalised learning must
include a social element; social spaces in schools need managing.
School lunchtimes are often terrifying times for children and
need re-conceptualising. Positive thought needs to be given to
teaching children the value of cooking, eating and talking together.
42. The NUT believes that an outcome of
personalised learning should be a guaranteed entitlement for all
pupils to a range of experiences and activities outside school.
These should include a minimum number of visits to museums, galleries,
theatres, concerts and study in outdoor centres and visits abroad.
CITIZENSHIP AND
PSHE
43. The recent Ofsted review of the introduction
of citizenship in schools should come as no surprise. The Achilles
heel of the review is that it fails to understand that the introduction
of citizenship and PSHE was not accompanied by the necessary resources
for professional development. Teachers do not automatically know
or understand the nature of the constitution, Government or public
services, for example. Neither should they be expected to bolt
on these two new subjects to an already crowded curriculum.
44. Citizenship has the capacity alongside
the development of school councils to reach the heart of a bullying
culture; but only if teachers feel confident with and own the
subject. The same possibilities apply to PSHE. The NUT believes
that the funding for the National Strategies must be increased
to include funding lines for citizenship and PSHE sufficient to
meet the professional development needs of schools, including
the funding of sufficient cover arrangements for teachers attending
professional development programmes on citizenship.
THE EXTENT
AND NATURE
OF THE
PROBLEM OF
BULLYING IN
SCHOOLS
45. The extent to which bullying is reported
is still unknown. There are no firm national statistics of reported
and proven cases of bullying in schools, largely due to the fact
that definitions of bullying and perceptions of its severity vary
among individuals and communities. As the Ofsted survey has shown,
distinctions between degrees of oppressive behaviour are hard
to fix. What some schools might categorise and record as simply
aggressive or unpleasant behaviour, other schools would record
as evidence of bullying. [21]
46. The NUT believes that it is imperative
that all bullying is recorded and reported. Encouraging all pupils
and staff to report bullying remains a challenge. The NUT welcomed
the encouragement given in the DfES guidance, Don't Suffer
in Silence to the need to come forward to report bullying.
The emphasis on not suffering alone and in silence is an important
one. Many schools have asked pupils to report bullying anonymously
in various places around the school. There is a role for Lead
Behaviour Professionals in schools to monitor whether bullying
is being reported and recorded, and whether follow up action is
visible.
47. The perpetrators of bullying and the
bystanders are damaged by bullying.
48. Schools which are inclusive in their
approach and which welcome and support every one irrespective
of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or belief and disability
are likely to witness and experience much less bullying than those
which do not. It is essential that schools use celebratory events
such as Black History Month, LGBT History Month and International
Women's Day to challenge the invisibility of certain groups and
the low levels of awareness of the discriminatory barriers that
exist. Teachers are increasingly concerned by sexist messages
in the press and media.
SEXIST BULLYING
49. Women teachers make up over 75% of the
NUT's membership. Given that women predominate in the teaching
workforce and form 69% of the teachers in the maintained sector,
the fact that sexist bullying in schools occurs is often forgotten
and ignored. Sexist bullying is frequently ignored and minimised.
The NUT regrets that this inquiry makes explicit reference to
racist and homophobic bullying but not to sexist bullying.
50. Preliminary findings of a recent survey
conducted by the NUT suggest that young female teachers, in particular,
are frequently confronted with sexist language and instances of
sexual harassment in their workplace. The predominance does not
protect women teachers from sexual harassment by pupils and staff
and, in fact, many women teachers report isolation and frustration
at how hard it is to challenge sexist language and bullying by
pupils. Schools do not receive clear guidance from DfES or from
local authorities as to how to challenge and reduce sexist bullying
of pupils by each other or the sexist and sexual content of language
and behaviour directed at staff.
51. The preliminary findings from a NUT
survey of teachers' experiences of sexism, indicate that younger
male and female teachers, in particular, "seem to be seen
as `fair game' to some pupils to touch, in some cases, and to
make sexual innuendo towards". Furthermore, there appears
to be a trend for sexist language, as a foundation for sexist
bullying, to be entering the mainstream with girls and women beginning
to accept sexist language as a norm. The NUT will submit the findings
of the survey to the Select Committee when it has been completed.
52. Sexist language and bullying are often
the foundation for violence against women and can not therefore
be ignored in the classroom or in the playground. The NUT has
published guidance[22]
on violence against women which was launched on International
Women's Day 2005. Some local authorities have produced excellent
resources to support PSHE and citizenship modules on violence
against women, sexist peer bullying or date violence.
53. A recent Amnesty International survey
on public perceptions and attitudes towards rape highlighted why
schools need to explicitly challenge sexist attitudes and derogatory
views about women. The survey found a very limited awareness among
the public about the actual incidence of rape in the UK. It also
revealed that one in three people thought that women who behave
flirtatiously, failed to say "no" clearly, or were drunk
were at least partially responsible if they are raped. [23]
54. The NUT believes that instances of sexist
bullying are consistently normalised and ignored in schools. The
predominance of women within the teaching profession is not reflected
in women's representation in senior management positions. Only
31% of secondary head teachers are female. Women teachers are
expected to "put up with" a high degree of sexist behaviour
and harassment. The DfES, however, provides no guidance or resources
on its website, although it does provide comprehensive and lengthy
guidance about racist bullying and homophobic bullying.
55. Research also shows that black women
teachers in particular feel that they constantly need to prove
themselves and work harder than their white peers to achieve the
same degree of recognition. Only 4% of black teachers are head
teachers or deputy heads, as a recent study commissioned by the
Mayor of London has established. [24]Meanwhile,
an NUT survey on Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers in Senior
Management has shown that despite over two thirds of the respondents
to this survey being female, only 58% of them applied for promotion
as compared to 85% of all male respondents. [25]
RACIST BULLYING
56. Racist bullying remains endemic in all
aspects of education and is closely linked with widespread discrimination.
Following the Mayor of London's report, the Evening Standard reports
that trainee teachers are now to be given special coaching in
racial awareness in a move to tackle racist bullying and discrimination.
26[26]
The NUT believes not only that such measures are long overdue,
but also that they must be complemented with relevant initiatives
at school management and local authority level.
57. Initial findings of a recent NUT survey
of local authorities' data on the allocation of Teaching and Learning
Responsibility Payments (TLRs) disaggregated by ethnic group indicate
serious shortcomings of public bodies in meeting their duty under
the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Under this duty, local
authorities are inter alia required to conduct a race equality
impact assessment of their policies and procedures, publish the
results of any assessments, ensure public access to information
and services, provide staff training, make provisions for ethnic
monitoring, as well as to help and actively support schools in
implementing the latter's race equality work. From the sample
in the NUT's survey, it appears that a number of local authorities
have been failing on all these accounts.
58. The NUT is also concerned over the increasing
level of racism and racist bullying directed against Muslim pupils
and staff. This trend is further encouraged by remarks and speeches
by some of our politicians implying that Muslims in Britain are
less committed than others to democracy and the rule of law, widespread
and routine negative stereotypes of Muslims in the media, and
the application of Government legislation curtailing civil liberties
that disproportionately affect Muslims.
59. But it is not only Muslims who have
increasingly suffered in the context of the ongoing instability
in the Middle East and its repercussions on community cohesion
in the UK. Whilst the number of anti-Semitic incidents perpetrated
in Britain have been found to fluctuate in response to events
in the Middle East, overall, attacks on Jewish people have increased
by 260% over a period of only two years. According to the report
of the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into anti-Semitism, the
report of which was launched by the Prime Minister last week,
the number of anti-Semitic incidents that took place in July,
which came in the middle of escalating violence in the Middle
East, was the third highest on record.
60. The NUT believes that attempts to determine
the extent and nature of racist bullying, therefore, must be sensitive
to the problem's diverse aspects, including any overlaps of different
manifestations of oppressive behaviour on the basis of the bullies'
perception of vulnerability and the "fault" of difference
in others.
BULLYING OF
DISABLED PUPILS
61. A survey commissioned by the Disability
Rights Commission also shows that many young disabled pupils report
that they were bullied at their school, and that they felt left
out and isolated because of their impairments. [27]Without
disabled teachers as role models within the education system,
the NUT is concerned that disabled pupils will continue to experience
bullying and feelings of isolation.
62. Without disabled teachers as role models
within schools, disabled teachers will continue to experience
bullying.
63. DfEE Circular 4/99 on fitness to teach
sums up the importance of employing and retaining disabled teachers
in schools.
"Disabled staff can make an important contribution
to the overall school curriculum, both as effective employees
and in raising the aspirations of disabled pupils and educating
non-disabled people about the reality of disability."
64. A school that views its teachers as
individuals with a range of strengths and unique needs, and does
not make discriminatory assumptions about them because of their
disabilities, is more likely to do the same for its pupils.
65. It is positive that legislative changes
will soon require schools to promote positive attitudes towards
disabled people and to eliminate bullying and harassment.
66. Although the DfES website does address
issues of disablist bullying, the strategies it recommends for
tackling such bullying do not include the employment of disabled
teachers and other staff members as role models to all pupils.
Consultation with pupils will assist schools in reducing incidents
of bullying; such whole school strategies should be led by the
head teacher, senior staff and governing body.
67. A key factor in promoting an accessible
school environment is putting into place appropriate and effective
reasonable adjustments for staff and pupils who require such adjustments.
If, for example, appropriate toileting facilities are in place
for a pupil with a mobility impairment this will maintain dignity
and reduce opportunities for bullying.
HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING
AND TRANSPHOBIC
BULLYING
68. Research shows that homophobic bullying
is a significant element in anti-social behaviour in schools in
England and Wales. [28]Stonewall
estimates that there are 450,000 gay and lesbian pupils in schools
and that up to 60,000 of these are the victims of homophobic bullying.
[29]
69. Homophobic bullying involves the targeting
of individuals on the basis of their perceived or actual sexual
orientation. Young people and teachers are singled out for abuse
if they do not conform to a stereotypical masculine or feminine
identity of if their perceived or actual sexual identity or sexual
orientation does not conform to such images.
70. Where people are and feel themselves
to be "secure", they have no need to attempt to feel
better about themselves by belittling or otherwise bullying others.
One way that those who are questioning their own sexuality (or
gender identity) can seek to demonstrate that they are not LGB(T)
is by bullying those who are perceived to be LGB(T). In this sense,
homophobic and transphobic bullying has different features to
racist or sexist bullying.
71. For that reason, establishing an atmosphere
where those young people who choose to come out are supported
in doing so, is likely to reduce the incidence of homophobic and
transphobic bullying because those who bully are more likely to
receive a robust response and fail in their aims.
72. The NUT believes that the most difficult
aspect of tackling homophobic bullying consists in addressing
the conspiracy of silence around LGBT issues. For example, there
is a reluctance to report homophobic bullying, with teachers and
young people who are LGB or who are assumed to be LGB preferring
to suffer in silence by resigning or leaving school early with
qualifications well below their abilities and academic potential.
There is a perception that some LGB staff who have received promotion
to senior posts and have chosen not to come out can feel threatened
by the change that happens when more junior staff "come out".
73. Lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers tend
to fear being open about their sexuality, despite their legal
right to do so, in order not to damage their personal and professional
lives. Teachers who "come out" in schools are often
met with prejudice and harassment. Although there is some evidence
that being open about one's sexuality could help raise the self-esteem
and morale of young people in schools who are questioning their
own sexual orientation, the experiences of LGB teachers confirm
that being open or out can hinder teachers' career prospects and
threaten other teachers who were not open about their sexuality.
[30]
74. The NUT is concerned that head teachers
and governing bodies have not yet assimilated and digested the
implications of the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2003. This
legislation protects LGB teachers, or teachers assumed to be LGB,
from discrimination or harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Legally, therefore, teachers are permitted to be open to parents,
pupils, colleagues and head teachers about their sexual orientation
and should be protected from any adverse reaction, bullying or
consequent victimisation. In reality, however, LGB staff who are
"out" or who are "outed" by colleagues or
pupils commonly experience negative consequences which can include
severe forms of bullying and threats of dismissal.
75. It is essential, therefore, that the
DfES uses the opportunity provided by its revised guidance on
homophobic bullying to raise awareness among head teachers of
their statutory duties. If LGBT teachers and parents are not treated
with respect by colleagues and senior management, then it is impossible
to challenge the homophobia and homophobic language experienced
daily by pupils in schools. The DfES needs to make head teachers
aware that they have responsibilities to parents, teachers and
governors who may be LGBT as well as educate pupils against homophobia.
It must be made clear that this legal protection covers faith
schools.
76. The NUT welcomed the DfES publication
Stand Up For Us. Few schools, however, are aware of the
existence of this excellent resource on tackling homophobic bullying.
77. The NUT is also concerned about the
right of parents to take their children out of sex education classes
which have the potential, in many ways, to be an important initial
forum to challenge homophobic attitudes and to counteract bigoted
information pupils might receive from other sources. This is compounded
by the fact that only 6% of schools refer explicitly to homophobic
bullying in their anti-bullying policies. [31]As
a consequence, much of the abuse and intimidation of children
and staff who are perceived to be or are lesbian, gay or bisexual
is effectively overlooked. The failure to challenge homophobia
perpetuates the common use of homophobic language and the homophobic
targeting of staff who are or are rumoured to be LGB.
78. Research has not only shown that those
who are perceived as weak or different in society are more prone
to being bullied, it has also been suggested that the existence
of homophobia is significantly linked to the culture of masculinity.
Young men tend to develop homophobic attitudes as an integral
part of their achieving a masculine identity. [32]This
is reflected in statistics recording much higher incidences of
homophobic bullying in boys' single-sex and co-educational schools
than in girls' single-sex schools. [33]
79. Evidence of the restriction of the ability
and potential of boys and girls through gender stereotyping can
be found in the gender segregation of the workforce in Britain
which is directly linked to the gender pay gap. Studies by the
Equal Opportunities Commission have shown, for example, that only
1% of all employees in engineering are women, that 8% of all employees
in construction are women, and that almost all nursery nurses
and child minders are female.
80. Pay for apprentices in childcare, the
only female-dominated sector, was generally half or less, of that
in construction, engineering, plumbing or communications technology
(ICT). Overall, women are still working predominantly in lower
paid areas, such as cleaning, catering, caring, cashiering and
clerical work, which is one of the reasons why their full-time
pay on average remains 18% less per hour than that of full-time
men, or 40% less if they work part-time. [34]
PROMOTING EQUAL
OPPORTUNITIES ACTIVELY
81. The NUT believes that the Government
needs to develop a joined-up approach to tackling sexist, racist,
homophobic and disablist bullying. At present, guidance for schools
on different forms of bullying is still, where applicable, issued
separately.
82. Where guidance on different forms of
bullying is issued by the Government, the proposed strategies
for tackling such bullying are not always comprehensive. In the
case of disablist bullying, for example, the DfES does not include
the employment of disabled teachers and other staff members as
role models for all pupils as an effective strategy to tackle
disablist bullying in schools.
83. The NUT believes that the Government
should facilitate and ensure widespread awareness of current equality
legislation and its implications for schools. Teachers should
also be made aware of any grievance procedures as well as informal
networks of support.
84. Schools are already covered by a duty
to promote race equality and to eliminate racial harassment. From
December 2006, schools will be covered by a similar duty in respect
of disability, and from spring 2007, schools will be required
to promote gender equality. These legal obligations should provide
a trigger to encourage schools to consider ways to discourage
racist, disablist, and sexist bullying.
85. The NUT further believes that the DfES
should consider how equality can be made a priority within schools'
self-evaluation forms. Support and advice provided to schools
through behaviour advisory programmes such as BIP at local authority
level should focus on the positive promotion of equality and respect
in order to prevent bullying and discrimination.
86. The NUT advises that all school behaviour
policies should make clear that racist, sexist, homophobic and
transphobic incidents, and harassment against pupils or staff
on the grounds of disability or religion or belief will not be
tolerated. They should explicitly refer to strategies to prevent
homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist and disablist bullying,
as well as bullying on the grounds of religion or belief, and
to eliminate the homophobic and sexist content of commonly used
terms of verbal abuse. The NUT further advises that school policies
on equal opportunities and on harassment and bullying should state
that the school will take action to protect all pupils and staff
from all forms of harassment and bullying.
87. Schools should ensure that their behaviour
and equal opportunities policies are internally consistent. Bullying
and harassment may be triggered by hostility towards the faith;
religious identity; real or perceived sexual orientation; or gender
or gender identity of pupils or teachers. Schools should be aware
of such causes.
88. The NUT also advises that schools should
record and act on all incidents of bullying, including all racist,
sexist, disablist, transphobic and homophobic incidents. Parents
and governors should be informed of such incidents and the action
taken to deal with them. Governing bodies should inform their
local authority regularly of the pattern and frequency of any
incidents and the strategies developed to reduce them. Teachers
who experience racist, sexist, disablist or homophobic harassment,
are entitled to support from their schools and may also exercise
their right to involve the police.
89. Tackling various forms of bullying should
also be supplemented with positive measures to celebrate the lives
and achievements of people who are at the receiving end of this
behaviour due to the "fault" of difference. For example,
LGBT History Month, which is usually held in February, provides
a real opportunity to start focusing on positive portrayal of
LGBT individuals. Similarly, Black History Month, held in October,
is a unique event in our calendar that could significantly contribute
towards reducing and eliminating all aspects of racist bullying.
It is unfortunate that, only two years after its inception, the
DfES has recently decided to cease funding LGBT History Month.
90. The NUT believes that there should be
a concerted effort by the Government to facilitate events and
opportunities to celebrate the achievements and worth of women,
disabled people and older people, combined with concerted efforts
to raise awareness of our equality in diversity both legally,
socially and economically.
91. A school that views its teachers as
individuals with a range of strengths and attributes and does
not make discriminatory assumptions about them, is likely to do
the same for its pupils. [35]
CONCLUSION
92. Pastoral structures integrated with
teaching and learning are vital. Pastoral structures need to be
led by qualified teachers. These need to be complemented by the
appointment of school counsellors for each school.
93. Teachers are not to blame for bullying.
All the evidence received by the NUT suggests that teachers want
to track down injustices felt by pupils but do not have time.
94. A study commissioned by the NUT[36]
to assess the impact of government initiatives on the professional
lives in secondary school teachers confirmed the frustration caused
by this lack of time. One of the key themes which emerged from
the interviews with teachers, head teachers and pupils was that
the capacity of teachers to juggle their pastoral responsibilities
was undermined by pressure of workload:
"Lack of time for reflection and lack of
professional space for observing, talking with and learning from
colleagues was a consequence of an over loaded and inappropriate
curriculum together with a constant pressure to maintain control
and keep abreast of new initiatives".
October 2006
14 Research and Evaluation of the Behaviour Improvement
Programme, Institute of Education, University of London, Professor
Susan Hallam, F Castle, L Rogers, A Creech, J Rhamie, D Khotsaki. Back
15
Ibid 1. Back
16
Ibid 1. Back
17
NUT Charter, Learning to Behave, 2005. Back
18
Schools speak for themselves, University of Strathclyde, J MacBeath,
B Boyd, J Rand, S Bell. Back
19
Ibid 5. Back
20
Ibid 5. Back
21
Ofsted, Bullying: Effective Action in Secondary Schools,
London, (2003), p 5. Back
22
Silence is Not Always Golden, NUT guidelines on domestic violence,
2003. Back
23
Amnesty International, ICM Sexual Assault Research, 12
October 2005. Back
24
The Guardian, "Black Teachers Face Bullying and Racism",
8 September 2006. Back
25
NUT, Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers in Senior Management,
(2004). Back
26
Evening Standard, "Extra Lessons for Trainee Teachers to
Beat Racism", 9 September 2006. Back
27
The Disability Rights Commission commissioned an NOP survey that
interviewed 305 disabled people aged 16-24 across England and
ales between October and November 2002. Back
28
Cf. I Warwick et.al., Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools-A
Review and Implications for Action, Institute of Education,
London, (2004). Back
29
The Independent, "Anti-Gay Bullying Forces Thousands of Pupils
to Leave School after GCSEs", 30 January 2005. Back
30
I. Warwick, Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools-A Review
and Implications for Action, Institute of Education, (2004). Back
31
The Guardian, "Lessons in Loneliness", 1 October 2005. Back
32
Cf. J Norman, A Survey of Teachers on Homophobic Bullying in
Irish Second-Level Schools, Dublin City University, (2004). Back
33
Ibid. Back
34
EOC, Free To Choose: Tackling Gender Barriers to Better Jobs,
final report, March (2005). Back
35
National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, Employing Disabled
Teachers, (1999). Back
36
A Life in Secondary Teaching: Finding Time for Learning, University
of Cambridge, 2004, J MacBeath, M Galton. Back
| 
