Behaviour and Discipline in Schools

Memorandum submitted by Anti-Bullying Alliance

Summary

Bullying remains a significant concern for children and young people, school staff and parents and carers. Bullying has a disproportionate affect on vulnerable groups and it leads to poor educational and social outcomes for those who are bullied and for those who bully.

Whilst there has been significant support for anti-bullying work over the years there is still much to do. ABA presents the following key messages to the Select Committee to consider in their analysis:

· There has been significant progress made in the past ten years on protecting children from bullying. There should be continued support for a whole school focus on tackling bullying in order to secure this progress aligned with new thinking on how to stop bullying outside of school occurring including cyberbullying and on journeys

· There is potential within the curriculum to teach knowledge about bullying and related issues and to develop skills and competencies that can reduce the likelihood and impact of bullying behaviour occurring

· Responding to bullying needs to be seen within both mainstream behaviour management and child protection contexts. Responses should be drawn from a sound understanding of how to apply the school’s own behaviour management processes in general as well as knowledge of specific techniques that are effective in bullying cases including the use of restorative approaches

· The role of Ofsted in monitoring children’s safety to learn and develop as well as compliance with equalities legislation and law relating to child protection must be upheld

· Better and more systematic data collection and analysis at school level in relation to bullying is an imperative that should be supported

· The role of external agencies in providing specialist support to schools must be maintained by local government commissioners and planners

2. About the Anti-bullying Alliance (ABA)

The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) was founded by the NSPCC and National Children’s Bureau (NCB) in 2002. It brings together over 70 voluntary and statutory organisations with the aim of reducing bullying and creating safer environments, in which children and young people can live, grow, play and learn and has been instrumental insupporting bullying prevention in schools and the wider community and developing best practice relating to bullying since inception.

3. Information for the Committee

3.1 Bullying remains a significant issue for children and young people in schools.

The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) [1] found that 47% of young people report being bullied at age 14. In the Tellus4 survey [2] 28.8% of children reported having been bullied in school during the previous12 months. Of these 23% were bullied most days, and 11% every day. 26% of children reported that their school deals not very well or badly with bullying. The Children’s Society, Good Childhood Report [3] found that bullying was a top concern for children and young people. 18% of all calls to Childline from 2007-2008 were related to bullying.

3.2 Bullying has a negative affect on attainment and attendance

The LSYPE also showed that young people who reported being bullied had lower Key Stage 4 scores than other young people. They were more likely to leave full time education at the age of 16, and were particularly likely to be NEET.

A survey for Beatbullying [4] found that a third of truants stay away from school because of bullying. 72% of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults reported [5] a history of absenteeism at school due to homophobic harassment.

3.3 Bullying has a disproportionate effect on vulnerable groups

The LSYPE found that characteristics associated with being bullied include being female (although boys were more likely to report physical types of bullying), being white, having a religion the young person felt to be important to them, having a SEN or disability, having been in care, living in a step family, being a young carer or having changed school at age 14-15. Research carried out by Mencap [6] found that 8 out of 10 children with a learning disability had been bullied, 6 out of 10 had been physically hurt. 40% of those who had told an adult about the bullying said it still did not stop.

A report [7] from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England concluded children with disabilities or visible medical conditions can be twice as likely to be bullied as other children. In the biggest ever survey [8] of LGB young people, 65% had experienced bullying in school (75% in faith schools). 30% said the person doing the bullying was an adult.

A review of the effectiveness of measures to protect children with SEN and disabilities undertaken by ABA will confirm the vulnerability to bullying of these children is very significant. [9]

3.4 Bullying prevention is key if schools are to meet their duties under equality law

The Equality Act 2010 requires that schools take steps to prevent discrimination, harassment or victimisation of staff and children and young people with protected characteristics. This means schools need to take measures to protect staff and pupils from bullying related to disability, homophobic bullying, transphobic bullying, sexist and sexual bullying, and bullying related to race and religion.

3.5 Cyberbullying is a significant concern

An ABA study [10] of 227 10 and 11 year olds showed that 1 in 5 had been cyberbullied in the past 12 months. 22% did not know how to protect themselves online, and 18% had been cyberbullied while at home. 40% of children were using social networking sites sometimes, 19% were using them a lot. A poll of 1163 parents found that over half had not talked to their children about cyberbullying, and 45% did not know how to report abuse online. A report of the online safety practice of over 500 schools in the South West region [11] showed that the policy and pratice of primary schools is considerably less developed than secondary schools. The report also showed a signficant lack of teacher training in this area across both primary and secondary schools.

3.6 Sexual and sexist bullying is an emerging concern

There is an emerging concern about harmful sexual behaviour between some children and young people, including sexual and sexist bullying. Recent research suggests exploitation and violence may be alarmingly common in intimate relationships involving under 16s. 75% of girls report emotional violence, one in three girls and 16% of boys report sexual violence, and 25% of girls and 18% of boys report physical violence [12] . Exclusions data for 2008/2009 [13] showed that there were 110 permanent exclusions from secondary schools and 10 permanent exclusions from primary schools for sexual misconduct.

3.7 Bullying on journeys to and from school is a significant issue

The Tellus4 survey found that 24% of children reported being bullied outside of school (including the journey to school) in the last four weeks.11% of children reported feeling a bit unsafe or very unsafe going to and from school. A recent British Youth Council and NCB survey [14] of under 18s found that only 27% feel safe waiting for transport after dark.

3.8 Domestic violence impacts on bullying and behaviour in schools

750,000 children and young people see violence going on at home every year in the UK [15] .

A recent study from researchers at the University of Washington (UW) and Indiana

University [16] , found that children who were exposed to violence in the home engaged in

higher levels of physical bullying than children who were not witnesses to such

behaviour. The study is one of the first in the United States to specifically examine the association between child exposure to domestic violence and involvement in bullying.

4 Recommendations for action

4.1 Continued support for a whole school focus on tackling bullying

ABA recommends that maintaining a whole-school focus on tackling bullying is effective. An example - the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme, has now been implemented in hundreds of schools in Norway and the US. Studies in Norway showed this achieved a 50% reduction in the number of bullying incidents, 20% in South Carolina.

In a systematic review of the effectiveness of programmes to reduce school bullying, researchers [17] found school-based programmes are often effective, and elements of lead to a decrease in bullying and victimization. ABA has developed a school assessment tool that supports schools in measuring their progress in developing their approach. ABA recommends this tool, or similar tools are promoted to schools to support their work.

4.2 Use of the curriculum to teach about bullying and related issues, and to develop skills and competencies that combat bullying behaviour

ABA supports the use of the curriculum in teaching about bullying. Issues relating to bullying can be addressed through all curriculum subjects. Competencies that combat bullying behaviour through improving emotional literacy and resilience have been delivered through the SEAL programme and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education including Sex and Relationships Education (SRE).

ABA recommends schools should continue to utilise teaching and learning and the curriculum as key responses to issues of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

4.3 Promoting the use of specific and general approaches to respond to bullying

ABA understands that a school that can manage behaviour well is in a good position to manage and resolve bullying when it occurs.

For incidents of bullying, schools should develop a relationship between their existing strategies for general behaviour management (including graded sanctions) and specific responses that may be suited to resolving bullying issues including those based on restorative principles.

Restorative approaches ensure that victims of bullying feel supported in showing the impact of bullying, while perpetrators are able to learn about the affect of their actions and make positive change –whilst exclusion is clearly a response that schools must be empowered to use if necessary, it can be argued that it offers limited room for restoration and change. Restorative approaches also make it possible for staff to consider some of the motivation behind acts of bullying – there may be wider issues within the school community that are impacting on bullying behaviour (e.g. retaliation and discrimination).

A report from the Department of Justice [18] in the US emphasizes the danger of simple ‘zero tolerance’ exclusion policies in tackling bullying. The report says that such an approach "may result in a high level of suspensions without full comprehension of how behavior needs to and can be changed. It does not solve the problem of the bully, who typically spends more unsupervised time in the home or community if suspended or expelled."

4.4 Supporting the role of Ofsted in monitoring compliance with equalities legislation and law relating to child protection

While the majority of schools act against discrimination and harassment there are still some schools where this is not made a priority. The Tellus4 survey found that a quarter of pupils report their school deals not very well or badly with bullying. The ABA strongly recommends that government continue to support the role of Ofsted in monitoring compliance with equalities legislation and the prevention and response to bullying as a vital area of child protection.

4.5 Promoting data collection in relation to bullying

Unless schools regularly collect and analyse data relating to bullying it is very difficult to measure levels of bullying or evidence the impact of interventions. The two areas of data collection that the ABA recommends are the recording of bullying incidents, and regular pupil perception surveys. The discontinuation of the Tellus survey will now make it difficult for schools and local areas to assess their progress against national benchmarks.

Many schools are utilising existing technology to capture and analyse incidents. One model is the extension of the SIMS data programme to include bullying incidents. With all types of bullying it is vital that schools are able to identify and record when a criminal offence has been committed –from hate crime to harassment and assault, and refer the incident on to the appropriate agency.

Government should consider how to engage ABA member organisations in a wider discussion on how the anti-bullying sector’s considerable knowledge around this issue can be made more widely available to schools.

4.6 Supporting workforce development in this area

In a recent Anti-bullying Alliance survey [19] of local authority anti-bullying leads, 75% local authorities represented in the survey were delivering annual teacher training in anti-bullying work.

However, they indicate that in the current economic climate, many LA s will not be able to afford to offer this development to their schools.

The ABA is also concerned that initial teacher training offers very little in the area of bullying as part of covering approaches to behaviour management. The ABA recommends that government reviews the inclusion of training around issues of bullying in initial teacher training, and the ongoing training of staff. This is vital if teachers are to be educated in complex areas such as cyberbullying and the bullying of vulnerable groups – and will support the reasonable steps that schools need to ensure staff comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010.

The ABA recommends that training for school Governors in handling issues relating to bullying is better profiled. The ABA has recently worked with Governors from primary, secondary and special schools to produce a guide about bullying. They reported that they are often in receipt of parental complaints about bullying – complaints that are complex and difficult to resolve, and can sometimes result in escalation through the local authority or even to the Secretary of State for Education.

4.7 Supporting the role of external agencies in providing specialist support to schools

Bullying behaviour can be complex and difficult to manage. There are times where access to specialist intervention is vital – such as with cases of sexual bullying. There may also be a need for particular support for children who are vulnerable to bullying, or who have been damaged by bullying – and similarly there may be a need for ongoing intervention for children who display bullying behaviour. Currently the external agencies that offer support to schools include a range of local authority staff (e.g. educational psychology, Connexions, behaviour support, equality and diversity workers, child and adolescent mental health), and the voluntary sector. Evidence suggests that it is more beneficial to involve those agencies whose primary role is to address disruptive behaviours rather than generic agencies like the police [20] .The ABA recommends that local government continues to support external agencies in providing specialist support to schools where necessary.

4.8 Involving parents and carers in anti-bullying work and supporting parents with concerns about bullying

Researchers find that there is evidence that good quality parent training and education reduces bullying and disruptive behaviour. [21] Bullying behaviour is not limited to schools, and can follow children home via the use of ‘cybertechnology’ to bully and harass.

Parents and carers have a key role in educating their children about the effects of bullying and promoting positive behaviour in the home and the wider community. We also know that domestic violence in the home has a significant impact on bullying behaviour in schools. The ABA recommends that support for parent training and education is reviewed, and that consideration is given to the ways that cross government strategies to support positive parenting, marriage and relationships and to prevent domestic violence, can also impact on bullying behaviour in schools.

ABA recommends there is action to ensure parents understand the legal duties of all types of school to prevent and respond to bullying, to promote equality and to prevent discrimination and harassment.

Parents should be required to support the efforts of the school in preventing and responding to bullying, promoting equality and preventing discrimination and harassment.

Schools, local authorities and government spend significant amounts of time responding to parental complaints in relation to bullying. In June 2008, the ABA held a national conference on ‘Supporting Parents and Carers to Tackle Bullying’.

The conference brought together head teachers, commissioners, education welfare officers, local authority anti bullying leads as well as parents and young people. One of the key recommendations from the conference was for independent mediation services to be provided to support parents, carers, pupils and schools with complaints about bullying. The delegates at the ABA conference (2008) agreed that this service would be most effective if independent of the school and local authority, engaging the trust of all parties.

September 2010