Schools in the UK are taking part in the annual Anti-Bullying Week this week but is it enough?
The week, which falls on every third week of November, was created by the charity Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) back in 2002 to raise awareness of bullying of children and young people in schools and elsewhere and to highlight ways of preventing and responding to it.
The ABA has created initiatives such as ‘Odd Socks Day’ where adults and children alike are encouraged to wear odd socks on the first day of the Week as an “opportunity to encourage people to express themselves and celebrate their individuality”, whilst donating £1 each to the charity.
Research from the Department of Education (DoE) found that one in six, or 17%, of children, were bullied between 2017 and 2018, remaining consistent with previous years.
In the past five years alone there have been three well-documented accounts of the loss of young lives, from Bradford allegedly due to bullying. Asad Khan, a pupil at Beckfoot Upper Heaton School was only 11 when he was found dead at his home by his mother, Farheen Khan. Last year, the body of a bright and sporty young girl from Keighley, Kehkshan Rashid, 14, was found in a woodland area near her home. In early January 2020, Nazaif Zulkarnin Haider Jaffrey, 18, also tragically took his own life.
Bullying can take many forms. The DoE found that the most common form is verbal bullying, for example, threats, name-calling, racist or homophobic remarks, but bullying can also be physical, emotional, racist, sexual, cyberbullying, or homophobic.
In the UK, there is not a standard definition set by the Government of what bullying is as it is not against the law.
However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) describes bullying and harassment as “behaviour that makes someone feel intimated or offended”. This behaviour is usually repeated and not a one-off.
Harassment is unlawful under the Equality Act 2020 and is defined as “unwanted behaviour” relating to age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
The maximum jail sentence for adults who commitment harassment depends on whether the victim is in fear of violence. Racial or religiously aggravated harassment when people are in fear of violence can carry up to a 14-year jail sentence.
For children, this is a bit different. People under the age of 18 can be given a detention order of anything between four months and two years. For young people who commit violent or sexual crimes, they can be served ‘extended sentences’ and be supervised for a long time after release.
In reality, it is hard to know how many young people, if any, have been locked up for bullying under the harassment law. In 2020, 10% of young offenders in England and Wales were locked up for violence against another person, and 9% were jailed for ‘other offences’.
A report published by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) found that in 2019 race hate crimes against children reached an all-time high, including children under the age of one.
An anonymous parent from Yorkshire spoke to Tell Mama, an organisation that supports victims of anti-Muslim hate and is a public service that also measures and monitors anti-Muslim incidents, in 2019 about their child receiving racist verbal bullying over voice chat in X-Box Live.
Comments directed at the Muslim student included references to burning a copy of the Holy Quran, Islamophobic and homophobic comments about the student’s parents, and other threats.
Following the intervention of the police and the school, the parents have since relocated their child to a different school due to ongoing racist bullying.
After liaising between external services and one of the family’s whose child committed suicide due to bullying, Asian Standard found out that it is important for secondary schools to have a designated staff member that pupils trust to get them to open about bullying.
For primary school children, the first point of call should be their year teacher, who will then escalate it to management, if deemed necessary.
Section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that maintained schools (schools overseen by the Local Authority) must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. Some schools choose to include this information in an anti-bullying policy, whilst others include it in their behaviour policy.
For academies, free schools, and independent (fee-paying) schools, the Independent School Standard) Regulations 2012 state that the administrator of an academy or other independent school is required to ensure that an effective anti-bullying strategy and health & safety strategy is drawn up and implemented.
The ABA believes that for clarity it is better to have an anti-bullying policy that is separate from the behaviour policy, but which cross-refers to the behaviour policy if necessary.
Schools decide what is included in their anti-bullying policy, and all teachers, pupils and parents must be told what it is.
Asian Standard looked at half a dozen primary and secondary schools to find out whether they have their anti-bullying or behaviour policy online as well as whether they have a designated teacher or member of staff that children can go to when being bullied.
Beckfoot Upper Heaton, where Asad Khan was a year 7 student, has a designated anti-bullying policy on their website. The policy states, “every member of staff has a key role to play in promoting and sustaining the highest standards of behaviour for learning” and the behaviour and attendance lead is responsible for overseeing the safeguarding and wellbeing of students”.
Bradford Academy also has a standalone anti-bullying policy where students are encouraged to report incidences of bullying to any staff member whom they trust. There are designated child protection officers, but the policy does not include a named teacher or member of staff that pupils and parent can contact that deals specifically with bullying.
Laisterdyke Leadership Academy’s anti-bullying policy is easy to find but it doesn’t adequately explain where and who students can turn to, instead it mentions that all staff members will receive training on how to spot bullying and how to deal with it appropriately.
The primary schools surveyed, Girlington Primary, Lidget Green Primary, and Peel Park Primary School adequately display and explain their anti-bullying policies. Girlington lays out what behaviour is not tolerated and the steps that the school takes to mitigate the issue.
On paper it seems that schools in Bradford are taking the appropriate steps to reduce the effects of bullying, however, the secondary and academy schools could do better by having a named teacher or pastoral or administration staff member that deals exclusively with anti-bullying within their school.
If Anti-Bullying Week helps even one child, then the awareness campaign, is worth doing. However, with bullying statistics remaining consistent over the last few years, the last impact is questionable.
Where to get help or information with bullying
If your child is being bullied or experiencing symptoms of bullying you can access these services for help or more information:
- ChildLine: ChildLine is the UK’s free, confidential helpline for children and young people. They offer advice and support, by phone and online, 24 hours a day. Whenever and wherever you need them, they’ll be there. Call 0800 1111. They have a designated page for bullying issues that includes a new video about building up your confidence after bullying.
- Direct Gov: Information for young people on cyberbullying, bullying on social networks, Internet and email bullying, bullying on mobile phones, bullying at school, what to do about bullying, and information and advice for people who are bullying others and want to stop.
- EACH : EACH has a freephone Helpline for children experiencing homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying or harassment: 0808 1000 143. It’s open Monday to Friday 10am-5pm.
- Victim Support: They offer support to young people affected by crime. Their Children and Young People’s (CYP) Service also deals with cases of bullying; offering advice and working with professionals to ensure young people get the support they need. You can call their Supportline for free on 08 08 16 89 111.
- The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) maintains a website for children and young people, and parents and carers about staying safe online: Think U Know
