Tackle Bullying in the UK

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NSPCC Research Summary on Tackling Bullying

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The research was sponsored by ChildLine, a national children’s charity. Children continue to call ChildLine in large numbers to ask for help in dealing with bullying. What might be the reasons for the apparent gap between anti-bullying policies on paper and anti-bullying practice in schools?
In addressing these aims, the study focused on the views and experiences of primary (Year 5) and secondary (Year 8) pupils.

KEY FINDINGS  
Prevalence of bullying

Over half of primary (51%) and secondary school pupils (54%) thought that bullying was ‘a big problem’ or ‘quite a problem’ in their school.
Just over half (51%) in Year 5 reported that they had been bullied during the term , compared with just over a quarter (28%) of pupils in Year 8.

School effectiveness

Over 60% of pupils in both age groups thought that their school was ‘very good’ or ‘quite good’ at dealing with bullying. However, some schools were perceived by pupils to be more effective at dealing with bullying than others.
Within each school, some teachers were identified as better at dealing with bullying than others. Such teachers were reported to be better at listening to pupils, more prepared to take them seriously, and to take ‘firm but fair’ action.

Pupils’ responses to bullying

When attempting to decide how best to respond the bullying, pupils engaged in a complex process of risk assessment. Each possible course of action was identified as having a number of potential risks and benefits attached. No tidy solutions or easy remedies were identified.
Telling teachers about bullying was associated with a wide range of risks, particularly in relation to possible breaches of confidentiality, failure to act on reported incidents of bullying, and an inability to protect pupils from retaliatory action on the part on perpetrators. On the other hand, some pupils reported that telling teachers could help to stop the bullying.
Parents were valued for offering emotional support and advice, and for raising concerns about bullying with teachers if this was what their son or daughter wanted them to do. However, pupils also feared that parents might not believe them or might over-react and make matters worse. Some pupils were concerned that by telling their parents about bullying they might start a family argument or cause parents to feel worried and anxious on their behalf.
Confidential sources of advice, such as counselling services and voluntary organisations working with children and young people were identified as an important source of support. Such organisations were reported as enabling pupils to express their feelings, consider the options available to them, and to have some control over the pace of disclosure, should they decide to tell a teacher or parent about bullying.
The report concludes that anti-bullying strategies need to address the realities of children’s experiences of bullying and that more direct work with children is needed to develop and implement anti-bullying strategies.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Schools should develop a range of formal and informal approaches to working with children and young people that are age-appropriate, gender sensitive and culturally aware. More informal methods might be used to listen to primary school pupils’ views about bullying. More formal approaches, such as consulting schools councils about bullying, should be considered a priority for secondary schools. Consulting with pupils about anti-bullying strategies might also be undertaken by young people themselves as part of PSHE project work.
In order to measure schools’ progress in listening to pupils and to facilitate the sharing of good practice, the methods used by schools to consult with children and young people about bullying and in the development of anti-bullying strategies should be included as a topic for OFSTED inspections.

A child-centred approach

The role of friendships in promoting the social and emotional competence of pupils should be included in the development of guidance and training materials for teachers.

Minimising risks, maximising support

Urgent attention is given to make confidential sources of advice and support more widely available within school settings, and in local communities. This support could be provided in schools by independent youth organisations or schools could form partnerships with external counselling organisations to provide confidential help and advice to pupils outside school hours.

Policy context

For almost two decades, bullying in schools has attracted the interest and concern of governments and policy makers. In the late 1980’s, for example, a public enquiry was launched into unruly behaviour in schools. The resulting Elton Report (DES, 1989) highlighted the issue of bullying and suggested that a positive school ethos provides the essential factor in academic success and positive pupil relations. A’ positive school ethos’ has, however, proven a difficult concept to define or quantify. Instead, research has tended to focus on the relative merits of different approaches, or ‘interventions’ designed to reduce or prevent bullying.
The emotional distress caused by bullying in whatever form – be it racial or as a result of a child’s appearance, behaviour or special educational needs, or related to sexual orientations, can prejudice school achievement, lead to lateness or truancy, and in extreme cases, end with suicide…Low report rates should not themselves be taken as proof that bullying is not occurring.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

Olweus defined bullying as:
the repeated or long term exposure of the victim, to verbal or physical attach, or social
ostracism, perpetrated by a single student or group of students

Tattum (1993) added extortion to these different categories of bullying behaviour. Recent evidence including this research project suggests that bullying by e-mail and by text messaging should also now be included among the various mechanisms through which bullying may be perpetrated.

Bullying teasing and fighting

Attempts have been made to distinguish bullying from ‘playing’, ‘teasing’ and fighting‘. These distinctions are considered important because teasing, for example, is generally regarded as acceptable, whereas bullying is not (Pearce 1991). Furthermore, it is frequently reported that children respond to accusations of bullying by claiming that they were ‘just playing’.
Some studies suggest a degree of overlap between ‘bullying’ and ‘teasing’. Mooney et al (1991) for example, describe some teasing as ‘playful’ in intent between friends, but also includes behaviour ‘designed to be hurtful’ with the parameters of teasing. Indeed, a degree of fluidity between teasing and bullying might indeed be expected if, as it is argued, name-calling serves to establish the boundaries of what is considered acceptable behaviour between friends (Back, 1989).
However, it is more commonly argued that behaviour that is intended to be hurtful represents a defining characteristic of bullying. Besag (1989) comments on the cleverness of children in developing abusive names, and claims that name calling often represents the initial stage of bullying.

Nature of bullying

It is generally agreed that verbal abuse is not the most common form of bullying, followed by various forms of physically aggressive behaviour (Smith 1999). Within this broad pattern of behaviour, there are some important differences based on age, gender, sexuality and ethnicity.

Age related

Primary school children are more likely to be bullied by others in their class whereas secondary pupils are more likely to be bullied by others in their year, or in higher years. Compared with bullying in primary school, bullying in secondary schools is often described as more organised and ‘almost institutional’. (Elliott, 1991 p9)

Gender

It is generally agreed that boys are more likely to be physically aggressive than girls and that girls are more likely to engage in verbal abuse, social ostracism and gossip ((Siann 1994; Smith 1999; Neary and Joseph 1994; Roland 1989; Stephenson and Smith 1989; Besag 1989. Olweus (1993) estimated that boys are four times more likely to engage in direct bullying, including physical assault, and name-calling. Compared with girls, who are more likely to use more indirect methods.
Dale (1991) concludes that bullying is less prevalent in mixed-gender schools compared with boys’ schools, which she attributed to the restraining effect of the girls’ presence. She describes mixed schools as more ‘comradely’ in atmosphere and, consequently, as environments where arguments were more likely to be settled amicably.

Sexist and sexualized bullying

The threat of rape was identified as a potential sanction against girls who do not conform to male expectations: ‘rape maybe (comparatively) rare but physical and sexual assault are not and the lower range of conflict sexualised gender practices keeps that threat alive on a daily basis’. (p 128). This research is of relevance to this project since some girls have identified sexual assault and even rape within their understanding (and possibly experience) of bullying. The study also gives attention to the role of gender in the prevalence and nature of bullying reports by pupils.

Homophobic bullying

Rivers (1996) argues that a significant feature of homophobic bullying is the severity of the abuse. In a retrospective study of gay men and lesbians’ experience of bullying, one gay man reported having been rap3ed by a teacher, others reported having their clothes set alight and being burnt with cigarettes while being held down. One lesbian reported having been raped by a male pupil and another of having been dragged around the playing field by her hair.

Racist bullying or racial harassment?

Tizard et al (1998) for example, reported that name-calling relating to physical appearance, personal hygiene and race represented the three most frequent forms of ‘teasing’ reported among 7-year olds.
Racist name-calling was recorded as the most common form of bullying. In a recent survey of Black and ethnic minority pupils in mainly white schools, 26% said they had experienced racially abusive name-calling during the previous week while at school or while travelling to and from school (Cline et al 2002). However, in common with the other surveys on bullying, it is likely that racist bullying or harassment is under-reported.

Impact of bullying

Bullying has been identified as leading to loss of self-confidence, truancy, lower levels of academic attainment, increased anxiety, suicidal ideation and attempted or actual suicide. Some studies show that the negative effects of childhood bullying can persist into adulthood, causing depression, low self-esteem and social isolation. Bullying has also been associated with a disproportionately higher rate of attempted and completed suicide among young lesbians and gay men compared with other young people (see Warwick et al 2000).