Anti-bullying guidance for adults working with children and young people

The national approach to anti-bullying for Scotland’s children and young people

Purpose

This guidance sets out the national approach to anti-bullying in Scotland. “Respect for All” focuses specifically on bullying between children and young people and aims to ensure that all sectors and communities, at a national and local level, are consistently and coherently contributing to a holistic approach to anti-bullying, including prejudice-based bullying.

Respect for All is underpinned by the values of:

• children’s rights
• fairness
• respect
• equality
• inclusion.

We want all children and young people to feel safe, secure and able to build positive relationships with peers and adults. Respect for All aims to encourage a proactive and inclusive approach to anti-bullying and supports all adults working with, or caring for, children and young people to create inclusive environments where bullying cannot thrive. It aims to drive the implementation of a consistent and cohesive approach to anti-bullying in Scotland and describes how we define bullying and how we approach effective anti-bullying work.

This document replaces previous Respect for All guidance, published in 2017, and supplementary guidance on recording and monitoring bullying incidents published in 2018. This guidance therefore outlines the policy ambition to embed a consistent approach to reporting, recording and monitoring incidents of bullying through SEEMiS or other information management systems in independent schools and organisations working with children and young people.

Who is this document for?

While bullying most often takes place in a school context,^‹ Experience of bullying – Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)› it can occur anywhere and therefore this document is for everyone involved in children and young people’s lives in Scotland. There are particular statutory duties on education authorities and schools (see Appendix 1) and these are reflected in the guidance where appropriate.

It is expected that education authorities and organisations will develop their own anti-bullying policy and procedures based on the national guidance set out in Respect for All and set within the wider context of relationships and behaviour policies. It is expected that all individual schools and organisations^‹2 Throughout this document the term organisations will be used to apply to all non-school-based settings where children and young people may attend, including after-school clubs, youth groups, activity clubs and higher and further education settings, for example. › should develop policies in consultation with children and young people and their parent(s)^‹ Throughout this document the term parent(s) will be used to apply to anyone with parental responsibility, including carer(s) and guardians, those providing a foster or residential placement, corporate parents, or the education authority where full parental responsibility rests with them.› and teachers and club leaders that reflect their organisational policy. More information on roles and expectations can be found at Appendix 3.

A shared vision

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and must be addressed promptly and effectively. Bullying should never be seen as an inevitable part of growing up. Children and young people living in Scotland should have equal opportunities to succeed; bullying compromises this ambition.

Our vision is that:

• every child and young person in Scotland will grow up free from bullying and will develop respectful, responsible and confident relationships with other children, young people and adults;
• children and young people and their parent(s), will have the skills and knowledge to prevent and/or respond appropriately to bullying;
• every child and young person who requires help will know who can help them and what support is available; and
• adults working with, or caring for, children and young people will follow a consistent and coherent approach in preventing and responding to bullying from Early Learning and Childcare onwards.

Why is this guidance required?

Bullying can have both long- and short-term effects on children and young people’s mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing. It can affect their participation, attainment and inclusion, and can have an adverse and detrimental effect on childhood development, self-esteem, confidence, and future potential.

Bullying can impact on a person’s capacity for self-management, their internal feelings of control and their ability to take effective action. Being bullied is traumatic for the individual and may lead to a range of often unhelpful coping mechanisms and behaviours, such as self-blame or physical and verbal aggression.

The impact of bullying behaviour can extend far beyond the individuals directly involved. Other children and young people who witness incidents may be impacted as well as incidents having a broader impact on the culture of a setting. Impacts can also be felt within families and other relationships.

A child who is being bullied may not feel safe, included or respected. A child who is bullied, and those causing bullying, may have wellbeing needs which should be assessed and supported using the eight indicators of wellbeing – Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included as part of the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) approach.

Failure to prevent and address bullying can lead to poorer mental health and wellbeing in adolescence and also into adulthood.^‹ Peer victimisation during adolescence and its impact on depression in early adulthood: prospective cohort study in the United Kingdom (bmj.com)› Good anti-bullying practices and policies impact positively on a school’s or children’s service’s ethos and help children and young people feel more included and safe.^‹ Bullying fosters interpersonal distrust and degrades adolescent mental health as predicted by Social Safety Theory› They can also improve attendance and participation and promote resilience. More information around prevention can be found on page 27.

15-year-old girl “You can’t get away from it, the bullying, it’s in your head and you can’t put that down, or leave it anywhere.”

The evidence base

Bullying is a ubiquitous, global problem; UNESCO 2019 found that one in three students had been bullied by their peers at school.

In Scotland, the Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021/22 found that 31% of pupils in P5-S3 had been bullied in the last year. Of those who had been bullied in the last year, 82% experienced bullying at school and 36% experienced bullying online.

There were demographic differences reported in the study. The percentage of children reporting they had been bullied in the last year decreased from P5 to S3. There were differences in where different age groups were bullied, with older children more likely than younger children to report having been bullied online.

Bullying was also more commonly reported by children and young people in the most deprived communities than the least.

Although the Health and Wellbeing Census 2021-22 found those in African / Caribbean or Black / Mixed or multiple minority ethnic groups, and Asian children and young people were less likely than average to report having been bullied in the last year, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights 2022 report on racially motivated bullying found that 83% of schools failed to record racially motivated bullying incidents.

There are also gendered differences. For example, the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2021/22 survey found that in general, displaying bullying behaviour is more prevalent amongst boys than girls. The Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021/22 found that girls were more likely than boys to report having been bullied in the last year.

Research carried out by the University of London found that children and young people with a disability are more likely to be bullied than their peers.

Additionally, the 2023 Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research found that 27% of teachers in secondary schools, and 6% in primary schools had encountered pupils using digital technology (e.g. computers, tablets, mobile phones) abusively (e.g. malicious posting of comments, photos, videos) in the classroom at least once in the week preceding the survey, reinforcing the problematic nature and scale of the issue.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2022) report also found a higher proportion of students in Scotland reported experiencing a bullying act on at least a weekly basis (10.6%), slightly higher than the OECD average (9.4%). The Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children 2021/22 survey found around one in 10 (11%) boys and girls reported they had been bullied at school at least 2–3 times a month in the past couple of months.

Principles

Based on the legal and policy frameworks in Scotland, the principles of Respect for All are as follows.

• We respect the rights of children and young people.
• We will promote positive relationships and behaviours amongst all children and young people, and adults around them.
• We will work together to develop a culture of mutual respect and responsibility amongst all children and young people and adults around them.
• We will seek to prevent and respond to bullying, through the development and implementation of effective anti-bullying policies and practices.
• We will seek to address any prejudice underlying bullying behaviour, in keeping with statutory duties.
• We will support effective communication, including sharing relevant and proportionate information, where appropriate, in accordance with data protection and human rights requirements.
• We will seek to understand the experiences, and respond to the needs of children and young people who are bullied, as well as those who bully others and those who witness bullying incidents, within a framework of rights, respect, responsibility, resolution and support.
• We will share information where appropriate and work jointly to make sure we are co-ordinated and cohesive in all that we do.
• We recognise bullying can have an adverse/detrimental effect on both childhood development and future potential, and we will aim to ensure that every child and young person living in Scotland will have the same opportunities and an equal chance to succeed.

Legal status of guidance

This framework is non-statutory and is designed to assist schools and organisations in making decisions relating to bullying. This framework is not prescriptive and each situation should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Public, grant-aided and independent schools are responsible for ensuring that their policies, practices and information take full account of the relevant legal requirements as set out in Appendix 1. It is for education authorities, the managers of grant-aided schools and the proprietors of independent schools to take their own legal advice on such matters, as appropriate.

Additionally, there is a broader policy landscape that underpins the duty of all organisations working with children and young people to prevent and respond to bullying. Many practitioners are also governed by a set of professional standards. These are also set out in Appendix 1.