New guidance to support schools and organisations working with children and young people to develop comprehensive anti-bullying policies and improve behaviour and relationships has been published.
‘Respect for all’ includes updates for staff on how to deal with specific incidents of bullying, including online bullying. The guidance sets out that online bullying should be seen as related to where the bullying occurs, rather than as a different behaviour type – and that online bullying must be responded to with the same level of seriousness as any other form of bullying. It also highlights the responsibility of schools and organisations to support the wellbeing of children and young people, even when there is not a responsibility to investigate the incident itself.
The definition of bullying on which the guidance is focused has also been strengthened following feedback from children and young people, parents and practitioners. This has a renewed focus on the emotional, social and physical impacts caused by bullying, recognising that not all bullying is an intentional act and that it does not need to be repeated for it to have an impact.