Rating description:
- Fully met: Our recording system captures whether the incident was classified as bullying, the action taken, the location of the incident, the type of bullying, the individuals involved, pupil characteristics, whether it is a safeguarding issue, outcomes and review dates. This data is used proactively to better prevent and respond to bullying.
- Partially met: Our recording system captures whether the incident is a safeguarding issue, and the pupil characteristics of those involved, but doesn’t capture all of the following: whether the incident was classified as bullying, the action taken, the location of the incident, the type of bullying, the individuals involved, outcomes and review dates.
- Not yet met: Our recording system captures whether the incident is a safeguarding issue and basic data such as dates and names, but doesn’t capture any other data about the incident.
Why is this important?
The type of data collected when recording bullying is crucial for several reasons. Tracking the type of bullying (e.g. physical, online, verbal) alongside pupil characteristics provides a clearer picture of incidents across the school - especially in secondary settings where pupils interact with multiple teachers throughout the day. This comprehensive data helps identify patterns of behaviour, highlights vulnerable groups, and ensures targeted support. It also provides clear evidence of the school’s actions, demonstrating accountability and commitment to pupil safety. Regularly reviewing this data allows the school to reflect on and improve its whole-school anti-bullying approach, ensuring more effective and inclusive practices.
Top tips:
- Review your recording system to ensure it is capturing all the right information. See our checklist for a guide on what your recording system should include.
- Survey staff, pupils and parents/carers to find out if they know the current range of methods to report bullying (remember to avoid a 'one-size-fits all' approach). Ask them if there are better ways that they can report bullying and if the methods seem effective. For example, is action taken quickly enough? Is it clear who to speak to? Is it discrete enough?
- Use various times during the school year to promote the different ways the community can report bullying for example: posters around the school building and grounds (including any identified 'hot spots' e.g. toilets), in newsletters, in staff/pupil inductions, in assemblies, at parents evenings/events, during Anti-Bullying Week, on the school website.
Resources and examples:
- Watch this video from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to hear some tips from school leaders on how to use data to identify and prevent prejudice-based bullying in school:
Please note that examples from primary and other school settings may still include some useful hints and tips you can adapt and apply for a secondary setting.
- Special School Case Study - on reviewing recording system and updating SIMS with improvements
- Primary School Case Study - on developing recording and response forms for bullying incidents
- Example Bullying Incident Report Form
See below for quotes and pieces of advice from other schools:
- "CPOMS allows us to record all types of bullying and NGM analyses this data along with general behaviour data at the end of each half term."
- "The data is collected in at the end of every term by the office manager and analysed by the SLT for trends/patterns, and if any are found then actions are put into place."
Back to 3. Reporting Bullying and Using Data
Note: the resources listed at the bottom of this page (below) have all been linked & referenced in the case study section above.