Below is a roundup of the general election manifestos from the three main political parties in England and what they have said about bullying and related issues. We in no way endorse any party over another and this is an article purely for information purposes.
Conservative Party Manifesto
Specific bullying references:
“We will require schools to follow our guidance on banning the use of mobile phones during the school day, which is proven to boost attainment, reduce bullying and support good behaviour in schools.” - pg.26
Education:
"We will attract more talented teachers by expanding our recruitment and retention premium and reducing workload.” - pg.26"We will continue to work with schools and local authorities to improve school attendance, including through more mental health support, building on our plan that is working – there were 440,000 fewer children persistently absent last year compared to the year before.” - pg.27
"...to ensure all children are getting a high-quality education, including those who are home schooled, we will legislate to create a register of children not in school.” - pg.27
"We will work to strengthen the relationship between schools and parents, including by delivering new legislation which will make clear, beyond all doubt, that parents have a right to see what their child is being taught in school and schools must share all materials, especially on sensitive matters like relationships and sex education.” - pg.27
“In recent years, an increasing number of children have started questioning their gender, the consequences of which are still unknown. This is why we will pass legislation to ensure schools must follow our guidance for teachers on how best to support gender questioning students in schools and colleges.” - pg.59
Disability
“Our ambition is to make this country the most accessible place in the world for people with disabilities to live, work and thrive. We are delivering on our Disability Action Plan to transform the everyday lives of people with disabilities” - pg.59-60
Children’s wellbeing and mental health
“Mental health should have parity of esteem with physical health. To support children, young people and adults with their mental health, we will:
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Expand coverage of Mental Health Support Teams from 50% to 100% of schools and colleges in England by 2030.
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Open early support hubs for those aged 11-25 in every local community by 2030.
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Increase the planned expansion of NHS Talking Therapies by 50%, supporting people with anxiety, stress and depression.
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Boost the capacity of Individual Placement and Support for Severe Mental Illness by 140,000 places.
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Pass a new law to provide better treatment and support for severe mental health needs in the first session of the next Parliament.” - pg.42
Online safety and bullying
"We will put our guidance on banning mobile phones in the school day on a statutory footing which will require all schools to operate a ban, as the best schools already do. We will provide funding for schools to help them ban mobile phones where they need it.” - pg.19
“We will urgently consult on introducing further parental controls over access to social media. We know this is a complex area and we need more effective age verification and parental controls. That’s why we will consult widely to get this right, including developing the necessary technology, in partnership with other countries who are considering similar measures. We expect to build on the existing responsibilities set out for social media companies under the Online Safety Act.” - pg.19
Labour Party Manifesto
Specific bullying references:
There were no specific mentions of ‘bullying’ in the Labour Party manifesto
Education:
"Violence and abuse against women and girls does not come from nowhere. Misogyny is one root cause, and therefore Labour will ensure schools address misogyny and teach young people about healthy relationships and consent. We will ensure police forces have the powers they need to track and tackle the problem.” - pg.68
“We will get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges, and tackle retention issues.” - pg.82
“We will update the Early Career Framework, maintaining its grounding in evidence, and ensure any new teacher entering the classroom has, or is working towards, Qualified Teacher Status.” - pg.82
“Labour will introduce new Regional Improvement Teams, to enhance school-to-school support, and spread best practice.” - pg.83
"We will enhance the inspection regime by replacing a single headline grade with a new report card system telling parents clearly how schools are performing.” - pg.83
"Labour will launch an expert-led review of curriculum and assessment, working with school staff, parents and employers to change this.” - pg.83
“We will also bring down the cost of school by limiting the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require.” - pg.84
"Labour will take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.” - pg.83
Child poverty
"Labour will develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We will work with the voluntary sector, faith organisations, trade unions, business, devolved and local government, and communities to bring about change” - pg.79
Children’s wellbeing and mental health
“Labour will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.” - pg.84
“This [specialist mental health professionals in schools] will complement our plan for Young Futures Hubs, which will make sure every community has an open-access hub for children and young people with drop-in mental health support.” - pg.84
"Labour will bring waiting times down and intervene earlier. We will recruit an additional 8,500 new staff to treat children and adults through our first term. As part of our mission to reduce the lives lost to suicide, these new staff will be specially trained to support people at risk.” - pg.101
Online safety and bullying
"Labour will build on the Online Safety Act, bringing forward provisions as quickly as possible, and explore further measures to keep everyone safe online, particularly when using social media.” - pg.101
“We will also give coroners more powers to access information held by technology companies after a child’s death.” - pg.101
Liberal Democrats Party Manifesto
Specific bullying references:
“Tackle bullying in schools by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality relationships and sex education.” - pg.44
Education:
"Introducing a clear and properly funded programme of high-quality professional development for all teachers, including training on effective parental engagement.” - pg. 42
“Reform Ofsted inspections and end single-word judgements so that parents get a clear picture of the true strengths and weaknesses of each school, and schools get the guidance and support they need to improve.” pg.44
"Tackle persistent absence by setting up a register of children who are not in school, and working to understand and remove underlying barriers to attendance.” - pg.44
“Including a specific emphasis on identifying and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities in the new training programme for early years staff.” - pg.48
Children’s wellbeing and mental health
“Put a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every primary and secondary school, making sure all children and parents have someone they can turn to for help, funded by increasing the Digital Services Tax on social media firms and other tech giants.” - pg.41
"We will give every child the support they need with more specialist teachers, free school meals for all children in poverty, and a dedicated mental health professional in every school.” - pg.8
“Improve early access to mental health services by establishing mental health hubs for young people in every community and introducing regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives when they are most vulnerable to mental ill-health.” - pg.30
“Improve early access to mental health services by:
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Opening walk-in hubs for children and young people in every community.
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Offering regular mental health check-ups at key points in people’s lives when they are most vulnerable to mental ill-health.
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Putting a dedicated, qualified mental health professional in every school, as set out in chapter 8.
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Ending out-of-area mental health placements by increasing capacity and coordination between services, so that no one is treated far from home.
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Extending young people’s mental health services up to the age of 25 to end the drop-off experienced by young people transitioning to adult services.
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Increasing access to clinically effective talking therapies.
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Taking an evidence-led approach to preventing and treating eating disorders, and challenging damaging stigma about weight.” pg.32
“Protect and support the rights and wellbeing of every child by:
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Incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law.
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Setting up an independent advocacy body for children’s safety online.
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Addressing the underfunding and neglect of children’s mental health services, youth services and youth justice services.
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Tackling child poverty...” - pg.48
“Stand up to hatred by:
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Exposing and confronting the stereotyping, demagoguery and hate speech in public life and the media that inflames hatred and leads to spikes in hate crimes.
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Providing funding for protective security measures to places of worship, schools and community centres that are vulnerable to hate crime and terror attacks.” - pg.95
Online safety and bullying
"Setting up an independent advocacy body for children’s safety online.” - pg.48
“Creating a new Online Crime Agency to effectively tackle illegal content and activity online, such as personal fraud, revenge porn and threats and incitement to violence on social media” - pg.56
“Introducing a Digital Bill of Rights to protect everyone’s rights online, including the rights to privacy, free expression, and participation without being subjected to harassment and abuse” -pg.94
"Require social media companies to publish reports setting out the action they have taken to address online abuse against women and girls, and other groups who share a protected characteristic.” - pg.95
Anti-Bullying Alliance’s Policy Recommendations
ABA have written a series of recommended policy positions to try to prevent and improve how we respond to childhood bullying across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
