Schools White Paper: Bullying, belonging and wellbeing?

You can read:

• The Schools White Paper here:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving
• The government’s press release on linked SEND reforms here:
  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/specialist-send-support-in-every-school-and-community
• Read our statement about the Schools White Paper here /node/8272

The White Paper includes a wide range of commitments, including reforms to behaviour policy, SEND support, attendance, workforce development, school accountability and family engagement. There are welcome references throughout to belonging, inclusion and engagement, and a recognition that too many children are currently disengaged from school.

At the Anti-Bullying Alliance, we welcome the White Paper’s emphasis on belonging, inclusive practice and the importance of engagement for achievement. We also welcome commitments to measure pupils’ sense of belonging, introduce an enrichment framework, strengthen early intervention, and improve support for staff.

However, bullying is not treated as a central issue within the White Paper, despite clear evidence that it is a significant driver of poor mental health, disengagement, school absence and exclusion, particularly for children with SEND.

The sections below outline:

• What the White Paper says in relation to bullying, belonging, wellbeing, relationships, behaviour, absence and online safety
• What is missing or underdeveloped
• How this connects with what the Anti-Bullying Alliance believes is needed to prevent bullying, improve responses when it occurs, and ensure children and young people feel safe, included and able to thrive at school

Bullying

Bullying and harassment towards school staff

The White Paper discusses bullying primarily in the context of bullying and harassment experienced by school staff, including from parents or others.

It states that:

• Abuse of staff is never acceptable, whether it happens in person or online
• This position underpins proposed changes to complaints handling and expectations for family school relationships

The government commits to:

• New guidance for schools, trusts and local authorities to better support staff where bullying and harassment occur
• Improved reporting and more consistent recording of incidents, so the scale of the problem can be better understood and the case for national monitoring considered

Bullying prevention linked to behaviour and culture

Peer to peer bullying is also referenced within the White Paper’s approach to behaviour policy and school culture.

The government plans:

• Refreshed behaviour resources, including updated Behaviour in Schools guidance and suspension and exclusion guidance
• A bespoke, evidence-based teacher toolkit on behaviour and bullying which it commissioned earlier this year. 
• Attendance and Behaviour Hubs to strengthen early intervention and reinforce clear expectations around preventing all forms of bullying as part of building safe, inclusive cultures

ABA commentary

The White Paper fails to make the connection between bullying and children’s ability to thrive and achieve at school. It is particularly disappointing that bullying does not feature more prominently in the ‘Withdrawn to engaging’ chapter, given that bullying is a significant cause of school absence and disengagement.

The White Paper also fails to address the strong evidence linking bullying and SEND. Children with SEND are at significantly greater risk of bullying, lower feelings of belonging and safety, poorer mental health and increased loneliness. This omission is a major failing. We cannot ensure all children thrive and achieve when almost one in four children experience bullying, and the significantly heightened risk for children with SEND. 

Online safety

Support for families

Online safety appears primarily in the context of family support.

The White Paper proposes:

• Reviewing the current offer for online family support
• Creating a one stop shop of age-appropriate advice and guidance

This will include:

• Keeping children safe online
• Screen time
• Behaviour and sleep

The government also commits, alongside DHSC, to:

• Publishing guidance on screen use for under-fives by April 2026
• Supporting families with guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16

These proposals sit alongside a forthcoming consultation already announced on children’s use of social media and online safety, intended to protect children’s wellbeing.

ABA commentary

There is no meaningful discussion of online bullying experienced by pupils, or of the challenges schools face when online and face to face bullying intersect. The White Paper does not link online safety to the RSHE curriculum or wider bullying prevention efforts, leaving a significant gap.

Behaviour in school

Calm, inclusive environments

Behaviour is presented as central to creating school environments where children can learn and belong.

The White Paper states that:

• Calm, caring and predictable environments are inclusive, including for pupils with SEND
• Rising behaviours leading to exclusion result in lost learning, disruption and additional pressure on staff

Behaviour as inclusive practice

The government links behaviour to early identification of need, committing to:

• Addressing the root causes of behaviour, including SEND related needs
• Practical guidance on reasonable adjustments, with worked examples

System support

The White Paper proposes:

• Refreshed behaviour guidance
• A teacher toolkit on behaviour and bullying – already commissioned earlier this year
• Attendance and Behaviour Hubs to spread best practice and strengthen early intervention

Mobile phone free environments

The government reinforces guidance encouraging mobile phone free schools, stating this supports learning and peer engagement.

Rewards, routines and sense of self

Updated guidance will encourage schools to balance rewards and sanctions, recognising that routines, rewards and recognition support pupils’ sense of self.

Family partnerships

The White Paper proposes:

• Minimum expectations for home-school relationships
• Exploring documented agreements with families setting out shared responsibilities

ABA commentary

The White Paper does not sufficiently link behaviour and bullying. Evidence shows that children who are bullied are more likely to display distressed behaviour and face exclusion. We also do not believe there is sufficient evidence that banning mobile phones alone leads to reduced bullying or online harm.

Belonging

Belonging is one of the strongest and most welcome themes in the White Paper.

The government states that:

• Every classroom should be a safe, calm and supportive place where children feel they belong
• Belonging improves engagement, motivation and achievement
• Disengagement is particularly stark for children with SEND and disadvantaged pupils

The White Paper highlights:

• A significant decline in pupils’ sense of belonging since 2014
• Poor international comparisons
• Transition into secondary school as a key risk point

Belonging is explicitly linked to:

• Attainment and attendance
• Long term outcomes, including mental health and reduced risk of becoming NEET

The government commits to:

• A new Pupil Engagement Framework
• Requiring schools to monitor belonging and engagement by 2029
• Publishing annual national survey data
• Introducing a new enrichment framework to improve access to extracurricular activities

ABA commentary

We welcome the focus on belonging and the commitment to measuring it. However, the White Paper does not sufficiently address the causes of poor belonging, including bullying. We hope bullying and wellbeing measures are embedded within the Pupil Engagement Framework and national survey data. We also welcome the enrichment framework and the recognition that access to extracurricular activities is vital for belonging, particularly for children with SEND.

Pupil wellbeing and mental health

The White Paper does not include a standalone section on pupil mental health, but it:

• Frames wellbeing as part of inclusion
• Links strong belonging to better long term mental health
• Positions online safety reforms as protecting wellbeing
• Recognises the role of positive environments in supporting pupils’ sense of self

School absence

The White Paper does not include a detailed standalone section on absence, but sets an attendance target as part of its engagement framework.

The government aims to:

• Increase attendance by 1.3 percentage points by 2028/29
• Raise attendance above 94%

ABA commentary

School absence is a major driver of disengagement, and bullying is a significant cause of persistent absence. This link is not acknowledged in the White Paper.

Other announcements relevant to anti bullying work

Teacher training and retention

The government commits to:

• 6,500 more expert teachers
• A new Teacher Training Entitlement
• A teacher retention programme from Autumn 2026

ABA commentary: Anti-bullying training is not mandatory in initial teacher training or ongoing CPD. ABA believes all teachers should receive anti-bullying training, and that all school staff should have access to training as part of induction and ongoing professional development.

School complaints

The government will:

• Introduce a new digital complaints system
• Set clearer expectations and timeframes
• Strengthen the independence of complaints panels

ABA commentary: We welcome these reforms and want to ensure the complaints system is equipped to handle bullying related complaints effectively, with access to specialist training and guidance.

Reintegration after exclusion

The government will introduce Reintegration Support Partnerships following exclusions. 

ABA commentary: This should be supported by staff with appropriate training and understanding of bullying where relevant.

Attendance and Behaviour Hubs

The government will roll out RISE Attendance and Behaviour Hubs with structured training. 

ABA commentary: We welcome this but believe hubs must include embedded anti bullying expertise, reflecting the strong links between bullying, behaviour and persistent absence.

Conclusion and next steps

The Schools White Paper sets out an ambitious vision for education reform that rightly prioritises belonging, inclusion and behaviour. It also signals long-planned reform to SEND support, with substantial investment and a consultation process now underway. 

However, bullying remains under-recognised in this vision, despite being deeply connected to engagement, attendance, behaviour, peer relationships, wellbeing and the success of children with SEND. We urge Government to work with schools, families and the anti-bullying sector to ensure:

• Bullying is central to the engagement, belonging and behaviour frameworks being developed
• SEND reforms explicitly consider and mitigate bullying risks for pupils with additional needs
• Online and offline bullying is addressed coherently across policy, curriculum and school practice
• Teacher training includes evidence-based anti-bullying and relational practice as a core component

We look forward to engaging in the consultation and shaping policies that ensure every child belongs, feels safe and thrives at school.