We urgently need your help to get bullying high up on the agenda of the future Prime Minister. Please add your name to this open letter to the future Prime Minister, whoever they may be. We will deliver the final letter to 10 Downing Street following the General Election that is taking place on 4 July.
Please join us and many others in calling on the future Prime Minister to act decisively to establish the structures, mechanisms, and legislative framework necessary for real and lasting change to reduce childhood bullying.
Open Letter:
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London, SW1A 2AA
Dear [Future] Prime Minister,
It is a heartbreaking reality that over 1 in five children and young people report being bullied each year.[1] This pervasive issue not only disrupts their childhoods, mental health, and education, but its repercussions can persist well into adulthood. Our estimates suggest that approximately £11bn[2] per year is spent addressing the impacts of bullying. Bullied children are significantly more likely to suffer from mental health problems, miss school, and achieve fewer academic qualifications. The effects are even more pronounced among children with SEND, young carers, care-experienced young people, and other at-risk groups. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Despite bullying being in the top three reasons children contact Childline, there are currently no requirements in place for teacher training to cover even the basics of bullying, let alone how to prevent and respond to it. Moreover, schools are not required to record instances of bullying.
Government funding for anti-bullying programmes and training ended in April, and teachers report a lack of resources and support. As a result, Ofsted data shows that over 40% of parents of bullied children believe their child's school did not handle the issue effectively or promptly.[3]
The widespread lack of formal support and training for schools, coupled with insufficient accountability, parental support, and data, has left schools and youth settings struggling. They are in desperate need of effective practices that we know exist.
We urge you to act decisively to establish the structures, mechanisms, and legislative framework necessary for real and lasting change to reduce childhood bullying. Your government now has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the lives of millions of young people. Below are our priorities for the coming Parliament – together, they offer a blueprint for your government to take significant steps over the next five years toward making the UK a society where children can learn and thrive free from bullying:
- Incorporate anti-bullying practices into initial teacher training.
- Provide CPD anti-bullying training and whole-school approaches to schools across England.
- Broaden the role of mental health leads in schools to ensure they oversee school anti-bullying strategies.
- Require schools to maintain records of bullying incidents (as has recently been introduced in Northern Ireland) to inform their practices and contribute to a national data picture.
We urge you to seize this moment and enact these crucial changes. Together, we can create a future where every child feels safe, supported, and free from the fear of bullying. The time for action is now.
The Anti-Bullying Alliance would be very happy to have a further discussion with you and your team, as we are eager to collaborate with you to make these vital changes a reality.
[1] Online bullying in England and Wales: year ending March 2020 - Office of National Statistics -https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/onlinebullyinginenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2020
[2] ABA have extrapolated from: ‘https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/87914/1/Evans-Lacko_Childhood%20Bullying_Accepted.pdf’ research
[3] Parent View management information: as at 1 January 2024