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    ABA & Our Work

    The Anti-Bullying Alliance is a coalition of organisations and individuals that are united against bullying.

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    United Against Bullying (UAB) Programme

  • Tools & information
    • What is bullying?
      • The ABA definition
      • Bullying as a group behaviour
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      • Banter
        • Understanding Banter
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        • What is a whole-school or setting approach?
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          • Change Starts With Us: Creating solutions with young people
      • At-risk groups
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          • Prevalence
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          • Bullying and care-experienced young people: Prevalence and experience
          • What can schools and other settings do to support looked after children?
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          • What can schools and settings do to help young carers?
        • Identity-based bullying
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        • What is online bullying?
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      • Prevalence and Impact
        • Focus on: Bullying
        • Prevalence of bullying
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            • Pecyn Ysgolion Cynradd (2024) / Primary School Pack (2024)
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            • Diwrnod Sanau Od (2024) / Odd Socks Day (2024)
            • Rhieni a Gofalwyr / Parents and Carers
            • Primary School pack 2024 (Wales English Version)
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          • How many children bully and what do we know about them?
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          • What is restorative practice?
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        • What is sexual and sexist bullying?
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        • Sources of information, advice and support
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        • Spotting the signs that my child is being bullied?
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      • Making a complaint about bullying
      • Were you bullied as a child? Or are you being bullied at work?
      • Interactive anti-bullying information tool for parents and carers
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    Tools & information

    In this section, you will find links to all things bullying including the definition of bullying, research, our online CPD training and lot more about preventing, recording and responding to bullying of children and young people.

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    Free CPD online training

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    Prevalence and impact of bullying

  • Anti-Bullying Week
    • Anti-Bullying Week 2025: Power for Good
    • Odd Socks Day
      • What is Odd Socks Day?
      • Hold Odd Socks Day in your workplace
      • Andy and the Odd Socks
      • Odd Socks Days gone by...
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    • Previous years
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2024: Choose Respect
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2023: Make A Noise About Bullying
        • Secondary School Pack
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        • Ysgolion yng Nghymru / Schools in Wales
          • Pecyn Ysgolion Cynradd [2023] / Primary School Pack (2023)
          • Pecyn Ysgolion Uwchradd (2023) / Secondary School Pack (2023)
          • Diwrnod Sanau Od (2023) / Odd Socks Day (2023)
        • BBC Teach Lesson
        • Twinkl and ABA resources
        • VotesforSchools Resources for Anti-Bullying Week 2023
        • Get involved on social media
        • Make a noise about bullying - The Premier League classroom resources
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2022: Reach Out
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      • Anti-Bullying Week 2020: United Against Bullying
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2019: Change Starts With Us
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2018: Choose Respect
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2017: All Different, All Equal
      • Anti-Bulling Week 2016: Power for Good
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2015: Make a Noise about bullying
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2014: Let's stop bullying for all
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2013: The future is ours: safe, fun and connected
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2012: We're better without bullying

    Anti-Bullying Week

    The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) is the official organiser of Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Anti-Bullying Week 2025 will take place from 10th to 14th November, with the theme: Power for Good.

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    Odd Socks Day

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    Get Involved

    Our purpose at ABA is to unite against bullying. Please get involved - in any way you can - to support us.

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Bullying and care-experienced young people: Prevalence and experience

Care-experienced young people (looked after children and those who have been in care) are among the groups who are most vulnerable to bullying. This page explores the experiences of these young people.

Two young people reading

Challenges that may face looked after children are: 

  • several placements 
  • having to adapt to new situations/people repeatedly 
  • losing contact with friends and often extended members of family 
  • an increased risk of psychiatric disorders (McCann, J., A., Wilson, S and Dunn, C. (1996) Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young people in the care system) 

Prevalence of bullying among looked after children:

Children in care report: 

  • Twice the level of bullying than other children in primary years (see Safe To Play 2008) - 38% vs 19%
  • Four times the level of bullying than other children in secondary years (see Safe To Play 2008) - 36% vs 9% 

Children who are looked after and living away from home are particularly vulnerable (Smith, P.K. (2008) ABA Briefing Bullying Among Looked After Children) and may face discrimination from other children at school and in the community, simply because they are looked after (Safe To Play 2008) 

There is strong evidence to suggest that the corellation between looked after children and bullying increases with age. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) survey found that looked after children aged 14 years were 1.56 times more likely to be bullied than those who had not been in care, 1.72 times more likely to be bullied at age 15 and 1.75 times more likely to be bullied at age 16 (National Centre for Social Research, 2010). 

Research has also shown that a high proportion of looked after children report being bullied in school. In 2003, a report by the Social Exclusion Unit stated that 60% of the looked after children who were consulted during the study reported being bullied at school, compared with just 10% of all pupils.

Download our 'Literature search: Bullying and Looked After Children' here.

Student discussion in front of a laptop.

Experiences of bullying among looked after children:

According to Rao & Simkiss (2007), looked after children are a vulnerable group who were found to experience many of the same types of bullying as other children including verbal abuse, physical abuse and racism. 

Many looked after children report being in care as the reason for being bullied, stating:

People can bully you about being in care...

[We] get called horrible names.

Care-experienced young person

Ofsted (2009)

When compared to children who have not been in care, research has also shown that looked after children were more likely to have been continuously bullied between the ages of 14-16 years (National Centre for Social Research, 2010).

Looked after children have reported that sometimes being treated differently by teachers can contribute to bullying. 

Teachers sometimes label you - like if you have an older sibling who was a trouble-maker or if you have got into one little fight - and these labels stick for life. You start to believe it’s true and then act up to it.

Young person

ABA consultation with care experience young people (2018)

You don’t want to tell the teachers that you’re in care because they will treat you differently and stereotype. If the teachers label you then the other pupils all automatically think the same.

Young person

ABA consultation with care experience young people (2018)

Research also shows that care leavers are 5% less likely to have a really good friend and are almost 10% more likely to report being lonely often or always. 

It’s mostly an alone feeling like I can’t go anywhere or do anything because of the way I look and having nobody.

Care experienced young person

Coram Voice (2018)

Find out more using our free CPD online training 'Looked After Children and Bullying' here.

Resources for download

Literature search: Bullying and Looked After Children

Anti-Bullying Alliance (2018)

Bullying in schools A survey of the experience of looked after children

Rao and Simkiss, 2007

The health and well-being of children and young people who are looked after: Findings from a face-to-face survey in Glasgow

Vincent and Jopling (2018)

Who Takes Care of Education 18 months on? A follow-up study of looked after children’s perceptions of support for educational pr

Harker et al. (2003)

Comparison of substance use, subjective well-being and interpersonal relationships among young people in foster care and private

Long et al. (2017)

Exploring the care effects of multiple factors on the educational achievement of children looked after at home and away from hom

McClung and Gayle (2010)

Characteristics of bullying victims in schools

National Centre for Social Research (2010)

External Resources

Exploring online experiences, cyberbullying and wellbeing for young people look…

Developmental Child Welfare (2023)

Are bullying experiences and developmental assets associated with education out…

Children and Youth Services Review (2023)

Protecting Looked After Children from Cyber-bullying

Professor Helen Cowie

Care and prejudice: a report of children's experience by the Children's Rights …

Ofsted (2009)

Half of children in care are afraid of prejudice

Guardian (Ofsted, 2009)

Tools & information

  • What is bullying?
  • All about bullying
    • A whole-school and setting approach
    • At-risk groups
      • Children and young people who are refugees
      • Children in receipt of Free School Meals
      • Racist and faith targeted bullying
      • Looked after children and bullying
        • Bullying and care-experienced young people: Prevalence and experience
        • What can schools and other settings do to support looked after children?
      • SEN & Disability
      • Young carers and bullying
      • Identity-based bullying
      • Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying
    • Appearance targeted bullying
    • Bullying and the Law
    • Early years
    • Mental health
    • Online bullying
    • Prevalence and Impact
    • Preventing bullying
    • Reporting and recording bullying
    • Responding to bullying
    • Sexual and sexist bullying
    • Sectarian bullying behaviour
    • Working with parents and carers
  • Free CPD online training
  • Advice and support
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