Skip to main navigation Skip to main content
Home

Search

  • Donate
  • News
  • Shop
  • About ABA
    • About ABA
    • Our Members
      • Core Members
      • School and College Members
      • Associate Members
    • United Against Bullying (UAB) Programme
    • Our Other Programmes
      • All Different, All Equal Project
      • Anti-Bullying in Wales
      • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Anti-Bullying Project
      • Racist and Faith Targeted Bullying Group
      • Young Anti-Bullying Alliance (YABA)
      • Our previous programmes
        • All Together: Whole School Programme
        • Learn Equality, Live Equal
    • Our Advisory Group
    • Our Patrons
    • Our Staff Team
    • News & opinion
    • Policy Work
      • ABA Policy Recommendations

    ABA & Our Work

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

    More
    • About ABA
    • Our Members
    • United Against Bullying (UAB) Programme
    • Our Other Programmes
    • Our Advisory Group
    • Our Patrons
    • Our Staff Team
    • News & opinion
    • Policy Work
    Featured

    Our Patrons

  • Tools & information
    • Free CPD online training
      • Online training FAQ
    • All about bullying
      • A whole-school and setting approach
        • Ten key principles
        • Top tips for teachers
        • Anti-Bullying Policies
        • Exclusions and bullying
        • Home to school transport
        • Peer support strategies
          • What are peer support schemes?
          • Bystanders
          • More peer support tools and resources
            • Change Starts With Us: Creating solutions with young people
            • Examples of peer support schemes
            • Top tips to help you with your peer support scheme
        • The Curriculum
        • What is a whole-school or setting approach?
        • A United Approach
          • Primary School
          • Secondary School Page
      • What is bullying?
        • The ABA definition
        • Baiting
        • Banter
        • Tools about the definition of bullying
        • False friendships
      • At risk groups
        • Racist and faith-targeted bullying
          • Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Targeted Bullying
          • Prevalence
          • Top tips for schools
          • What does the Law say?
        • Looked after children and bullying
          • Bullying and care-experienced young people
          • What can schools and other settings do to support looked after children?
        • SEN & Disability
          • Autism and bullying
          • Deaf children and bullying
          • Disablism in class
          • Do children with SEND experience more bullying?
          • Online bullying and SEN/disability
          • Peer schemes and SEN/disability
          • Teaching assistants and bullying
          • The local offer and bullying
        • Young carers and bullying
          • What can schools and settings do to help young carers?
          • Young carers and bullying
        • Appearance-related bullying
        • Identity-based bullying
        • Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying
      • Bullying and the Law
        • Online bullying and the law
        • Hate crime and bullying
        • Bullying and Ofsted
        • Anti-Bullying Policies
        • What does the law say about bullying?
      • Early years
      • GPs and Health Staff
      • Mental Health
      • Online bullying
        • Teaching about online bullying
        • What is online bullying?
        • Understanding online bullying
          • Online Bullying: Information for parents
          • Online peer support schemes
          • Stop Speak Support Anti-Cyberbullying Day
        • Online bullying and SEN/disability
        • Stop Speak Support - focus on online bullying
          • Stop Speak Support - School Pack
          • What was Stop Speak Support Anti-Cyberbullying Day?
      • Prevalence and Impact
        • Focus on: Bullying
        • Prevalence of bullying
        • Developing bullying surveys or questionnaires
        • Prevalence of online bullying
        • The impact of bullying
        • Change Starts With Us: Anti-Bullying Report
      • Preventing bullying
        • 10 Key Principles
        • Celebrating difference in schools
          • Celebrating difference - top tips
          • Primary School Pack
          • Resources from our members
          • Secondary School Pack
        • Encouraging pupils to 'Choose Respect'
          • Resources from our members
          • Primary School Pack
          • Secondary School Pack
        • Promoting Kindness in Scools
          • BBC Teach Lesson for Anti-Bullying Week 2021
          • Kick around kindness - Premier League classroom resources
          • Primary School Pack
          • Secondary School Pack
          • Ysgolion yng Nghymru / Schools in Wales
            • Pecyn Ysgolion Cynradd / Primary School Pack - Wales
            • Pecyn Ysgolion Uwchradd / Secondary School Pack - Wales
        • SEAL Resources
        • Using books and film to prevent bullying
      • Reporting and recording bullying
        • Reporting and recording bullying
        • Using data to change school culture
        • Recording bullying - effective practice
      • Responding to bullying
        • A social model approach
        • ABA’s 3-step Response to Bullying framework
        • Circle Time
        • Non-sanction based approaches
        • Children who bully
          • How many children bully and what do we know about them?
          • Supporting children who bully others
          • Working with parents and carers of children who are displaying bullying behaviour
        • Restorative practice
          • Restorative practice - dispelling the myths
          • Restorative practice and choosing respect
          • What is restorative practice?
      • Sexual and sexist bullying
        • What is sexual bullying?
        • Investigating and responding to sexual bullying
        • Preventing sexual bullying
      • Working with parents and carers
    • Advice and support
      • If you're being bullied
        • I am being bullied
        • Find help and support
      • Advice for parents
        • Restorative Thinking and Positive Relationships: preventing and managing conflict
        • Sources of information, advice and support
        • My child has been accused of bullying others
        • How can I help my child if they are being bullied?
        • Spotting the signs that my child is being bullied?
        • I'm worried about cyberbullying
      • 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

    Tools & information

    More
    • Free CPD online training
    • All about bullying
    • Advice and support
    Featured

    Free CPD online training

    Featured

    Prevalence and impact of bullying

  • Anti-Bullying Week
    • Anti-Bullying Week: Reach Out
    • Odd Socks Day
      • What is Odd Socks Day?
      • Odd Socks Day School Pack
      • Hold Odd Socks Day in your workplace
      • Andy and the Odd Socks
      • Odd Socks Days gone by...
    • Pledge your support
    • Get involved on social media!
    • School Staff Award
    • Anti-Bullying Week Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Weeks gone by...
      • Anti-Bullying Week 2021: One Kind Word
      • 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

    ABA are official organisers of Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day. Anti-Bullying Week 2022 will take place from Monday 14th - Friday 18th November with the theme Reach Out.

    More
    • Anti-Bullying Week: Reach Out
    • Odd Socks Day
    • Pledge your support
    • Get involved on social media!
    • School Staff Award
    • Anti-Bullying Week Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Weeks gone by...
    Featured

    Odd Socks Day

    Featured

    Pledge your support

  • Get Involved
    • ABA Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Email Newsletter
    • Become a Member of ABA
    • Business Partnerships
      • Restorative Thinking
      • Schnell Solutions
      • Sprint Education
    • Donate
    • Fundraise
    • Contact us

    Get Involved

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

    More
    • ABA Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Email Newsletter
    • Become a Member of ABA
    • Business Partnerships
    • Donate
    • Fundraise
    • Contact us
    Featured

    Become a Member of ABA

    Featured

    Donate

Bullying and Ofsted

Preventing and responding appropriately to bullying is a key component of school inspections.

The Education Inspection Framework sets out how Ofsted will inspect state schools, further education and skills providers, non-association independent schools and registered early years settings in England.

In early 2019, Ofsted conducted a consultation on its new Inspect Framework. ABA fed into this and Ofsted responded with the following statements: 

The Anti-Bullying Alliance, facilitated by the NCB, suggested that some of the grade descriptors in the draft handbooks about the absence of bullying could simply encourage providers to hide or fail to report it...

…It was not our intention that some of the grade descriptors included in the draft handbooks about the absence of bullying may simply encourage providers to hide or fail to report it. We have reviewed the relevant criteria carefully and now believe that the concern raised about this may be justified. We have therefore amended the criteria relating to bullying.

The updated criteria place the emphasis on whether or not providers tolerate bullying, harassment, violence, derogatory language and discriminatory behaviour and, crucially, how swiftly and effectively they take action if these issues occur.

Ofsted

In reply to ABA's consultation response

As a result they have changed the framework and handbooks to reflect this. It is important that schools can evidence their anti-bullying policies and interventions. Along with the new Framework, Ofsted also published its individual handbooks for:

  • maintained schools and academies

  • further education and skills

  • non-association independent schools

  • registered early years settings

ABA Advisory Group member Mark Holliday from Wandsworth Borough Council has compiled a breakdown of all the elements of the updated 2021 Inspection Handbook for maintained schools and academies that reference bullying so schools are able to prepare for these elements:

 

Information that schools must provide by 8am on the day of inspection

82. The inspection support administrator will also send the school a note requesting that the following information is available to inspectors by 8am the next day, at the formal start of the inspection:

  • records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudiced behaviour, either directly or indirectly, including racist, sexist, disability and homophobic/biphobic/transphobic bullying, use of derogatory language and racist incidents.

Pupil and staff questionnaires

105. Inspectors have a duty to pass on disclosures that raise child protection or safeguarding issues and/or when there are concerns about serious misconduct, bullying of staff or criminal activity.

Talking to and observing pupils outside lessons

132. During informal conversations with pupils, inspectors must ask them about their experiences of teaching, learning and behaviour in the school, including the prevention of bullying and how the school deals with any form of harassment and violence, discrimination and prejudiced behaviour, if they happen.

Behaviour and attitudes

228. The judgement focuses on the factors that research and inspection evidence indicate contribute most strongly to pupils’ positive behaviour and attitudes (see HMCI’s commentary on curriculum and the education inspection framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hmci-commentary-curriculum-and-the-new-education-inspection-framework), thereby giving them the greatest possible opportunity to achieve positive outcomes. These factors (include):

  • an environment in which pupils feel safe, and in which bullying, discrimination and peer-on-peer abuse – online or offline – are not accepted and are dealt with quickly, consistently and effectively whenever they occur.

Sources of evidence specific to behaviour and attitudes

238. The pupil and staff surveys used in inspection contain questions about safeguarding, behaviour and discipline, bullying, how respondents feel about the school and how well supported and respected they feel they are in the school. Inspectors will meet school leaders to account for the results of the interviews and surveys of pupils and staff.

Grade descriptors for behaviour and attitudes

240. In order for behaviour and attitudes to be judged outstanding, it must meet all of the good criteria securely and consistently and it must also meet the additional outstanding criteria (including):

  • Pupils behave with consistently high levels of respect for others. They play a highly positive role in creating a school environment in which commonalities are identified and celebrated, difference is valued and nurtured, and bullying, harassment and violence are never tolerated.

241. In order to judge whether a school is good or requires improvement, inspectors will use a ‘best fit’ approach, relying on the professional judgement of the inspection team (including):

  • Leaders, staff and pupils create a positive environment in which bullying is not tolerated. If bullying, aggression, discrimination and derogatory language occur, they are dealt with quickly and effectively and are not allowed to spread.

Behaviour and attitudes are likely to be inadequate if any one of the following applies (including):

  • Incidents of bullying or prejudiced and discriminatory behaviour, both direct and indirect, are frequent. Pupils have little confidence in the school’s ability to tackle harassment, bullying, violence and/or discriminatory behaviour successfully.

Safeguarding

301. The following are examples of what ineffective safeguarding might include:

  • Incidents of bullying or prejudiced and discriminatory behaviour are common.
  • Leaders protect staff from bullying and harassment.

Grade descriptors for leadership and management

315. In order to judge whether a school is good or requires improvement, inspectors will use a ‘best fit’ approach, relying on the professional judgement of the inspection team (including that):

  • Leaders protect staff from bullying and harassment.

Education Inspection Framework

Ofsted School Inspection Handbook 2021

External Resources

School inspection handbook: Maintained schools and academies

Ofsted

Further education and skills inspection handbook

Ofsted

Independent schools inspection handbook

Ofsted

Early years inspection handbook

Ofsted

Tools & information

  • Free CPD online training
  • All about bullying
    • A whole-school and setting approach
    • What is bullying?
    • At risk groups
    • Bullying and the Law
      • Online bullying and the law
      • Hate crime and bullying
      • Bullying and Ofsted
      • Anti-Bullying Policies
      • What does the law say about bullying?
    • Early years
    • GPs and Health Staff
    • Mental Health
    • Online bullying
    • Prevalence and Impact
    • Preventing bullying
    • Reporting and recording bullying
    • Responding to bullying
    • Sexual and sexist bullying
    • Working with parents and carers
  • Advice and support

Share

  • Share on facebook
  • Tweet this
  • Share linkedin
  • Email
Back to top
Home

Sign up to our newsletter

  • About ABA
    • About ABA
    • Our Members
    • United Against Bullying (UAB) Programme
    • Our Other Programmes
    • Our Advisory Group
    • Our Patrons
    • Our Staff Team
    • News & opinion
    • Policy Work
  • Tools & information
    • Free CPD online training
    • All about bullying
    • Advice and support
  • Anti-Bullying Week
    • Anti-Bullying Week: Reach Out
    • Odd Socks Day
    • Pledge your support
    • Get involved on social media!
    • School Staff Award
    • Anti-Bullying Week Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Weeks gone by...
  • Get Involved
    • ABA Merchandise
    • Anti-Bullying Email Newsletter
    • Become a Member of ABA
    • Business Partnerships
    • Donate
    • Fundraise
    • Contact us

Meet the NCB family : United for better childhood

  • NCB Home

  • CDC Home

  • CBN Home

  • ABA Home

  • SWP Home

© National Children's Bureau 2022

  • linkedin
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • youtube
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy statement
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • Suppliers area
  • Contact us

Registered charity No. 258825. Registered in England and Wales No. 952717.

Registered office: National Children’s Bureau, 23 Mentmore Terrace, Hackney, London E8 3PN. A Company Limited by Guarantee.

Site by Effusion