Guidance, advice and tips for teaching children and young people about banter and bullying
Banter or bullying? Navigating the line of acceptability - FREE toolkit for practitioners
Equipping children and young people to navigate banter
According to NatterHub's Cyberbullying Data Report 2023/24, 83% of 9-10 year olds say they find it hard to tell the difference between banter and bullying.
Since banter is controdictary in nature, it is natural that children and young people (and adults!) will get it wrong sometimes, or need help navigating the 'line of acceptability' when it comes to using banter with friends.
In partnership with Nottingham Trent University, we have developed a CPD training course and accompanying toolkit on understanding banter and bullying, which will provide you with the information and resources you need to have conversations and teach young people about navigating the complex social interaction of banter, as well as develop a culture in your school or setting where banter is a positive thing, and negative behaviours are challenged.
The toolkit includes conversation starters, assembly plans, lesson plans and other activities that you can use with children and young people all about banter and bullying.
Some tips for professionals (adapted with Chris Gibbons, Director of Inside Inclusion):
- Understanding the four elements of bullying is vital to knowing whether something is bullying: intentional, hurtful, repetitive, involves a power imbalance
- All offensive, threatening, violent and abusive language and behaviour is always unacceptable, whatever your role
- This includes any negative language or behavior in relation to / referring to a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 i.e. age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex (gender), sexual orientation
- Language and behaviour can have different meanings, in different contexts. If you’re unsure, ask what was meant
- Just because someone uses certain language to refer to themselves it doesn’t necessarily means it’s acceptable, nor does it make it ok for you to use it
- Just because you think something is banter or a joke doesn’t mean other people will
- People won’t always feel confident to speak up if they are offended by something. They might even go along with it so as not to draw attention to themselves
- Third parties might be offended, even if they’re not part of your conversation
Some suggested questions to ask young people (adapted from John Khan, Anti-Bullying Practitioner):
- What is banter?
- Can you give me some examples of banter?
- When does banter turn into bullying?
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How do we know if we cross the line?
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How might we know if we have ‘crossed a line’ with someone?
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How might they be feeling or behaving?
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Do people use the term banter to disguise bullying?
Fixers video about the difference between banter and bullying