Are school staff aware when students are being bullied? Points of View

A major DfE survey "Growing up in the 2020s" has found that 31% of students affected by bullying said that staff were aware, with 33% saying they were not and 36% being unsure.

The survey, conducted by UCL and the Anna Freud Centre, will follow 8000 students in England, currently aged 12 and 13, through their secondary school experience. The results reported are the first collected.

The survey also revealed that girls and students with SEND were least likely to feel a sense of belonging. Students with SEND were more likely to experience bullying, with 11% reporting daily or weekly physical bullying, and 20% reporting regular occurrences of other forms of bullying, such as exclusion from friendship groups and name-calling.

The findings also show significant statistics on lesson disruption, absence, mental health, and perceived fairness. On Points of View tonight, the panel will discuss what the survey's findings mean. Does it raise important questions about how we understand bullying in schools? What can schools do to address the issues raised by the survey?

What additional support might be needed for those who are struggling to build friendships?

Join Michael Wright, Maud Waret, Ollie Bayliss and Liz Webb for this episode of Points of View.