10 December 2009

The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), the national authority on anti-bullying, welcomes the announcement that the Government intends to push ahead with a duty on schools to record incidents of bullying. A consultation on the proposed duty is available to view online. 

Further we are pleased that the guidance on sexist, sexual and transphobic bullying, along with a quick guide, will now join the other elements of Safe to Learn in supporting schools to keep all children and young people safe. 

ABA and its 60 members have long argued for a duty to record, based on our unrivalled knowledge of what works in schools for children and young people. Thanks to government guidance and the support of ABA in the regions, many schools already do this voluntarily as good practice, but there are still too many schools failing to log incidents that may be part of a pattern of bullying behaviour, leaving children and young people vulnerable, and schools unable to account for their actions in response. We expect this duty to change that, and ABA will be fully supporting its members to respond to the consultation.

Christopher Cloke, Chair of ABA said:

'ABA welcomes the proposed new duty to record and report bullying incidents. In our work to support the development of sound anti-bullying policies and practice, we find that the most successful schools have proper systems in place for recording incidents. We are also pleased that the government is demonstrating its commitment to tackling the serious issues of sexual, sexist and transphobic bullying through the publication of this addition to Safe to Learn. ABA will be supporting the use of the guidance in its work with local authorities and schools.'

For any media enquiries please contact Anna Tombs on atombs@ncb.org.uk or 020 7843 6045.