Schools face new duty to report bullying to councils

Schools could be placed under a legal duty to record and report serious or recurring incidents of bullying to their local authority.

Under the plan, put out for consultation by schools minister Vernon Coaker, schools will have to include incidents of bullying and racism between pupils and abuse or bullying of staff in an annual report to councils.

This would allow local authorities to monitor and respond to cross-area trends and “to provide support and challenge to individual schools on their anti-bullying policy”, the consultation paper says.

The Department for Schools, Children and Families has also issued guidance on sexist, sexual and transphobic bullying as part of its ‘Safe to Learn’ publications. Recent research has suggested that some 48% of young people have experienced bullying in the last year.

Coaker said: “The majority of schools already record incidents of bullying. However, I want to make sure that all schools have measures in place to prevent and tackle bullying and show they are taking it seriously. Having the right information early on can be vital in dealing with problems quickly.”

The government has also launched consultations on new powers for governing bodies to use off-site alternative provision to tackle bad behaviour before exclusion becomes necessary, and on draft guidance to improve the quality of alternative provision.