School Bullying (Hansard, 18 April 1996)

§ The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Lord Henley)
My Lords, The Government continue to give priority to action against bullying. We have commissioned a survey to find out how schools have used the anti-bullying pack which the Department for Education published in 1994 and the effect it has had on reducing the incidence of bullying. In addition, the Home Office published last December the report Preventing School Bullying, which to meet high demand is to be re-issued shortly.

§ Lord Ashley of Stoke
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the Government's response is welcome but wholly inadequate? Research has shown that bullying is not only very damaging and distressing to many young people but it is now endemic in Britain. No fewer than 40 per cent. of our schools have no anti-bullying policy. Therefore, my guess is that many schools do not have those packs and have not bothered to obtain them. Is it not the case that the Government's mistake is to rely upon a voluntary policy when they should require all schools to have an anti-bullying policy, to report on it and to publicise locally what they are doing?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, I am not sure on which research the noble Lord bases his evidence. If it is research conducted by the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, I accept that that research shows considerable disquiet among parents and that a number of parents are unaware of schools' anti-bullying policies. However, evidence from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector seems to indicate that most schools have an effective anti-bullying policy and most have taken note of the advice given by the Department for Education and Employment in the pack which we issued some two years ago.
Having said that, I very much welcome the advice of the NCPTA. It emphasises that there are no easy solutions to the problem of bullying and recommends that we should be honest and admit that it goes on and that a co-operative approach should be adopted by the Government, the LEAs, the schools, teachers and parents. Through pursuing such a policy, we may be able to eradicate the scourge of bullying.
The noble Lord alleges that we are being complacent. We are evaluating the effectiveness of the pack. I assure him that if the evidence suggests that it would be better to issue the pack compulsorily to all schools, I should be prepared to consider that. At present, 19,000 of the 24,000 or so schools have opted to receive the pack and we have written to all the other schools which have not received it suggesting that it is available and that they might like to acquire it.

§ Lord Annan
My Lords, is not all this talk of an anti-bullying policy merely a platitude? We are all 789 against bullying. All LEA schools are against bullying. It is very easy to talk about a policy but it is surveillance which is required. That means either that extra staff must be employed or that teachers must be required to give up what is sometimes a very well-earned break during the morning's proceedings.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, like the NCPTA, I do not believe that there is a single, simple solution to the problem. But the noble Lord is right to say that better surveillance needs to be adopted by the schools and it is for the schools to adopt the right policies to make sure that bullying is dealt with; that people are aware of it; and that there is no fear in relation to reporting incidents of bullying.

§ Lord Morris of Castle Morris
My Lords, following on the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Annan, is the Minister aware of the great admiration that we have on these Benches for the excellent report issued by the Home Office from the University of Sheffield on this subject? I declare an interest as an honorary doctor and former professor of that great university. Will the Minister inform the House what evidence has been gathered since that report on how teachers are evaluating bullying problems in their schools, because to do so teachers need time? Given the general cutback in education services, have teachers had enough time fully to implement the anti-bullying measures effectively?

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, as I made clear earlier, we are evaluating the effectiveness of the pack. We shall have to look at how teachers are managing the problem of bullying. I also give an assurance to the noble Lord that for the truancy and disaffected pupils programme, there was made available some £15 million last year and a similar figure will be made available this year. This is certainly something which we take very seriously indeed.

§ Lord Harding of Petherton
My Lords, is not the simple answer that teachers will have to be present at playtime—I understand that sometimes that is not the case—because that is when bullying takes place? As the noble Lord, Lord Annan, said, surely that is a simple answer. I do not believe that all the surveys and so on achieve anything.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, that is one simple answer, but many other issues must be addressed. It is for schools to develop the right policies within their schools to make sure that the problem is dealt with.

Viscount Tonypandy
My Lords, is the Minister not aware that overwhelmingly the teaching profession is doing its best to stamp out bullying? Any good teacher will have his eyes and ears open. But sometimes youngsters hide the fact that they are being bullied from the teachers. Perhaps I may add that the noble Lord who did so well in Sheffield was my pupil once upon a time.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, and I am sure that the noble Lord was very well taught indeed. The noble Viscount is right to draw attention to the excellent work that 790 teachers are doing. But I believe that he is right also to draw attention to the fact that the right atmosphere must be created in schools so that children who are being bullied feel able to report that bullying or so that other children who know that bullying is taking place are able to report that too.

§ Lord Ashley of Stoke
My Lords, is the Minister aware that I am as much against platitudes as the noble Lord, Lord Annan, but the fact remains that bullying is creating enormous distress to many thousands of pupils in this country? Similarly, I do not agree with my noble friend in his statement that all teachers are trying to stop bullying, because there is evidence that some teachers could not care less. It is their indifference which is creating part of the problem. I agree that there is no simple solution, but until the Government really insist that every school has an anti-bullying policy, we shall not solve the problem. It is not a simple matter; but the Government can and should do more.

§ Lord Henley
My Lords, I can agree up to a point with the noble Lord. However, I think that he overemphasises the problem. I believe that a great deal is being done and that attitudes in schools are improving and doing so quite dramatically. As I said, some 19,000 copies of the pack have gone out to schools and, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector made clear, most schools have adopted effective policies. But obviously we would want to evaluate the effectiveness of the pack and, as I assured the noble Lord, when we have evaluated it I shall consider whether we ought to go further.