§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what consideration he has given to(a) bullying in school, (b) inadequate playground supervision of children and(c) the provision of appropriate training for all staff in schools on how to handle bullying; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthHead teachers are responsible for maintaining discipline and good behaviour in schools. The Government expect them to deal firmly with bullying and to make appropriate arrangements for supervision of children and for staff training. To help them, the Department issued practical advice in the form of "Action Against Bullying" packs to all schools in England in July 1992. We are considering whether further advice would be helpful. Local education authorities have also had the opportunity to bid for support for whole-school action on bullying under the "Truancy and Disaffected Pupils" category of the Department's grants for education support and training, GEST, schemes for 1993–94 and 1994–95.