Prevalence in Schools: According to recent Department for Education (DfE) National Behaviour Survey data, 21% of secondary school pupils reported experiencing bullying within the past 12 months. Rates peak in Key Stage 3 (25%) before tapering off in Key Stage 4 (19%) and Key Stage 5 (11%).
The Silence Gap: Over 21% of young people who experience bullying tell no one. Key reasons preventing them from reporting incidents include a fear of making things worse (75%), feeling embarrassed (62%), or believing "nothing will change" (59%)
Key reasons: Appearance remains the single most common reason pupils report being targeted (44%), followed by Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (14%), sexual orientation (10%), race or ethnicity (9%), sex (8%), nationality (5%) and their religion or belief (4%). Just under a quarter (24%) said they did not know the reason for the bullying.
Group Chat Escalation: Bullying Statistics 2026: Insights from 1,000+ UK Students reports that while 89% of bullying relates to in-person school environments, online harassment is rife in messaging apps like Snapchat (50.5%) and WhatsApp (45.9%). Issues that begin in private group chats frequently cross over into the playground and corridors.
AI & Unauthorised Content Sharing: Nearly 18% of affected students report having non-consensual images or videos shared. The rise of AI image-editing tools has made deepfake harassment and digital impersonation an urgent focus for safeguarding leads.
The "Break the Silence" theme provides some great opportunities for your school community to get involved and directly target the reporting barrier. Here are some tips, strategies and resources to help create a culture where pupils feel safe and confident that they will be supported:
Culture - what does a positive school culture look like where all children are encouraged to treat each other respectfully, have a strong sense of belonging and are courageous to speak out? What are the key ingredients for this, and to what extent do you nurture and provide these? Are any individuals or groups struggling with this, and how can we approach them with curiosity and ambition? Helping children to understand and practice empathy and conflict resolution can significantly help. If children don't feel confident to speak to staff about something small, they are unlikely to feel emotionally safe when disclosing harm.
Review your Reporting Channels - if pupils believe reporting won't change anything, we need to rebuild that trust. What mechanisms for pupil reporting do you have? Are these accessible to all pupils (consider the age, literacy levels, language barriers and SEND needs of children)? Examine your anonymous reporting pathways (e.g., physical worry boxes, digital reporting apps, or designated email addresses). Do we remind pupils of these? Do all staff, including teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors and admin teams, know the exact protocol when a student discloses an issue?
Run a Staff CPD - this could be a twilight or briefing to remind staff about the non-physical signs, such as sudden drops in attendance, withdrawal during group tasks, or anxiety around break times. Because bullying can also be dismissed as 'banter', this is a good opportunity to reinforce clear lines on when humour crosses into targeted harassment, particularly around protected characteristics (linking directly to the inclusion of prejudice based abuse in KCSIE 2026).
Bullying CPD Spotlight: |
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'Do we take the small things seriously?' Why not use this 5-minute Spotlight CPD video at your next staff briefing to discuss consent, sharing images and taking things seriously before they intensify into bullying? The whole session will take less than 5 minutes, including discussion time. |
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Involve Student Voice - this is a good opportunity to carry out a school-wide survey on how safe your pupils feel at school. Why not encourage your school council or anti-bullying ambassadors to design assemblies or run a school poster or poetry competition around the "Break the Silence" message. Peer support drop-ins are also a great way to build pupil skills and resilience. But work around this theme shouldn't be a once a year tick box.
Assess your Curriculum - you can find a selection of posters, story-time resources, assembly ideas and age-appropriate curriculum resources at bullying.lgfl.net. Additional support and resources are also available at the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
Engage Parents and Carers - parents play a vital role in keeping their children safe. Have you provided clear, accessible guidance on how they can spot signs of bullying online and how to report out-of-school incidents? Consider sending out a parent newsletter and signposting them to the bullying section of parentsafe.lgfl.net for a parent guide to bullying, guidance on the realities of group chats and exclusion bullying, tips on supporting their mental health and wellbeing, as well as how to report online bullying and abusive behaviour. You can also find helpful advice and conversation starters in our new Parent Online Safety Toolkit, which includes a ready-to-use slide pack you can deliver to parents.