UK Agency Published Anti-Bullying Strategies 2025

Four Nations

How the UK Addresses School Bullying

Since CURB’s 2020 Update — What’s Changed?

 

Wales

 Statutory Guidance - May 2025

 

Rights, Respect, Equality is now the official anti‑bullying framework for all schools and educational settings in Wales. This is confirmed by the Welsh Government’s statutory guidance consultation and documentation.

This includes:

  • Legal obligation for schools and local authorities to follow the guidance
  • Applies to maintained and non‑maintained schools, Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), independent schools, and special schools
  • Emphasises safeguarding, emotional wellbeing, and inclusive practice
  • Requires schools to have accessible versions of their anti‑bullying policies for children and young people
  • This guidance is enforceable and must be followed

Children’s Commissioner for Wales — Accessibility Update (June 2025)

 

In June 2025, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales launched a new child‑friendly booklet designed to help pupils understand their school’s anti‑bullying policy.

This initiative encourages all schools to create accessible versions of their policies — ensuring children and young people can read, understand, and engage with the protections meant to safeguard them.

 

CURB welcomes this development and threads it into our ongoing accessibility advocacy.

 

Clarity, formatting, and emotional legibility are essential — especially for children navigating complex systems or facing barriers to understanding.

 

CURB continues to adapt all guidance and documentation to ensure:

  • Plain‑language synthesis
  • Visual formatting that supports screen readers
  • Emotional clarity for children and families under stress

We believe every child deserves to understand the protections available to them — not just in theory, but in practice.

 

For more information, visit:

Welsh Government

 https://gov.wales

 

Anti‑Bullying Alliance

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk /anti-b

 

Children’s Commissioner for Wales

https://www.childcomwales.org.uk 

 

 

England

 Statutory Guidance & Policy Recommendations (2025)

 

England does not have a dedicated anti‑bullying Act.

 

Instead, schools follow DfE statutory guidance, supported by national recommendations from the Anti‑Bullying Alliance and the Children’s Commissioner for England.

 

Anti‑Bullying Alliance — National Recommendations (2025)

 

The Anti‑Bullying Alliance issued a set of nine national recommendations, but these are not yet law. They include:

  • Mandatory anti‑bullying training in Initial Teacher Training
  • CPD for all school staff, including transport and lunchtime supervisors
  • Training for Ofsted inspectors and professionals in CAMHS, youth services, and social care
  • Emphasis on mental health, accountability, and evidence‑based practice

These recommendations reflect growing pressure for reform — but they remain advisory, not statutory.

 

Children’s Commissioner for England

Safeguarding & Anti‑Bullying Advocacy (2025)

 

In May 2025, the Children’s Commissioner for England issued a formal briefing in support of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill — a proposed law aimed at safeguarding vulnerable children and improving school systems nationwide.

 

Key priorities include:

  • Legal protections for children at risk of harm, including those in care or living away from home
  • A unique identifying number for every child, to prevent children being lost in the system
  • A national register of children not in school, ensuring no child is hidden from public services
  • Stronger safeguards for children in illegal homes or facing deprivation of liberty
  • Clearer protections from assault, removing ambiguity around acceptable levels of violence

The Commissioner also called for:

  • Better support for children with complex needs, including disabilities and learning challenges
  • Stronger accountability for services that fail to protect children — especially in cases of bullying, grooming, or neglect

These priorities align closely with CURB’s advocacy, particularly around emotional safety, documentation, and systemic reform.

 

For more information, visit: 

 

Childrens Commissioner for England       https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk

 

Anti‑Bullying Alliance

https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

 

UK Government (gov.uk)

https://www.gov.uk

 

 

Scotland

Respect for All (National Approach)

 

Respect for All is Scotland’s national anti‑bullying framework. It applies to all adults working with children and young people across education and youth settings.

 

Key Features:

  • Instrument: Respect for All — national guidance linked to the wider legal framework (Equality Act, UNCRC, GIRFEC).
  • Status: National guidance (not a dedicated Act), but widely implemented across schools and services.
  • Definition of bullying: Behaviour — face‑to‑face or online — that impacts a child’s physical or emotional safety.
  • Importantly: Bullying does not need to be repeated or intentional to be recognised

Actions Required

  • Schools must have clear anti‑bullying policies developed with children, young people, and parents.
  • Policies must cover prevention, response, and the recording and monitoring of bullying incidents.

Strong emphasis on:

  • prejudice‑based bullying
  • trauma‑informed practice
  • online harm
  • intersectionality

Support and Implementation:

 

Scotland is supported by respectme, the national anti‑bullying service, which provides:

  • policy support
  • training
  • implementation guidance

Summary

 

Scotland has one of the most comprehensive national approaches in the UK, with strong guidance and specialist support.

 

However, it does not have a single dedicated anti‑bullying Act.

 

For more information, visit:

 

Respect for All (Scottish Government)

https://www.gov.scot

 

respectme (Scotland’s Anti‑Bullying Service):

https://respectme.org.uk

 

Relevance to anti‑bullying

 

While Scotland’s national anti‑bullying framework (Respect for All) is led by the Scottish Government and supported by respectme, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland plays a crucial rights‑based role.

 

The Commissioner:

  • Monitors how children’s rights are upheld in schools
  • Highlights failures in protection, including bullying and discrimination
  • Publishes rights‑based guidance that strengthens the framework
  • Amplifies children’s voices when systems fail them

They are not the implementers of anti‑bullying policy — but they are a rights‑based watchdog who can hold systems to account.

 

Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS)

 

Scotland’s independent rights watchdog, promoting and protecting children’s rights under the UNCRC.

 

For more information:

https://www.cypcs.org.uk

 

Northern Ireland

Addressing Bullying in Schools Act 2016

 

The Strongest Anti–Bullying Statutory Framework in the UK

 

Northern Ireland is the only UK nation with a dedicated anti‑bullying Act, giving it the strongest statutory framework of all four nations.

 

Instrument

  • Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Legal Duties

  • Status: Primary legislation that came into operation on 1 September 2021
  • Provides a common legal definition of bullying
  • Requires schools to record all bullying incidents, including:
    • motivation
    • method
    • actions taken
    • outcomes
  • Places a statutory duty on the Board of Governors to:
    • develop
    • implement
    • monitor
    • the school’s anti‑bullying policy

Support and Implementation

 

The Education Authority operates a specialist Addressing Bullying in Schools Implementation Team (ABSIT) to support schools with:

  • training
  • policy implementation
  • consistent application of the Act

Summary

 

Northern Ireland has the strongest statutory spine in the UK because it is the only nation with:

  • a dedicated anti‑bullying law
  • mandatory recording requirements
  • a statutory governance duty
  • and a national implementation team supporting schools

For more information, visit:

Department of Education Northern Ireland

https://www.education-ni.gov.uk

 

Education Authority NI (ABSIT)

https://www.eani.org.uk

 

Relevance to Anti‑Bullying

 

While Northern Ireland’s anti‑bullying framework is led by the Department of Education and supported by the Education Authority’s ABSIT team, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) plays a crucial rights‑based role.

 

The Commissioner:

  • Monitors how children’s rights are upheld in schools
  • Highlights failures in protection, including bullying and discrimination
  • Publishes rights‑based guidance that strengthens the statutory framework
  • Amplifies children’s voices when systems fail them

They are not the implementers of anti‑bullying policy — but they are a rights‑based watchdog who can hold systems to account.

 

Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)

Northern Ireland’s independent rights watchdog, promoting and protecting children’s rights under the UNCRC.

 

For more information visit:

 

https://www.niccy.org

 

 

Comparison at a Glance (2025)

 

Northern Ireland — strongest statutory framework (dedicated Act, mandatory recording, Board of Governors duty)

 

Scotland — most comprehensive national guidance (trauma‑aware, prejudice‑based, online harm)

 

Wales — statutory, rights‑based, accessibility‑focused

 

England — statutory guidance only, no dedicated anti‑bullying law

 

 

Abbreviation Key (Four Nations)

 

CAMHS – Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

 

CPD – Continuing Professional Development

 

PRUs – Pupil Referral Units

 

ABSIT – Addressing Bullying in Schools Implementation Team (Northern Ireland)

 

GIRFEC – Getting It Right For Every Child (Scotland)

 

ASN – Additional Support Needs (Scotland)

 

UNCRC – United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

 

Note: The UNCRC is:

  • Ratified by the UK as a whole
  • Recognised across Wales, England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
  • Referenced in safeguarding, education, and anti‑bullying frameworks in every nation
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