In Scotland in 2017, I was asked by the then deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for education, John Swinney, to chair a working group entitled RAMBIS - Reporting and Monitoring of Bullying in Schools.
The aim was to provide guidance on the use of an electronic system for recording bullying behaviour, instead of using spreadsheets and jotters. This would have been the first national standardised reporting protocol for reporting bullying anywhere in the world.
We finished the work in 2019 and then Covid-19 hit us and it was all somewhat forgotten - a situation that to me reflects discussions about bullying in British schools in that it seems to have faded from public discourse.
Tackling bullying in schools
Of course, schools are still addressing bullying, and charitable organisations that are supporting schools in this area remain busy. But, following the pandemic, the way in which bullying is framed has evolved, with broader terms such as “pupil wellbeing,” “safeguarding concerns” and “mental health challenges” taking priority.
This means many school discussions around bullying are now done through frameworks such as social-emotional learning (SEL) and positive behaviour support (PBS), which create holistic, inclusive approaches to student welfare.
While these frameworks are valuable in addressing misconduct and improving the school environment, they often avoid labelling behaviours as “bullying”.
As a result, those behaviours we would have once described as “bullying” are now framed in terms of the wider school culture and pupil wellbeing. Some argue that this rebranding, while well-intentioned, risks downplaying the severity of bullying and making it harder to track and address the problem effectively.
In England, Ofsted has played a significant role in shaping how schools approach bullying. It’s evaluation criteria now integrate bullying within a broader framework of school culture and pupil safety, assessing how well schools promote a positive environment rather than focusing solely on specific instances of bullying.
For example, the 2023 School Inspection Handbook emphasised safeguarding, behaviour and discipline, ensuring that schools maintained a positive environment where bullying was less likely to occur rather than focusing on bullying as distinct problem.
The need for detailed records
Now, in its recent proposals for fairer education inspections, Ofsted hopes that a comprehensive evaluation of school behaviour and attitudes will provide a more nuanced understanding of how schools manage student conduct, promote positive behaviour and create an inclusive environment.
By replacing single-word inspection judgments with a detailed five-point grading scale, Ofsted hopes it can offer clearer insights into a school’s strengths and areas for improvement in fostering safe and supportive places to learn.
Organisations such as the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) have responded to these changes, emphasising the importance of schools keeping detailed records of bullying incidents, even as the terminology used to describe them evolves.
For example, in response to Ofsted’s draft guidance for inspections (2024), the ABA recognised that while an approach that integrates bullying within safeguarding and behaviour management has some benefits, the draft grade descriptors “could simply encourage providers to hide or fail to report it”.
Another factor influencing the changing discourse around bullying is the wider cultural and political debate often framed as the “war on woke”. This ideological struggle has contributed to increased polarisation of attitudes towards diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
As we have seen in the US, and in our own draft guidance on sex education, there is now a desire to steer clear of difficult or challenging topics such as gender identity, sexual orientation and race, and this disempowers teachers from tackling discrimination when it occurs.
Bullying remains
But if we want to ensure that any bullying incidents are understood and recorded as such, tackling bullying must remain a clear focal point and a measure of success, or lack thereof, in how our schools look after their students. It should not be an unintended casualty of cultural debates.
After all, the perceived decline of explicit discussions about bullying in schools is not necessarily an indication that bullying has disappeared but rather a reflection of shifting educational and policy narratives.
While the move towards holistic frameworks like SEL and PBS offers a more comprehensive approach to pupil welfare, it also risks making bullying a less visible issue.
Moving forward, we must ensure that bullying remains an identifiable and accountable issue, even as it is integrated into broader discussions of student wellbeing and safety.
Professor Ian Rivers is associate principal and executive dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde
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