Most students say school staff not aware of bullying

Less than a third of students who reported being bullied said school staff were aware of it, government research shows.

In the Department for Education survey, 31 per cent of affected students said staff knew about the bullying, while 33 per cent said they did not and 36 per cent were unsure whether they did.

The findings come from the Growing Up in the 2020s survey, which is carried out with University College London and the Anna Freud Centre and follows nearly 8,000 students in England through secondary school. These findings are from the first survey in the study, involving 12- and 13-year-olds.

Students with special educational needs and disabilities were more likely to experience bullying, with 11 per cent reporting physical bullying daily or weekly compared with 4 per cent of students without SEND.

Bullying and a lack of belonging

Young people with SEND were also twice as likely to report frequent bullying in other forms, such as name-calling or exclusion (20 per cent against 10 per cent).

More than a third of the students surveyed said they did not feel they belonged at school; the proportion was higher among girls, students with SEND, those with lower prior attainment and white students.

Education minister Paul Waugh said the study gave the government its “clearest picture yet of what life is like for young teenagers and what additional support is needed for those who are struggling”.

The government wants schools to help pupils “build friendships, boost confidence, reduce harmful screen use and support good mental health”, he added.

SEND absence

Among students who had been absent in the previous two months, 13 per cent of those with SEND said it was due to a lack of support for their needs at school, compared with 2 per cent of their peers.

Students with SEND were also twice as likely to cite anxiety or another mental health problem as a reason for absence (28 per cent against 14 per cent) and more likely to cite bullying (11 per cent against 4 per cent).

Disruption in every lesson

Nearly all of the students surveyed (96 per cent) reported at least some disruption in the classroom, and 17 per cent said other learners misbehaved in every lesson.

Some 24 per cent of students with SEND reported disruption in every lesson compared with 15 per cent of other learners.

Mental health

One in four students met the study’s criteria for a probable mental health disorder, with a further 14 per cent having possible difficulties.

This rose to 54 per cent among students with SEND, compared with 17 per cent among those without SEND, and to 36 per cent among students eligible for free school meals (FSM), compared with 20 per cent of their peers.

Girls were also more likely than boys to be classified as having a probable disorder (28 per cent against 23 per cent).

Professor Jess Deighton, study director and director of research at the Anna Freud Centre, said the findings showed mental health problems in the age group were “very high” and underlined the importance of prevention and early support.

Professor Emla Fitzsimons, director of UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said the findings “paint a stark picture” and add to evidence showing the importance of supporting mental wellbeing in early adolescence.

Teachers not discussing progress

More than a third of the students surveyed said none or hardly any of their teachers talked to them about how they were doing at school.

Girls were more likely than boys to report little or no discussion about their progress (38 per cent against 32 per cent).

However, 94 per cent of students said at least some teachers treated them fairly, although reports of unfair treatment were higher among those eligible for FSM and those with SEND.