Anti-Bullying Week 2025: Listening, Learning and Taking Action

This week marks Anti-Bullying Week 2025, an opportunity for schools across the country to reflect on how we can create safe, respectful and inclusive environments for every child. The theme this year, “Power for Good”, reminds us that tackling bullying is everyone’s responsibility - from pupils and teachers to parents, governors and the wider community.

Bullying, whether face-to-face or online, can have a profound and lasting impact on a child’s wellbeing, education and sense of belonging. The Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education (2025) guidance reinforces the duty of all staff to recognise and respond to bullying as a safeguarding concern. Preventing bullying requires more than responding to incidents - it demands a whole-school culture that promotes respect, empathy and inclusion at every level.

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics (2023) found that around one-third (34.9%) of children aged 10-15 experienced in-person bullying and almost one in five (19.1%) reported online bullying. Among those affected, nearly a quarter (22.7%) said the experience had a major emotional impact. Research by the University of Glasgow (2024) also found that young people who had been bullied were three and a half times more likely to experience clinically significant mental health problems by the age of 17, compared with their non-bullied peers. The Anti-Bullying Alliance (2024) and Mental Health Innovations (2024) highlight that one in four young people are currently affected by bullying and 77% have been bullied at some point in their lives - highlighting the significant mental health and wellbeing implications for children and young people.

As safeguarding professionals, we know that effective anti-bullying practice sits at the heart of both safeguarding and mental health provision. Schools that invest in building emotionally literate communities - where pupils feel heard, trusted and supported - are better equipped to prevent harm and promote resilience.

Practical steps schools can take include:

• Reinforcing reporting systems so that children know how to seek help and trust that concerns will be taken seriously.

• Engaging parents and carers to ensure messages about respect, empathy and digital responsibility are consistent at home and in school.

• Empowering bystanders to speak up and support peers, recognising that silence can perpetuate harm.

• Investing in staff training so that all adults understand the links between bullying, trauma and mental health, and can intervene early with confidence and care.

  
  

Anti-Bullying Week is not just a calendar event - it is a reminder of our shared commitment to ensuring that all children feel safe, valued and able to thrive.