RESEARCH PAPER Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons Report of the CfBT/Coventry Anti-bullying Development and Research Project Research by: Mark Rickinson, Independent Researcher Lisa Batch, Corley Centre Laura Bell, Corley Centre Viv Blinco, Coundon Court School and Community College Debbie Brundrett, President Kennedy School and Community College Bev Chapman, Finham Park School Susie Edwards, Caludon Castle School Teresa Johnson, Barr’s Hill School and Community College Alison Perkins, Foleshill Church of England Primary School Debbie Russell-Dudley, Moat House Primary School Pat Scott, Coventry City Council Janet Waters, Learning and Behaviour Support Service Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons Welcome to CfBT Education Trust CfBT Education Trust is a leading charity include the UK Department for Children, providing education services for public benefit Schools and Families (DCSF) Programme in the UK and internationally. Established 40 for Gifted and Talented Education and a years ago, CfBT Education Trust now has an nationwide teacher training programme for the annual turnover exceeding £100 million and Malaysian Ministry of Education. employs more than 2,000 staff worldwide who support educational reform, teach, advise, Other government clients include the Brunei research and train. Ministry of Education, the Abu Dhabi Education Council, aid donors such as the European Since we were founded, we have worked in Union (EU), the Department for International more than 40 countries around the world. Our Development (DfID), the World Bank, national work involves teacher and leadership training, agencies such as the Office for Standards in curriculum design and school improvement Education (Ofsted), and local authorities. services. The majority of staff provide services direct to learners in schools or through Surpluses generated by our operations projects for excluded pupils, in young offender are reinvested in educational research and institutions and in advice and guidance for development. Our new research programme young people. – Evidence for Education – will improve educational practice on the ground and widen We have worked successfully to implement access to research in the UK and overseas. reform programmes for governments throughout the world. Current examples Visit www.cfbt.com for more information. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of CfBT Education Trust. © CfBT copyright 2009 All rights reserved www.cfbt.com 2 Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons Contents Forewords 1 and 2 5 Executive summary 7 1. Introduction 9 2. Overarching strategic messages 11 Anti-bullying – building a ‘how to’ literature 11 Anti-bullying – valuing the design of interventions 11 Anti-bullying – from battery to mains 12 Behaviour professionals – harnessing the potential 12 3. Case study learning 14 Bullying – a sensitive issue and a mutating problem 14 Peer support – getting the set-up right 15 Improving lunchtimes – the importance of play 15 In-lesson bullying – is it really that bad? 16 Girls’ bullying – questioning what we know 16 4. Process learning 18 Being D&R ready 18 The contribution of D&R 18 Facilitating D&R 19 Local Authority involvement 20 5. Wider lessons 21 Appendix 1: Further information 23 www.cfbt.com 3 Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons About the Authors Mark Rickinson is an independent educational Susie Edwards is a Year Manager at Caludon researcher (www.markrickinson.co.uk). Castle School, Coventry. Lisa Batch is the Deputy Director of Corley Teresa Johnson is the Extended Schools Centre, Coventry. Manager at Barr’s Hill School and Community College, Coventry. Laura Bell is a Graduate Teacher Trainee at Corley Centre, Coventry. Alison Perkins is a Learning Mentor at Foleshill Church of England Primary School, Coventry. Viv Blinco is an Education Welfare Officer at Coundon Court School and Community Debbie Russell-Dudley is a Learning Mentor College, Coventry. at Moat House Primary School, Coventry. Debbie Brundrett is a Youth Worker at Pat Scott is Anti-Bullying Strategy Manager President Kennedy School and Community for Coventry City Council. College, Coventry. Janet Waters is a Learning and Behaviour Bev Chapman is a Learning Mentor at Finham Support Service Worker for Coventry City Park School, Coventry. Council. Acknowledgements Thanks are due to a number of organisations • Miranda Bell, Charles Desforges, Ros and individuals who have made this project Johnson, Adrienne Katz and staff and possible. students from Nelson Mandela Primary School, President Kennedy School and • Coventry City Council for initiating and Community College, Leigh Primary School supporting the idea of an anti-bullying and Coundon Court School and Community project in Coventry. College for their stimulating inputs to project • CfBT Education Trust for funding this work workshops. as a D&R project. • Staff and students of all the participating • Tim Gill, Paul Logan, Andrew Morris, Andy Coventry schools who supported the case Walmsley and Karen Whitby for their input study projects. as Steering Group members. • Rachel and Anthony Viney of Viney Associates for their role in designing the project newsletters. www.cfbt.com 24 Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons Foreword 1 This is a refreshing practical addition to the Reflective processes and group meetings literature on bullying prevention. Reflective forged the confidence to admit that sometimes and participative, this research addresses the an intervention or the training for it needed real day-to-day experiences of teachers and changing. The length of time allowed – two support staff who work with the complexity of years – realistically recognises how long this bullying behaviour. type of work actually takes. The development and research (D&R) model It is likely that with another group of schools brings a new focus to the study of behaviour, the findings might be different using the same which has traditionally been the domain of process. This is an entirely good thing. While psychologists and sociologists. All too often approaches to the problem of victimising in schools, approaches to prevent or respond behaviour are described and sometimes to bullying are adopted off the shelf by evaluated in the literature, there is more to add. unsupported teachers who have little help in The principles should be carefully followed choosing what is appropriate and then still less in and the sound basis of the psychological implementing them. How different this model is. underpinning of the approach should be well understood – but the method may need By asking practical questions and using a adapting for the needs of children with special process that was both supportive and needs, or teachers’ strengths, or even the challenging, it has encouraged the participating setting. This could lead to a flexible approach schools to grow and learn – adjust and with a menu of tools and a set of principles and analyse. The D&R model values a questioning ethics. It may also result in a how-to literature approach among participants and a curiosity and a body of case studies. What it will most about other people’s practice. It brought certainly do is to provoke in teachers and a group of professionals together to work support staff a longing to have the reflective collaboratively on problem solving and then time and support that these participants allowed them the leeway to explore. enjoyed in order to refine their practice. This model could usefully be adopted in Adrienne Katz schools elsewhere: it enables the teachers to Director of Youthworks Consulting and take hold of effective approaches and initiatives founder of Young Voice and individualise them to suit their needs. www.cfbt.com 5 Tackling bullying, using evidence, learning lessons Foreword 2 Educational systems have a very poor track The Coventry project has made a major record of learning from experience. In most contribution to showing us all how this terrible professions and trades new entrants can draw deficiency can be met. on the accumulated experience and wisdom of previous generations of practitioners. This The work has had considerable impact is hardly the case in teaching. The study on the lives of participating students and reported here starts with a remarkable and teachers. Many projects have had such yet common finding. Whilst bullying is a impact and yet left no trace for others to build very significant problem and has been since on. The Coventry project has shown us how schools were invented the project team could such a trace can be made and magnified. not find a ready body of knowledge to draw The strategic lessons for research and on to aid the design of anti-bullying initiatives. professional development are of the utmost The term bullying could have been replaced significance. Investment in programme design, by a very large number of equally significant the deployment and commitment of a wide challenges to educators. range of professionals and, crucially, the implementation of a D&R model are richly In primitive societies bodies of accumulated illustrated here. wisdom are passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. This process The Coventry team and CfBT have exhibited has many well-known limitations. More vision and tenacity in this work. Dare we advanced systems and professions build hope that educational researchers and their their knowledge on the basis of