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Anti-bullying policies

See examples of anti-bullying policies from other schools and find 10 tips to help you write and implement your policy. Also adapt our sample clause that reflects the potential impact of AI.

Last reviewed on 20 July 2023
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 41715
Contents
  1. Primary examples 
  2. Secondary examples 
  3. Special school examples
  4. Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying 
  5. How to write and implement an effective policy 
  6. Sample artificial intelligence (AI) clause

All schools must have a behaviour policy, but it's not a statutory requirement to have an anti-bullying policy (as explained in our article on statutory policies for schools). 

It's up to you to decide whether to have a separate anti-bullying policy, or to include all the information in your behaviour policy. 

Primary examples 

Maintained schools 

Academies 

Secondary examples 

Maintained schools

Academies 

Special school examples

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying 

Schools tend to cover HBT bullying within their wider anti-bullying policy, rather than as a standalone policy. See examples below of policies that refer to HBT bullying in more detail. 

Primary

Abbey Gates Primary School in Nottingham has an anti-bullying policy that references: 

  • Use of homophobic language
  • Instances where transphobic bullying may occur 

St Luke's Primary School in East Sussex, incorporates bullying based on gender identity or sexual orientation under the banner of prejudiced-based bullying. Its policy outlines how the school records this form of bullying (scroll down to 'Anti-bullying policy November 2021').

Secondary 

Stonewall, a charity that promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools, has a template secondary school policy that includes examples of school initiatives to promote inclusion in order to prevent bullying. 

You'll find the policy on pages 14 to 18 of its 'Getting started toolkit'.

How to write and implement an effective policy 

10 tips for writing your policy 

  • Define bullying and provide examples of bullying behaviours
  • Clearly state your school's values and principles in relation to bullying
  • Set out responsibilities and expectations of staff and pupils
  • Outline the responsibilities of parents/carers in supporting their children
  • Make sure the policy is aimed at both preventing and resolving problems with bullying 
  • Describe the measures that will be taken to prevent bullying, and which staff members will be involved
  • Clearly set out procedures that will be used to respond to incidents of bullying, and how records are kept
  • Explain that school staff will deal with bullying in different ways, depending on how serious the bullying is 
  • Outline how sanctions will take into account any special educational needs (SEN) that the pupils involved may have 
  • Include a link to your complaints policy or procedures in the case of unresolved or disputed issues 

10 tips for implementing your policy 

  • Provide staff training on your school's anti-bullying strategies
  • Make sure all staff understand the purpose of the policy, your school's legal responsibilities and how to resolve problems 
  • Make sure all pupils and parents/carers understand your school's approach and the part they can play in resolving bullying 
  • Make sure pupils and parents/carers know how to respond if they suspect or become aware of bullying 
  • Create an inclusive and safe environment where pupils can develop meaningful friendships and avoid bullying. Find out how to embed inclusivity in your behaviour policy
  • Make it easy for pupils to report bullying, including things that happen outside school. Find out how to encourage the reporting of sexism and sexual harassment 
  • Give children the vocabulary and opportunity to openly discuss bullying  
  • Consider the motivations behind bullying behaviour, and whether these raise any safeguarding concerns for pupils who bully or are bullied 
  • Carry out pupil voice exercises or issue a pupil survey to gather feedback on bullying for your senior leadership team (SLT) to reflect and act upon
  • Make links to your school's other related policies as appropriate, for example your school's behaviour policy

Our associate education expert Nina Siddall-Ward gave us this advice. Nina is an education consultant, and the former head of standards and learning effectiveness for a large local authority. 

Sample artificial intelligence (AI) clause

Consider adapting our sample text below and adding it to your policy:

Generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are now widespread and easy to access. Staff, pupils and parents/carers may be familiar with generative chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard.

[School or trust name] recognises that AI has many uses to help pupils learn, but may also have the potential to be used to bully others. For example, in the form of 'deepfakes', where AI is used to create images, audio or video hoaxes that look real.

[School or trust name] will treat any use of AI to bully pupils in line with our [anti-bullying/behaviour] policy.