Schools fail to draw a line between bullying and banter, Ofsted finds

The watchdog visited 37 primary schools and 19 secondary schools to inform its report, No place for bullying.

Pupils in all of the schools told inspectors that they come across a wide range of disparaging language, related to perceived ability, race, religion, sexuality, appearance or family circumstances.

In 25 of the primary schools and 12 of the secondary schools, pupils mentioned hearing language associated with “not being good at something”.

Terms frequently cited by pupils included "stupid", "spazzer", "spaz" and "retard". “Occasionally, "special needs" was also used as a term of derision,” the report said.

In 25 of the primary schools and 15 of the secondary schools, pupils said that the word “gay” was often used as an insult.

“Language related to perceived sexual behaviour, such as ‘slag’ or ‘slut’, was also mentioned in four of the secondary schools, though not in any of the primary schools,” the report added.

Staff said the use of “gay” as a derogatory term was the most common issue. At least some staff in 25 of the primary schools and 18 of the secondary schools said that they heard this term in a typical week.

The report found that few schools had a clear stance on the use of language or the boundaries between banter and behaviour that makes people feel threatened.

Ofsted’s director for education and care Susan Gregory, said school staff need better training on the different types of bullying that occur, such as homophobic bullying.

“Schools must develop a positive culture so all pupils learn in a happy and safe environment,” she said. “Teachers should receive the right training and support so they have the skills and confidence to teach pupils about diversity and the effects of bullying.”

Chris Keates, general secretary of the teaching union NASUWT, said bullying is too often dismissed as “teasing or joking or just part of growing up”.

"Schools need help and support, as the report highlights, to tackle bullying and to create a climate in which difference and diversity are recognised, respected and celebrated," she said.

"Regrettably, all the excellent support, guidance and information that was previously available to schools was discarded by the coalition government when it came to office and replaced with a few inadequate paragraphs of advice which amount to little more than telling schools that 'bullying is bad and you shouldn't tolerate it’.”

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, added: “There needs to be the time devoted in the curriculum to preventing bullying through challenging negative attitudes.

"The lessons learnt make a significant difference to pupils’ attitudes, not only during their school career but throughout their adult life as well.”