Teachers 'not equipped' to support cyberbullying victims, charity warns

The survey of more than 4,330 secondary school teachers carried out by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) in October, also finds that 60 per cent of respondents said they had not been given any training about cyberbullying in the past year.

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Of those that took part in the poll, the findings of which have been released to coincide with the start of Anti-Bullying Week (15 -19 November), teachers were far less likely than headteachers to feel equipped to support pupils.

Those working at private schools were more likely to have completed training than teachers at state-funded secondary schools.

The investigation highlights that older teachers and headteachers were the most likely members of staff to have received training related to cyberbullying.

The EIF says its review of secondary-school based interventions, designed to promote wellbeing and prevent mental health or behavioural difficulties among teenagers, revealed “an absence of robust evidence and understanding” of what support works to prevent cyberbullying.

There needs to be more research carried out to better understand what interventions prevent online bullying given its prevalence among young people, the charity said.

Studies should also take into account the lived experience of young people, including both victims and those carrying out the bullying, it added.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show 764,000 10- to 15-year-olds reported they had experienced cyberbullying in the year to March 2020.

Despite a lack of targeted interventions, the EIF says there was some evidence that pointed to the potential of some school-based support being able to help young people that were being affected by cyberbullying.

"While we don’t know enough about what works to prevent cyberbullying, teachers and schools can play a greater role in helping develop young people’s resilience and ability to cope with the stresses that being bullied frequently creates,” said Dr Jo Casebourne, EIF’s chief executive.

The EIF is calling for social and emotional learning (SEL) in primary and secondary schools to be prioritised to help young people build resilience and to limit emotional harm caused by cyberbullying.

Areas that could be covered in SEL include teaching social awareness and empathy, respecting diversity, understanding social behavioural norms as well as teaching young people about self-awareness and relationship skills.

Martha Evans, director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said it was common for cyberbullying among children to start at school before continuing to happen online.

“So it’s vital that teachers within schools are fully able to play their part, and understand how to intervene effectively when a pupil is suffering cruel and harmful behaviours, online or in the classroom or playground,” she said.

• CYP Now is hosting a two-day online conference, Safeguarding Children in the Digital Age, from 26-27 January. Session topics include the Online Safety Bill, online gambling and gaming, radicalisation and developing digital resilience.