An analysis of pupils' voices in relation to the nature extent and scope of bullying across a local authority. Angela Eason Worcestershire Children's Safeguarding Board Tim Coupe Worcestershire NHS Trust Claire Richards,Scott Buckler, Richard Woolley University or Worcester

1. Breaking the Silence
An analysis of pupils’ voices in relation to the
nature, scope and extent of bullying across a
local authority.
Angela Eason (Worcestershire Children’s Safeguarding Board)
Tim Coupe (Worcestershire NHS Trust)
Claire Richards, Scott Buckler, Richard Woolley (University of Worcester)

2. How safe are young people in
Worcestershire?

3. Objectives
• To ascertain Children and Young People’s (CYP)
experiences of bullying across a range of settings
(home and school);
• To identify any specific groups of children who
experience bullying;
• To establish whether CYP told anyone about
being bullied and whether this has been useful;
• To clarify what CYP think should/could be done to
address bullying.

4. Research
• Sample (n=8429)
– Age 10-17+ (n=8429, M=12.35,
SD=1.89)
• Ethical issues
– Supportive framework
– Support advice and literature available
– Right to participate / right to withdraw
• Methodology
– Grounded theory
– Mixed methodological approach:
Concurrent nested design
• Methods
– Online survey
QUANTITATIVE
qualitative
Analysis of
findings
(Creswell and Plano-Clark, 2007)

5. Have you been bullied?
Yes
61%
No
23%
Prefer not to say
8%
No response
8%
χ2 (1, n=8829) = 7733.25, p< .01, V=.54
Bullied:
Females 40%
Males 32%
Instigator:
Females 7%
Males 5%

6. I don’t know and I
don’t understand why.
Because I wasn’t
confident.
Because I am
vulnerable.
Because I am
different.
Because they thought
it was funny and
clever.
Because I was quiet.Because of what I look
like.
Why?
(n=2313)

7. Perception of bullying
Everyday
39%
Most days a
week
30%
Once a week
8%
Once a month
2%
Now and then
8%
Only once
7%
Unspecified
6%
χ2 (1, n=8429) = 24.43, p< .01, V=.06

8. Prevalence by age
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
χ2 (1, n=8829) = 185.07, p< .01, V=.08

9. Type of bullying
Verbal
32%
Physical
14%
Excluded
13%
Cyber
9%
Items Stolen
7%
Coerced
7%
Other
2%
No response
16%

10. Type of bullying related to age
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Physical
Excluded
Items stolen
Cyber
Coerced
Other
Verbal

11. Location of bullying
School
59%
Technology
13%
Local area (e.g.
parks)
12%
Travelling
7%
Home
6%
Other
3%

12. How did the bullying make you feel?
Annoyed
Abandoned
Cornered Psychotic
Angry
Unwanted
Suicidal
Worried
Invisible
Irritated
ParanoidShit
Impatient Anxious
Small
Mad
Vengeful
Violent
Strange
Damaged
Hurt
Sad
Pathetic
Shaking
Stupid
Different
Crap
Hopeless
Confused
Disappointed
Useless
UpsetUgly
Isolated
Worthless
Lonely

13. Did you report the bullying?
Told someone
61%
Told nobody
23%
No response
16%

14. Because no one cares.
Because I was
threatened.
Because they would
hurt me more.
Because I was scared.
Because of what might
happen.
Because nothing
happens.
Because I didn’t want
to be a problem.
no
(n=498)

15. Reported bullying to
Parent
45%
Teacher
32%
Friend
23%

16. • Did telling someone help?
– Yes (79.2%)
– No (20.8%)
• How?
– Action was taken to stop the bullying (53.1%)
– I was able to talk about my feelings which made me
feel better (34.1%)
– Bullying was talked about as a group (6.2%)
– Something else happened (6.6%)

17. • What do you think should be done about
bullying?
– More help for those being bullied (46%)
– Stricter punishments for bullies (54%)

18. Other
• Buddy bench
• A safe place to go
• A way of telling someone without anyone knowing
• Counselling for both victim and bully
• Worry box
• Rewards for not bullying
• Awareness about how they could make people feel
• More campaigning in schools about the causes and
effects
• TV or internet adverts
• (n=1130 comments)

19. For consideration (1)
• Most common arena for bullying:
– The school
– Travelling to/from school
– (Carr-Gregg & Manocha, 2011).
• Role of the school policy:
– Progressing beyond what bullying is and what to
do…
– To providing actual ‘meaning’ and ‘understanding’
of the impact of bullying and the consequences
for both victim and bully.

20. For consideration (2)
• Develop a more open approach by adults
(parents and teachers) about the experience of
bullying.
• Develop a more collective vigilance and
responsibility between the school and home
community.
• Develop school policies which ‘talk to/with’
rather than ‘talk at’ young people (Side &
Johnson, 2014:207).

21. For consideration (3)
• Continued promotion of tolerance for diversity in
schools and wider community.
• A zero tolerance of bullying.
• Increased awareness of bullying among parents/
carers, responsible adults (e.g. GP screening) with
an increased opportunity to disclose by CYP
(Carr-Gregg & Manocha, 2011).

23. References
Carr-Gregg, M. & Manocha, R. (2011). Bullying, effects, prevalence and
strategies for detection. Australian Family Physician, 40(3), 98-102.
Creswell, J.W. & Plano Clark, V.L. (2007). Designing and Conducting
Mixed Methods Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.
Landstedt, E. & Persson, S. (2014). Bullying, cyberbullying, and mental
health in young people. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 42, 393-
399.
Side, J. & Johnson, K. (2014). Bullying in schools; why it happens, how
it makes young people feel and what we can do about it. Educational
Psychology in Practice, 30(3), 217-231.