The legal and policy context of Bullying
Anti-Bullying work cuts across many legal and statutory areas, for example, legislation and guidance relating to equalities, human rights, education, anti-social behaviour, health. On this page we have summarised the key points.
Statutory duties:
All professionals working with young people have a duty to ensure that they
- Feel safe and able to participate in youth and community programmes of work
- Are involved in ongoing consultaton about bullying (and other issues)
- Are able to learn about bullying, relationships and emotional wellbeing in formal and informal educational settings
- Are able to access appropriate information and support in relation to bullying
(Human Rights Act 1998; Children Act 2004; Youth Matters 2006)
Schools have further duties:
Head teachers have a legal duty under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 to draw up procedures to prevent bullying among pupils and to bring these procedures to the attention of staff, parents and pupils. Under the Education Inspections Bill 2006 the duties are extended to include preventing/responding to bullying that happens outside school, where it is reasonable to do so. Schools also have a duty to ‘safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils’ (Education Act 2002) and to ensure that children and young people are safe from bullying and discrimination (Children Act 2004). Government guidance advises that the school's policy should also address the bullying of staff by pupils (‘Safe to learn’ DCSF 2007).
You can download more information about the specific requirements in our legal and policy framework table. We will update this on a regular basis, as we become aware of changes that impact on Anti-bullying work. Please note this table represents our understanding of the legislation and statute detailed. We try to keep the information on this sheet accurate, but disclaim any warranty or representation, express or implied about its accuracy, completeness or appropriateness for a particular purpose.
The following websites have useful information about the legal context of bullying.