Cyberbullying Guidance2

CYBERBULLYING:
UNDERSTAND,
PREVENT
AND RESPOND
Guidance for schools
Contents
Foreword 3 4. Cyberbullying: Supporting school staff 27
Acknowledgements 4 What is cyberbullying? 27
Executive summary 5 How common is cyberbullying against school employees? 27
1. Understanding cyberbullying 7 Cyberbullying and the law 28
What is cyberbullying? 7 Additional support 28
Forms that cyberbullying can take 8 Images and video 28
Characteristics of cyberbullying 9 Personal mobile devices 28
Research into cyberbullying 9 Protecting personal information 29
Legal duties and powers 10

5. What young people have told us 30
Checklist 11
2. Preventing cyberbullying 12
A whole school community approach 12
Understanding and talking about cyberbullying 13
Updating existing policies and practices 14
Making reporting cyberbullying easier 14
Promoting the positive use of technology 15
Evaluating the impact of prevention activities 16
Checklist 16
3. Responding to cyberbullying 18
Responding to incidents 18
“When we were younger we learned lots
When and how to contact the service providers 19 about cyberbullying. You have to talk about it
Investigation 21 to each generation though.”
Young person aged 16, Childnet focus group
Changing bullying behaviour 24
Checklist 25
Brought to you by: As part of: Supported by:
Co-funded by:
Foreword
Childnet originally produced the hugely popular The majority of people who spend time online have not
Guidance for schools on preventing and responding to experienced cyberbullying. However, bullying in any context
cyberbullying in 2007 – one of the first national level resources can have severe and long-lasting negative effects, so it is
of its kind. This was followed by guidance produced critical that schools are equipped to help make sure that the
specifically for school staff in 2009. These initial guidance experience of technology is a positive, productive and creative
documents and resources have been used by schools and one for everyone in their community.
organisations across the UK and internationally to help
effectively understand, prevent and respond to cyberbullying. This new guidance has drawn from best practice and
knowledge from schools, key organisations and experts
Since then, our knowledge and understanding of working in the area, and from young people themselves.
cyberbullying (also known as online bullying) has grown,
alongside a rising demand from schools and other In order to effectively respond to the challenge of bullying,
organisations that work with children and young people for schools and other providers who support young people need
support and information. The kinds of technologies we use to ensure they understand cyberbullying, and know how to
have changed, and our use of technology has increased. The prevent and respond to incidents. Childnet International has
vast majority of people in the UK now use technology routinely worked with the Government Equalities Office to produce
to carry out a wide range of everyday activities. Digital literacy this guidance. The guidance provides important information
has continued to become increasingly important for children, and clear advice on the subject, and will support schools in
young people, and adults alike. New research into who is reviewing how they take action.
being cyberbullied, and the impacts of cyberbullying, has
been carried out. Although there is still more to do in this
area, an increasingly complex picture is emerging of bullying
Will Gardner
CEO Childnet International
behaviour that is carried out using technologies. Research
Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre
also shows that cyberbullying is increasing, particularly among
girls, and it is one of the most significant technology-related
concerns schools and parents have.
Foreword UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 3

Acknowledgements
This guidance was developed on behalf of the Government Equalities Office by Childnet International / Josie Fraser
and in consultation with the Cyberbullying Advisory Board. Representatives from the following organisations are
members of the Board and have contributed to the development of the guidance:
Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) 145 schools and organisations supporting schools (including
local authorities, police forces, and advisory services) provided
Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)
us with information about effective and innovative practice in
The Boarding Schools’ Association relation to addressing cyberbullying.
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), The guidance was also developed in consultation with young
a National Crime Agency Command people, recognising the importance of listening to their
experiences and ensuring these inform the recommendations
Children’s Commissioner for England made to schools. Young peoples’ opinions, concerns and
Department for Education understanding of cyberbullying shaped development of this
guidance, and an overview of what they told us is included
The Diana Award (‘What young people have told us’). Childnet staff talked
to five groups of young people between the ages of 12-17 in
E-safety Ltd
2015 from the following schools and organisations:
Facebook
\ Holloway School, Islington, London
Google \ John Roan School, Greenwich, London
Government Equalities Office \ First Out group for young people, Leicester Lesbian
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
Kent County Council
\ Stretford High School, Trafford, Manchester
National Association of Headteachers (NAHT)
NASUWT, The Teachers’ Union Our sincere thanks go to the many individuals and
organisations who contributed to the development
National Union of Teachers (NUT) of this guidance.
NSPCC
O2
Ofsted
Parent Zone
Professionals Online Safety Helpline
South West Grid for Learning
Stonewall
Teacher Development Trust
Twitter
The UK Safer Internet Centre
Welsh Government: Llywodraeth Cymru
YoungMinds
UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 4

Executive
Summary
Understanding • School governing bodies and proprietors are required
to ensure children are taught about online safety though
cyberbullying teaching and learning opportunities.
• There is not a criminal offence called cyberbullying.

• Cyberbullying, or online bullying, can be defined as
However, there are criminal laws that apply to a range
the use of technologies by an individual or by a
of behaviours linked to cyberbullying including stalking,
group of people to deliberately and repeatedly
threats, accessing computer systems without permission,
upset someone else.
and circulating sexual images.
• Cyberbullying is often linked to discrimination, including on
the basis of gender, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender
identity or special educational needs and disabilities. For Preventing cyberbullying
example, girls report experiencing a higher incidence of
cyberbullying than boys, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and • A member of the senior leadership team should
transgender people are more likely to experience bullying, take overall responsibility for the school’s work.
including cyberbullying. The whole school community will need to be involved
in prevention activities.
• Cyberbullying, like other forms of bullying, affects self-
esteem and self-confidence and can affect mental health • Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is
and wellbeing, in the worst cases leading to self-harm and everyone’s responsibility. All school staff are required
suicide. Addressing all forms of bullying and discrimination to undertake regularly updated safeguarding and child
is vital to support the health and wellbeing of all members protection training, which includes understanding,
of the school community. preventing and responding to cyberbullying.
• Cyberbullying takes different forms: threats and • The key elements of an effective approach are:
intimidation; harassment or stalking (e.g. repeatedly understanding and talking about cyberbullying; integrating
sending unwanted texts or instant messages); cyberbullying prevention into relevant policies and
vilification and defamation; ostracism and peer rejection; practices; ensuring reporting routes are accessible and
impersonation; and forwarding or publically posting private visible; promoting the positive use of technology; and
information or images. evaluating the impact of prevention activities.
• Cyberbullying can be characterised in several specific • Awareness-raising and promoting understanding about
ways that differ from face-to-face bullying. These include cyberbullying are essential to enable ongoing discussion
the profile of the person carrying out the bullying; the and to ensure members of the community are not
location of online bullying; the potential audience; unknowingly facilitating cyberbullying because of a lack
the perceived anonymity of the person cyberbullying; of understanding.
motivation of the person cyberbullying; and the digital
• Prevention activities can include staff development and
evidence of cyberbullying.
home-school events such as special assemblies with
• For the majority of people, most experiences of technology parents and carers. Schools should consider creative
are useful and positive. Research figures vary but indicate approaches which are relevant to the technologies their
that around 10% of young people have experienced community use.
cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can affect and involve all
• Cyberbullying can be addressed within the curriculum, for
members of the school community – pupils, staff, parents
example through citizenship and PSHE, and in relation to
and carers.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC).
• Every school must have measures in place to prevent all Other curriculum areas, including drama and computing,
forms of bullying, including cyberbullying. can also help bring cyberbullying issues to life.
UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 5

• Make reporting incidents as easy as possible. Provide and • The school should try to contain any incident as quickly
publicise a range of reporting routes, including anonymous as possible. Options here include contacting the service
routes. Bystanders should be encouraged to take an active provider (or supporting the young person to contact the
role in prevention by reporting any incident they witness. service provider), confiscating devices, requesting that
students delete locally-held content and content
• Digital literacy and e-safety are important for both
posted online (where these contravene school
pupils and staff. Staff should be confident to model the
behavioural policies).
responsible and positive use of technology, and to respond
to incidents of cyberbullying appropriately, including • Schools have specific powers in relation to searching and
incidents linked to discrimination. confiscating digital devices that belong to students, and
to deleting digital content. Schools should take care when
• Evaluate the effectiveness of cyberbullying prevention
exercising these powers that they do so proportionately
activities. Keep cyberbullying a live issue and celebrate
and lawfully. Learners, parents and carers should be aware
your successes. Share effective practice with other schools
of the school’s policies in relation to this.
and learning communities.
• If the person who has carried out the cyberbullying is not
initially known, steps can be taken to identify the person
Responding to responsible. These can include looking at the school
system and computer logs; identifying and interviewing
cyberbullying possible witnesses; and, with police involvement, obtaining
user information from the internet service provider.
• The school should act as soon as an incident has
been reported or identified. This will include providing • Once the person responsible for the cyberbullying has
appropriate support for the person who has been been identified, it is important that, as in other cases of
cyberbullied; stopping the incident from spreading and bullying, sanctions are applied. Steps should be taken to
assist in removing material from circulation; and working change the attitude and behaviour of the bully, as well as
with the person who has carried out the bullying to ensure ensuring access to any help that they may need.
that it does not happen again.
• The person being bullied may have evidence of the activity

and should be encouraged to keep this to assist any
investigation. Cyberbullying can also be reported to the What young people
provider of the service where it has taken place. told us
• Provide information to staff and students on steps they can
The young people who talked to us identified a
take to protect themselves online – for example, advise
range of ways that cyberbullying could be carried
those targeted not to retaliate or reply; provide advice on
out, including:
blocking or removing people from contact lists; and ask
them to think carefully about what private information they • posting comments, messages, photos or
may have in the public domain. screenshots that are mean, threatening, untrue,
• Some cyberbullying content and activity is illegal. This personal, secret or embarrassing.
includes indecent images of children (under the age of • anonymous messages or abuse (on social
18, including self-created images); obscene content (for networks or online gaming).
example depictions of rape or torture); hate crimes and
incidents, including racist and homophobic material; • filming you or taking photos of you without
revenge pornography (sexual images of people over the your consent.
age of 18 that have been published or forwarded without • ‘indirect’ messages when you don’t directly
permission); threats of violence, rape or death threats; and name someone but everyone knows who you
stalking and harassment. are talking about.
• If the school believes that the content or activity is illegal, • fake accounts or profiles.
or is not sure, the local police will be able to assist. In
addition, the Professionals Online Safety Helpline is a • excluding people from online conversations or
free service which can provide schools with advice and talking behind your back.
signposting in relation to any cyberbullying concerns they
may have – telephone: 0844 318 4772 website:
Young people also mentioned cyberbullying could be
www.saferinternet.org.uk/about/helpline
targeted on the grounds of gender, gender identity,
sexual orientation, and race.
Executive Summary UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 6

Understanding cyberbullying
1. Understanding
cyberbullying
The use of mobile and internet connected technologies are a
part of everyday life. Young people and adults are socialising 1.1 What is cyberbullying?
online, exchanging information and pictures, sharing links,
Bullying is purposeful, repeated behaviour designed to cause
and creating and uploading their own content to blogs and
physical and emotional distress. Cyberbullying (or online
video hosting sites. Technology can be a powerful, positive
bullying) is bullying using technologies, particularly over the
tool, in all areas of life, including education and learning and
internet or via mobile and gaming networks.
enables us to do many things that would not otherwise
be possible. Cyberbullying is the use of technologies by an
individual or by a group of people to deliberately
Technology does not cause people to behave badly –
and repeatedly upset someone else.
however, some people use technology to carry out harmful
actions, including cyberbullying. It is important for school • Technology can be used to carry out a wide range
communities, and people working in educational settings of unacceptable or illegal behaviours. Cyberbullying
that support children and young people, to understand what can include:
cyberbullying is – in order to effectively prevent and address
‒‒ intimidation and threats
harmful behaviour, and promote positive and constructive
uses of technology. ‒‒ harassment and stalking
‒‒ vilification/defamation
‒‒ exclusion or peer rejection
“We often discuss cyberbullying with our ‒‒ impersonation

LGB&T young people, but they say the ‒‒ unauthorised publication of personal information
positive impact of the internet on their lives, or images
especially when it comes to struggles they are ‒‒ manipulation
having relating to their identities, outweighs
the bad every time. I think that it is important • Cyberbullying can be an extension of face-to-face
to teach when talking about cyberbullying, as bullying, with technology providing an additional route to
the amount of support online is invaluable for harass an individual or group.
young people. Many young people I work with • Cyberbullying can be a way for someone being bullied
are told ‘just turn it all off’ if they talk about face-to-face to retaliate.
having problems online. We should never give
• Cyberbullying can be carried out by individuals or groups
this advice.” who are known to the person being bullied.
Local authority e-safety peer ambassador
• There are also cases where individuals have been
cyberbullied by people or groups they have never met.
• Any member of the school community – pupil, staff

member, parent or carer – can be involved in and be
Addressing all forms of bullying is vital to support the affected by cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can take place
health and wellbeing of members of the school community. between pupils; between pupils and staff; between
Research shows that bullying has a significant impact on the parents and carers and pupils; between parents and
outcomes of children and young people. Cyberbullying, like carers and staff; and between staff members.
other forms of bullying, affects self-esteem/self-confidence
• Schools and other educational providers must work with
and can have a detrimental effect on mental health
the whole school community to understand, prevent and
and wellbeing, in the worst cases leading to self-harm
respond to bullying behaviour, including cyberbullying.
and suicide.
Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 7

• Cyberbullying can include discrimination and hate • Doxing (which comes from the slang ‘dox’ for ‘documents’)
crimes, including: is the practice of posting personal information about
someone online without their permission.
‒‒ sexist bullying
‒‒ racist and faith targeted bullying
‒‒ bullying related to sexual orientation Vilification/defamation
(homophobic or biphobic bullying)
• Posting upsetting or defamatory remarks about an
‒‒ bullying related to gender identity
individual online, or name-calling, general insults, and
(transphobic bullying)
prejudice-based bullying, for example sexist, homophobic
‒‒ bullying of people because they have special educational and racist messages.
needs and disabilities
• ‘Slut-shaming’ can be defined as the practice of attacking
(primarily) girls and women on the grounds of perceived
or fabricated transgressions of socially acceptable
sexual behaviours i.e. reposting of texts or images, or
Isn’t it just the fabrication of information. This practice attacks girls
and women on the grounds of their gender and sexual
Free Speech? identities, and aims to regulate their behaviour by sending
the message that what is deemed as sexually inappropriate
“Abuse is different to people expressing an honest
conduct can be legitimately used to publically humiliate
opinion which might differ to those of other people.
them, whether they engage in it or not.
Abuse aims to hurt. Abusers often hide behind the
idea that all they are doing is expressing an opinion
or a belief, but if the content or manner of the Ostracising/peer rejection/exclusion
communication is threatening or intends to cause
distress, then it may be against the law.” • Online exclusion may be harder to detect than people
being marginalised in a physical space, such as a
For more information see Stop Online Abuse. classroom. Social networking sites can be an important
extension of a person’s social space and activity.
• On some services, it is possible for members to set up a
1.2 Forms that closed group, which can protect members from unwanted
contact, but can also be used to exclude others. Functions
cyberbullying can take that can be used to block abusive behaviour can also be
used to exclude others online.
Threats and intimidation
• Threats can be sent by mobile phone, email, within online Identity theft/unauthorised access
games, via comments on websites, social networking sites and impersonation
or message boards.
• ‘Hacking’ is generally used to mean accessing someone
• Threats can include violence, including sexual violence,
else’s account, by finding out or guessing their username
or threats to disclose information about someone that
and password information for example. Unauthorised
may harm them, or that they are not ready to share – for
access of systems, accounts or files is not automatically
example, the threat to make someone’s sexual orientation
a form of cyberbullying, but it is always a serious issue.
or gender identity known (to ‘out’ someone) when they
Unauthorised access to computer material is illegal.
may not feel ready for this.
• There are cases where sites have been set up which
make use of school logos and name, or using photographs
Harassment or stalking of staff or students taken from the school website
without permission.
• Repeatedly sending unwanted text or instant messages, or
making phone calls (including silent calls).
• Using public forums, such as social networking sites

or message boards, to repeatedly harass, or to post
derogatory or defamatory statements.
• Tracking someone’s activity and collecting information

about them, for example by searching databases and
social network services; by pretending to be other people
and ‘friending’ the person; or by using spyware.

Publicly posting, sending or Research into cyberbullying
forwarding personal or private
information or images How common is cyberbullying?
• The deliberate public sharing of private content can be There has been a range of research in this area. Research
designed to embarrass or humiliate, and once such does indicate that cyberbullying incidents are increasing,
messages or content are made public, containing them affecting children, young people, and school staff.
becomes very difficult.
• Incidents of bullying overall for children and young
• Creating, possessing, copying or distributing images of people in the UK have not decreased since 2010.
children and young people under the age of 18 which are Face-to-face bullying has decreased, while cyberbullying
of an indecent or sexual nature is illegal, even if they were has increased from 8% in 2010 to 12% in 2013. 12% of
taken in ‘fun’ or by ‘willing’ parties, or if they were taken 9-16 year olds reported experiencing cyberbullying, and
and distributed by the subject of the photograph. 9% reported face-to-face bullying.
• Sharing private, sexually provocative or sexually explicit • In other research, just over 1 in 10 (11%) young people
photographs or films of adults (of people aged 18 and over) in England said they had experienced cyberbullying
without their consent, and with intent to cause distress by phone or online in the last year.
(‘revenge porn’), is an offence, regardless of whether the
subject initially consented to the creation of the content or
created the pictures themselves. Who is cyberbullied?
Cyberbullying can affect all members of the school
1.3 Characteristics of
community. However, some of the research in this area
indicates that some members of the community are
cyberbullying disproportionately affected. Girls, learners with

special education needs and disabilities, and learners
All forms of bullying are harmful and unacceptable, including identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender are
cyberbullying. The use of technology in cyberbullying means disproportionately affected by cyberbullying. Cyberbullying
that there are some significant characteristics that differ from may relate to race, ethnicity or national origin, and
bullying that takes place in physical spaces. These include: religion and faith. All learners should feel safe and a
part of their school community.
Profile: people do not have to be physically stronger, older, or
more popular than the person they are bullying online.
What are the impacts of
Location: cyberbullying is not confined to a physical location
and it can take place at any time. Incidents can take place in
being bullied?
their own home, intruding into spaces that have previously • Bullying can have a profound and negative affect on
been regarded as safe and private. the person being bullied, the person carrying out
the bullying, and on people witnessing the bullying
Audience: online content can be hard to remove, and
(bystanders). Being a target of bullying increases the risk
can be re-circulated and reposted. The potential numbers
of being depressed later in life by more than half. Being a
of people who can see content posted online is very large.
bully also increases the risk of becoming depressed.
Single incidents of online abuse can quickly escalate into
cyberbullying, for example, by reposting, sharing • Bullying has been related to negative long-term physical as
and comments. well as mental health impacts, and to social and economic
outcomes. The effects of childhood bullying can be
Anonymity: the person being bullied will not always know the
evident many years later.
identity of the person or people bullying them. They also will
not know who has seen the abusive content.
Motivation: cyberbullying is typically carried out on

purpose. However, initial incidents may have unintended
consequences, and can escalate through the involvement
of others. An individual may not feel that by endorsing
or reposting someone else’s post that they are actively
participating in bullying. The instigator may not have intended
an offensive or hurtful comment to be repeated. A single
incident – one upsetting post or message – may escalate into
cyberbullying involving a number of people over time.
Evidence: online and mobile communications leave a

digital trail.

Why do people cyberbully? • Schools have a duty to review and develop online safety
as part of their safeguarding responsibilities. In England the
Reasons may include: Common Framework inspections carried out by Ofsted
include discussions with learners relating to online safety
• personal, social or family issues and bullying including cyberbullying, and a review of
• early childhood experience, including parenting how the school promotes positive behaviour, addresses
and maltreatment prevention and responds to incidents.
• they do not like a person
• they feel provoked Civil and criminal law

• they are taking revenge or may have been Bullying, or cyberbullying, is not a specific criminal offence
bullied themselves in UK law, however harassment, malicious communications,
stalking, threatening violence, and incitement are all crimes.
• an acute need for attention
There are a range of laws that criminalise activity that may be
• poor self-esteem, depression or anger that they related to cyberbullying, including discrimination, harassment
cannot manage and threats.
• asserting and increasing their popularity and social status The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is
• inability or unwillingness to empathise with others 10. It is worth noting the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
Guidelines on prosecuting cases involving
• to feel powerful and in control communications sent via social media:
• from boredom or as a form of entertainment
“The age and maturity of suspects should be given
significant weight, particularly if they are under the age of
While technology does not cause bullying, it may be used 18 […] Children may not appreciate the potential harm and
by people who would not necessarily bully others face-to- seriousness of their communications and a prosecution is
face. The perceived anonymity of some online activities, rarely likely to be in the public interest”.
or disinhibition due to the physical and emotional distance
between people using technology, may mean that the person These laws include:
bullying will do things that they would not do in person.
• Equality Act 2010: establishes that it is against the law
Bullying may also be, or felt to be, supported institutionally to discriminate against anyone because of protected
and culturally. Young people may be bullying within characteristics. Protected characteristics include disability,
environments where respect for others, and treating others gender reassignment (when a person undergoes a
well, is not seen as important – or where disrespect and poor process, or part of a process – social or medical – for the
treatment is tolerated or encouraged. Individuals who do purpose of reassigning their sex), race (including colour,
not conform to social norms may face discrimination within nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex
intolerant communities. and sexual orientation.
• Protection from Harassment Act 1997: includes criminal

and civil provision for harassment (incidents that have
1.4 Legal duties and powers happened repeatedly, i.e. on more than two occasions). It
also provides a more serious offence of someone causing
Education settings another person to fear, on at least two occasions, that
violence will be used against them. Stalking, including
• All education settings have a duty to protect students cyberstalking, is covered.
from all forms of bullying behaviour and provide a safe,
healthy environment. • Communications Act 2003: covers all forms of improper
public communications, and makes an offence of sending
• Schools are required to ensure children are taught grossly offensive, obscene, indecent or menacing
about online safety though teaching and learning messages, or of sending (or causing to be sent) messages
opportunities. causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
• All employers including employers of school staff • Computer Misuse Act 1990: may apply when
have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare cyberbullying takes the form of hacking into someone
of employees. else’s account. There are also additional civil laws on
• All school staff have a responsibility to provide a safe confidentiality and privacy.
environment in which children can learn, this includes • Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015: criminalises the
in digital as well as physical spaces. sharing of private, sexual photographs or films (‘revenge
• Teachers, including headteachers, must safeguard porn’) of adults without their consent, with the intent to
children’s wellbeing and maintain public trust in the cause distress.
teaching profession as part of their professional duties.

• Protection of Children Act 1978: criminalises the taking,
Resources
creating, showing, distributing, possessing with a view to
distributing, and publishing any advertisement of indecent
photographs of children (people under the age of 18).
• Criminal Justice Act 1988: makes the possession

Department for Education (2016) Keeping
of indecent photographs of children (under 18) a
children safe in education: Statutory
criminal offence.
guidance for schools and colleges
Gov.UK Bullying at school: the law
Understanding Department for Education (2014) Cyber

bullying: advice for headteachers and
cyberbullying: checklist school staff
Are school staff aware of the different forms Department for Education (2015) Behaviour
that cyberbullying can take, and the specific and discipline in schools
characteristics of cyberbullying?
Ofsted (2015) Inspecting safeguarding in
Does the school share a clear understanding early years, education and skills from
of what cyberbullying is, and why it is September 2015
not acceptable?
Department for Education (2015) Working
Does the school support all staff in their together to safeguard children
duty to understand, prevent and respond to
cyberbullying through policy, procedures, and
regular training and development opportunities?
Is the school familiar with the key laws and

statutory guidance which relate to cyberbullying?
Does the school effectively address the range of

issues relating to bias and prejudice?

2. Preventing
cyberbullying
Effectively addressing cyberbullying means making sure and responding to cyberbullying. As with other issues that
everyone in the school knows that bullying, including potentially impact on the whole school community, wherever
cyberbullying, is not acceptable and knows how to identify possible and appropriate, policies and processes should be
and take action against cyberbullying. discussed, agreed and developed collectively.
• Schools and other educational settings should take A positive whole school community ethos which promotes
proactive measures to help prevent cyberbullying from mutual respect and trust can help reduce incidents and the
occurring, and to reduce the impact of any incidents that impact of incidents. All members of the school community
do happen. should be confident that bullying behaviours and actions will
be challenged, wherever they take place.
• All state schools are required to have a clear policy on
tackling all forms of bullying, which is owned, understood
and implemented by the whole school community.
• All schools are required to follow anti-discrimination laws, “We have a weekly parent bulletin where we
and staff must act to prevent discrimination, harassment pass on information about internet issues to
and victimisation within the school. parents. By having this as a regular activity
we can flag problem behaviours and guidance
without creating moral panics about
Cyberbullying prevention should build on these
individual issues.”
requirements, promoting and maintaining a safe and
Assistant principal, secondary school
welcoming environment.
Effectively addressing cyberbullying is an ongoing

commitment, as a whole school community, to:
• understand and talk about cyberbullying
• keep policies and practices up to date

2.2 Coordinate
• make reporting easier responsibility
• promote the positive uses of technology A member of the senior leadership team will need to take
overall responsibility for the coordination and implementation
• evaluate the impact of your activities
of cyberbullying prevention and responding strategies.
The schools anti-cyberbullying work will need to involve:

2.1 A whole school ‒‒ the Senior Management Team
community approach ‒‒ staff with responsibility for pastoral care and
behaviour issues
For schools, ‘whole school community’ means learners,
teachers, support staff, parents and carers, school leaders, ‒‒ the designated safeguarding lead (DSL)
governors, and all the people who provide support – including ‒‒ the IT network manager
teaching assistants, break and lunchtime supervisors, and ‒‒ students
extended school provision staff. The school will need to
‒‒ teacher unions / professional associations
provide a range of opportunities and routes for engagement
representing staff
with the different members of the whole school community.
‒‒ school governors
The whole school community should be involved in agreeing ‒‒ parents and carers
an accessible and meaningful definition of bullying, which
includes cyberbullying, and take an active role in preventing
Preventing cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 12

Schools should support and encourage parents and carers
to talk to children and young people about cyberbullying. “Understanding and talking about the
This will help reduce the number of bullying and cyberbullying
positives of the internet can help young
incidents and limit the impact of harm caused.
people who have had a tough time with
The school will need to identify and work with key cyberbullying. Social media doesn’t cause
safeguarding partners from outside agencies, for example: cyberbullying, but services like Instagram,
Facebook and YouTube can be misused.
• the police Helping children and young people support
• the Local Authority and educate each other about the impact
and consequences of bullying online can
• the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB)
be a really effective way of combatting
• your local Broadband Consortia (if they are providing you cyberbullying.”
with IT services) Local Authority e-safety peer ambassador
Key external organisations can provide information, guidance,

and training on issues relating to specific kinds of bullying –
for example gender, LGB&T and disability. They can support
schools and staff in understanding different discriminatory Curriculum opportunities
behaviours, and equip the school to recognise and
In England, the Computing Programmes of Study for primary
challenge them.
and secondary schools includes internet safety requirements
Share cyberbullying resources, practices and ideas with at all key stages, to ensure children and young people can
safeguarding leads from other schools and local authorities use technology safely and respectfully, and that they are able
to ensure joined up and effective prevention. to identify risks and report concerns.
Schools are under a statutory duty to promote the Spiritual,
2.3 Understanding and

Moral, Social and Cultural development (SMSC) of their pupils.
This includes issues relevant to cyberbullying, including:
talking about cyberbullying • developing self-knowledge and self-esteem
Developing and agreeing on a shared understanding of what • understanding the difference between right and wrong
cyberbullying is, and supporting school-wide discussion
• taking responsibility for your own behaviour and making a
around the issue of cyberbullying provides a firm foundation
positive contribution locally and socially
for prevention activities. Everyone should be aware of the
forms that cyberbullying can take, and the characteristics • respecting cultural differences and others
of cyberbullying.
The school should consider what it could do to actively Cyberbullying can also be addressed through the citizenship
promote the welfare of groups that are disproportionately curriculum, through Personal Social Health and Economic
affected by cyberbullying. Include discussion of prejudice- education (PSHE), as well as Religious Education (RE).
related bullying and hate incidents. Sexist, racist,
homophobic, biphobic and transphobic cyberbullying, as well
as cyberbullying related to disability, should be addressed. Publicising Sanctions
Pupils need to be aware of the importance of safe physical
and digital environments and how to behave responsibly
Many schools have found taking a creative when using technology. Pupils, parents and carers, staff
approach to understanding and talking about and governors should all be aware of the consequences of
cyberbullying can be particularly effective – cyberbullying. Young people and their parents and carers
with pupils producing plays, films, songs, should be made aware of pupils’ rights and responsibilities
websites, games and posters. in their use of technologies, and what the sanctions are for
cyberbullying and instances of online abuse. Information
should be accessible to all pupils.
Children and young people need to be encouraged to take Staff can be disciplined, and in some cases will be prohibited
responsibility for their own actions, and be equipped to from teaching, if they participate in unacceptable professional
know how to respond if they are cyberbullied, or if they see conduct. This includes sustained or serious bullying, which
someone else being cyberbullied. They also need to be given includes cyberbullying.
assurance that they are not on their own when it comes to
addressing cyberbullying – that the school will help them if
they or anyone they know is being cyberbullied.

Provide information about bullying
that takes place out of school “Our e-safety group has also just created
a child-friendly AUP which we are about to
Schools have some powers in relation to out-of-school launch. The policy has been written with input
bullying, under the Education and Inspections Act 2006. from children, staff and governors.”
Students and parents will need to know that the school can Deputy Headteacher, primary school
provide them with support if cyberbullying takes place out
of school.
The school should publicise arrangements for dealing with

issues in school holidays, including signposting parents and
learners to relevant reporting routes and external support It is for schools to decide if they wish to ban or restrict the
when appropriate. use of mobile phones or devices or certain internet sites
during school hours. It is open for schools to include in their
behaviour / anti-bullying policies measures to restrict the use
2.4 Updating existing of mobile devices and websites as well as sanctions for their
misuse. It is important that rules are well-publicised and that
policies and practices parents are made aware of them. All staff members should
apply rules consistently.
Cyberbullying issues will impact on a range of other
policies – staff development, ICT support and infrastructure,
and e-learning strategies, for example. 2.5 Making reporting
Schools should ensure that their anti-bullying policy and/or cyberbullying easier
school behaviour policy makes reference to specific types of
bullying, including cyberbullying. Reporting any incident of bullying can be difficult for the
person being bullied and for bystanders. It may be particularly
difficult for young people to report cyberbullying if reporting
will reveal something about their online activities that they do
“County schools take a wide range not want to share.
of approaches to ensuring their anti-
cyberbullying work is effective. This includes Engagement with technology involves feelings as well as
the involvement of student councils in actions – above all it is a social activity that allows young
people to feel connected to their peers. Telling a young
updating policies to ensure student voice is
person who has been cyberbullied to keep their mobile phone
heard – some schools have student versions
switched off, delete an account, or to stay off the internet as a
of key policies to ensure they are accessible
response to cyberbullying may be interpreted as a disruption
and understood.” of their social life and perceived as a punishment. In some
Local Authority e-Safety officer
cases, the knowledge that this is likely to be a response may
prevent reporting.
All members of the community should recognise that asking

for help is not a failing or a weakness, but a strength which
shows courage and good judgement. All members of
Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) are the rules school staff should treat all disclosures of harm with respect
that students and staff agree to follow in order to and seriousness.
use technology in school. AUPs represent how
everyone in the school makes use of technology –
what behaviour is expected and looks like within the Publicise reporting routes
community, to keep pupils and staff safe, and ensure
Make reporting incidents as easy as possible, providing
the school is not brought into disrepute. Engage
a range of ways to report, including confidential and
young people and staff in the development and
anonymous reporting routes.
drafting of AUP policies. It is important to ensure the
language used is appropriate and accessible to the All members of the community should know who they can
age or group of students it is intended for. talk to if they become aware of or suspect cyberbullying is
taking place, or if they themselves experience cyberbullying.
All staff should be clearly informed of reporting procedures
by school leaders, and be aware how important it is to report
cases as early as possible.

A bystander is someone who sees or knows about bullying
or other forms of violence that is happening to someone “We regularly post anti-cyberbullying tips and
else. Schools should ensure the community is aware of the
information for parents from one of our school
importance of reporting all incidents they are aware of.
Twitter accounts, and through an online
Setting up a pupil cyberbullying taskforce or peer support newsletter and by letter.”
programme, or focusing on cyberbullying within existing e-Safety Coordinator, secondary school
groups – such as the school student council or student digital
leaders group – can be an effective way to raise awareness
and engage learners. Some organisations offer online safety
peer education programmes to schools, for example, Childnet
International’s Digital Leaders Programme. Promote online safety and
digital literacy
2.6 Promoting the positive Technology is being used in schools to support engaging,
positive and effective learning, and for differentiation.
use of technology Embedding appropriate technologies within practice can be
used to enhance educational opportunities for all – making
New technologies are being developed all the time. Keeping
learning more flexible, creative, accessible and effective. Staff
up-to-date and informed about young people’s use of
development around digital literacy and e-learning provides a
technologies, and their potential abuse and risks, is important.
great opportunity for staff to both develop their own practice
While children and young people are experts on their own use
and skills creatively, and to support children and young people
and can be a valuable source of information about technology,
in their safe and responsible use of technology.
they may not necessarily understand all of the risks involved
and the strategies for keeping their experience of technology Some young people will have restricted internet access, or
safe and enjoyable. restricted access to online spaces and communities, and may
depend on school networks to find information, build positive
Schools are required to ensure appropriate filters and
connections, and participate in everyday life online in the
appropriate monitoring systems are in place. Filtering and
same way their peers do. It is important that school staff do
monitoring systems should protect learners from harmful
not make assumptions about young people’s confidence and
materials, but not prevent schools from effectively teaching
competence in relation to the use of technology, but support
about and addressing online safety and cyberbullying.
all learners in becoming digitally literate.
The UK Safer Internet Centre provide advice on
appropriate systems. Some steps to take include:
Inflexible blocking and filtering policies can make it difficult • staff and students should never reply to upsetting
for school staff to address incidents (for example, contacting messages or images. Instead, they should keep any
service providers), and may restrict access to sites and evidence and report the incident.
information that is useful and relevant to students. Education
and discussion around digital literacy, responsible use and • encourage staff and pupils to become familiar and
online safety is essential to help children and young people confident with the account management tools of
deal confidently with problems that may arise, whether in or the services they use, particularly privacy and
out of school. blocking features.
• ensure that staff and students are aware of the importance

It is important that learners and staff members are aware of
of keeping passwords confidential.
what monitoring procedures are in place. Schools should
ensure data protection procedures are adhered to in relation • everyone should know how to properly log out of accounts
to monitoring data access and handling. Monitoring should and lock devices. Students and staff should never leave
be compliant with legal requirements and help protect the unlocked devices unattended.
community against harassment, while respecting the rights of
• staff and students should protect personal devices
those who are being monitored.
by using a PIN number or similar, and activate timed
Many schools make use of text, email, blogs and social ‘lock out’.
networking services to inform and engage parents and carers.
Schools should ensure staff making official use of social There is a range of resources available to schools which can
networking services and social media sites understand how to be used in the classroom or to support individual learners,
manage accounts responsibly. staff members and parents. Many are highlighted on the
website of the UK Safer Internet Centre, where you can
also find information about the annual Safer Internet Day, an
opportunity to raise awareness and educate on the safe and
positive use of the internet.

2.7 Evaluating the impact of
prevention activities Preventing
Regular reviews of the impact of cyberbullying activities are
cyberbullying: checklist
vital to reduce incidents in the long term. The school should Are the senior leadership team confident and
consider how it might measure the impact of prevention up-to-date in their knowledge of understanding,
activities most effectively, as well as measuring the impact of preventing and responding to cyberbullying?
prevention activities, and how it will communicate findings to
the whole school community. How does the school ensure the whole school
community is involved in anti-cyberbullying
When an issue is made visible and people feel safe to discuss activities, including the creation of
and identify incidents – for example, sexist or homophobic related policies?
cyberbullying, it is likely that the school will see the number of
Do staff have an understanding of how the
reports relating to those issues increase in the short term.
children and young people in the school
Many schools conduct annual student and staff cyberbullying community use technology? Is the school
surveys. These address how safe members of the school familiar with the devices, sites and apps the
community feel, how comfortable they feel in reporting community use?
cyberbullying incidents, and how happy they are with the Do all members of staff understand how to
ways incidents are dealt with. It is useful also to conduct report any incident of online abuse they become
a parent and carer satisfaction survey. Asking questions aware of? How are students encouraged to
about cyberbullying will provide you with an indication about report cyberbullying?
awareness and the success of your prevention work.
Does the school support anonymous and
Publicise progress, activities and impact findings to the confidential reporting?
whole school community.
How does the school support learners who
are cyberbullied out of school hours, and in
school holidays?
How is the school providing digital literacy

support and opportunities for staff and students?
How is the school monitoring and measuring the

impact of its prevention work?
Resources
The Your Own Technology Survey (YOTS) is a free The Childnet Digital Leaders Programme helps to
tool to help schools and researchers better understand empower young people in both primary and secondary
the digital technology their students use out of school. schools to champion digital citizenship and digital
creativity within their schools and to educate their
The UK Safer Internet Centre have produced a peers, parents and teachers about staying safe online.
guide for education settings and filtering providers
about establishing ‘appropriate levels’ of filtering and The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Campaign
monitoring: www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice- empowers young people, professionals and parents to
centre/teachers-and-professionals/appropriate- tackle all forms of bullying as Ambassadors who help
filtering-and-monitoring to keep their peers safe online and offline.
The South West Grid for Learning’s 360 degree safe

self-review tool is free for schools to use, and can
help schools take a strategic approach to their online
safety work.

The South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL) e-Safety Stop Online Abuse provides information for women
Policy Template addresses a range of e-safety and and LGB&T people.
cyberbullying issues, and includes a section on a
school ‘Search and Deletion Policy’, as well as an Stonewall provides a range of research and resources
Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). for schools, including Staying Safe Online (2014),
Working with Faith Communities, and Tackling
London Grid for Learning School Online Safety Homophobic Language
Policies page provides schools with a wide range of in schools.
policy resources, information and guidance, including
AUP templates and model letters for parents Youth Chances is an action research project
and carers. working to improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people
Kent Online Safety (e-Safety) Guidance pages host a across England.
range of documents, policies and templates, including
a school e-safety policy generator and AUP policies. Government Equalities Office and Department
for Education (2014) Evidence review: what works in
True Vision is a site providing information about tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT)
identifying and reporting hate crimes and incidents, bullying among school-age children and
including racist and homophobic material. young people?
Discrimination: your rights from Gov.UK.
Cyberbullying and children and young people

with SEN and disabilities: guidance for teachers
and other professionals (2014) Anti-Bullying Alliance.
The Childnet STAR SEN Toolkit provides practical

advice and teaching activities to help educators
explore e-safety with young people with autism
spectrum disorders in Key Stage 3 and 4.

3. Responding to
cyberbullying
Schools will need to address all incidents of cyberbullying
that are reported or identified. Bullying and cyberbullying are “A hate account was created online branding
often linked to discrimination. Schools should be aware of
our female students as “sluts.” Concerned
this and prepared to address it appropriately. Existing policies
emails and calls flooded in from parents
and procedures (including anti-discrimination, behaviour, and
and students. One of the important ways in
safeguarding policies) should equip staff to deal with all forms
which we responded was by talking to all
of bullying, including cyberbullying.
our learners about what they could do to
protect themselves online, and to make sure
3.1 Responding to incidents that our male students understood that this
kind of abuse also effects them negatively –
Help should be provided as early as possible. As soon as it doesn’t just have consequences for girls.
cyberbullying has been reported or identified: Our students shared their feelings about the
account and we did feel like we addressed
• provide appropriate support for the person being the issue as a community.”
bullied – making sure they are not at risk of immediate
Assistant Principal, secondary school
harm. Involve them in decision-making as appropriate.
• consider recording incidents, including recording action

taken. Schools are not required to record incidents of
bullying, however, there are many benefits to properly
documenting incidents – for example, it can help with
investigation into reported or suspected cases, with 3.2. Identifying illegal
repeat incidents, and with providing information to
parents and carers.
content and activity
• if the incident does not constitute a criminal offence, work Some instances of online abuse and cyberbullying may be
with those involved to ensure upsetting material is removed illegal. Schools should have internal procedures relating to the
from devices and services as quickly as possible. discovery of illegal digital content on school computers, or on
learner or staff devices.
• if the incident does constitute a criminal offence, it should
be reported according to protocols. Evidence should be In the case of illegal activity, the police will be able to assist
secured appropriately. schools and other organisations supporting children and
young people to determine what content is needed for the
• inform other staff members, and parents and carers,
purposes of evidence, and how best to secure this.
where appropriate.
• work with the person bullying to restore relationships and Illegal content and activity includes:
make sure all pupils involved feel safe inside and outside
• indecent images of children (under the age of 18)
of school. Where there is evidence of bullying behaviour,
appropriate sanctions should be applied. School staff should not view illegal images unless doing so is
unavoidable or necessary. Staff should never copy or forward
• pupil/s that have been bullied should feel safe and
illegal images.
confident that there will not be a repeat incident, and that
the school community has learnt from the incident. If a young person (under the age of 18) has produced or
shared material consensually, without pressure or malice, it
may be appropriate for the school to manage the incident
Bullying incidents can bring the school community into
directly, after they have conducted a full and robust risk
disrepute. In the case of media interest, ensure staff follow the
assessment.
school or local authority process for talking to and managing
press contact.
Responding to cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 18

Schools should always refer incidents to the police
where they: 3.3 Containing the incident
‒‒ involve adults If images or other data break the law, they should be
preserved appropriately as evidence. If content is upsetting
‒‒ involve coercion or blackmail
but not illegal, then steps should be taken by the school to try
‒‒ are extreme in their nature or violent to contain the incident as soon as possible.
‒‒ involve a child or children under 13
Try to stop content that has been used to cyberbully
‒‒ where the child is at immediate or significant risk of harm
from spreading.
The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) provide The quickest and most effective route to getting inappropriate
further advice in Sexting in schools and colleges. material taken down from the web will be to have the person
who originally posted it remove it:
Contact the Internet Watch Foundation if illegal images
have been posted on the internet. • if you know who the person responsible is, explain why the
material is hurtful and request they remove it.
Contact CEOP if there is any concern that a child has been
coerced into produced images, or is being groomed or • pupils can be asked to delete offending content from their
sexually exploited. mobile phones or other devices.
• obscene content, for example depictions of rape • refusal to delete material from a personal device is likely to
or torture. These can be reported to the Internet constitute reasonable grounds for confiscation.
Watch Foundation. • if pupils refuse to delete content, a parent or carer should
• hate crimes and incidents, including racist material. be contacted.
Contact your local police. Incidents can also be reported • pupils can be asked to list to whom they have forwarded
to True Vision. information, and where it is posted.
• ‘Revenge pornography’ – the publication of sexual images If the person who posted the material is not known, contact
of an adult without their consent. Contact the Revenge the site or service hosting the material to make a report to get
Porn Helpline. the content taken down. Service providers should remove
• stalking and harassment. Contact the emergency services material that breaches their terms and conditions.
if there is an imminent threat of danger, alternatively,
contact the local police or the National Stalking Helpline.
When and how to contact
• threats of violence, rape or death threats. Contact the
service providers
emergency services if there is an imminent threat of danger.
Alternatively, contact the local police. Addressing cyberbullying and ensuring the people involved
• images or recordings of a crime, e.g.an assault on a take responsibility for their actions is not something that can
member of the school community are not illegal, but should be achieved just by using technology. Many sites and services
be passed to the police. provide blocking and privacy tools, and these features can
sometimes be useful in stopping unwanted or upsetting
contact. For example, if a social networking service member
is receiving unwanted messages from another member,
blocking the account is a way of stopping messages being
received from that account.
Sexually explicit photographs and videos of young
people under the age of 18 are legally regarded Staff, pupils, and parents and carers can contact the service
as indecent images of children. They are illegal to provider or host (i.e. the chatroom, the social network
produce, forward or show to others, or possess, provider, or mobile operator) to report what has happened
regardless of whether the pictures were taken and and get advice on how to stop this happening again. The
shared with the permission of the young person service provider may be able to block particular senders or
they depict. callers (for landlines), take down materials, or even delete the
accounts of those that are abusing the service.
Sexual images used to bully or coerce should be
reported to the police. Where appropriate, the police
are able to record incidents so as to limit the long term
negative impact on young people.

Instant Messaging (IM) and Voice
Reporting on social media platforms: advice from the
over Internet Protocol
UK Safer Internet Centre’s Professionals Online
Safety Helpline: (VoIP) Services
When making a report to a social media site it is Service providers can investigate and shut down any
important that you identify the correct report category, accounts that have been misused and clearly break the law
to make sure the platform can review the content or their terms of service. The best evidence for the service
correctly. For example, if a page is using the name of provider is archived or recorded conversations, and most
your school and the school logo without permission, IM providers allow the user to record all messages. Some
that isn’t offensive or abusive in itself – so unless services, for example Snapchat, only display pictures and
the content is abusive the report will be rejected. messages on your phone for a short time. Users can take
If, you report the page for the unauthorised use of copies of offensive posts by taking a screen shot or by using
your intellectual property (school name and logo), or apps that have been developed to take screenshots on behalf
impersonation, the report is likely to succeed. Take of the user.
some time to understand the site’s terms of use.
One of the most common types of calls from schools It is illegal to make copies of sexual images of children under
to the POSH helpline are about comments parents the age of 18 or possess these. Copies of indecent images
or carers make about the members of school staff of children must not be printed, saved or forwarded. In
online. While what you are reading may hurt your this instance, the service provider can be contacted with a
feelings and feel personally abusive, comments may description of the image, time sent and account it was
not be objectively abusive or threatening. sent from.
Chatrooms and message boards

The UK Safer Internet Centre provides up to date Most chatrooms should offer the user the option of
checklists for reporting incidents and using blocking or ignoring particular users. Some services may
account management tools on a range of social be moderated, and the moderators will warn users posting
networking services. abusive comments or take down content that breaks their
terms of use. Responsible sites will provide information about
NSPCC’s NetAware site provides a wide range the terms and conditions for using the site, and information
of up to date guides to popular sites and apps, about how abusive and illegal content can be reported. Users
including messaging services, chatrooms, and social that abuse the service can have their account deleted.
networking services.
The Professionals Online Safety Helpline

Social networking sites
can provide guidance on reporting incidents and
requesting material be removed. The Helpline can It is normally possible to block/ignore particular users on
escalate content to service providers when valid social networking sites, which should mean the user can stop
user reports have failed to have content removed. receiving unwanted comments. Users can do this from within
Phone: 0844 318 4772. the site. If a user’s account content is public, the person
helpline@saferinternet.org.uk. blocked may not be able to access that content when logged
in to the service. However, they will still be able to view public
content anonymously.
Mobile phones Some social network providers also enable users to pre-
moderate any comments left on their profile, or review
Malicious, abusive or threatening calls or texts are illegal. Calls pictures their name is tagged with before they are visible
should be reported to the mobile phone company – all UK by others. This can help a user prevent unwanted or hurtful
operators have a nuisance or malicious call team, who will be comments or images appearing on their profile, or being
able to assist and advise you. You do not need to know the returned in searches for their name. Some services allow you
person responsible for making the call. to disable or restrict comments, messages and who can view
your content. Account holders can also usually set their profile
to private, so they can select who is able to access and see
their profile and activity.
It is good practice for social network providers to make

reporting incidents of cyberbullying easy, and have clear,
accessible and prominent reporting features. Some reporting
features will be within the profiles themselves.

Social networking services will review any reports of
Digital evidence can be captured in
cyberbullying or online harassment. They may issue conduct
warnings and they can delete the accounts of those that
a range of ways:
have broken their rules. Service providers only have to • Save evidence by taking a copy of what appears on the
remove content if it is illegal, or if it breaks the terms of screen (a screenshot). The way you do this will depend on
service of the site. Social network service providers should the type of device you are using.
make clear to the users what the terms and conditions are
for using the service, outline what counts as inappropriate ‒‒ On a Windows PC, hold down the Control (ctrl) key (or
and unacceptable behaviour, and provide prominent safety Function (fn) on most laptops) and press Print Screen (print
information so that users know how to use the service safely scrn/PrtScr or Prt Sc) key.
and responsibly. ‒‒ On a Mac, hold down the Command (cmd), and press 3.
‒‒ Taking screenshots on a mobile phone will vary
from device to device. Typically, you will need to
Computer & mobile games press the power button at the same time as another
Players can block people from their contacts lists. However, button. Screenshots will be saved to your image or
in many games, players will not necessarily be known to pictures folder.
each other. Reporting abusive incidents or players will vary
• Mobile phone messages, whether voice, image or text,
depending on the type of game platform. In some games,
should be saved. Messages that have been forwarded, for
you may be able to report abusive behaviour in game, either
example to a staff member’s school phone, won’t include
by submitting a complaint through the main menu, or from
all of the information from the message, like the original
options provided when you click on another player’s avatar, or
sender’s phone number.
by contacting the administrator.
• Some services will delete content or messages from
the account of both the person who has received the
3.4 Investigation message, and the person who has sent the message,
if either person deletes it (for example, direct messages
Recording Incidents (DMs) on Twitter). Some services automatically delete
messages after a period of time, or once they have been
Recording incidents helps evidence that reported incidents viewed (for example, Snapchat)
have been successfully addressed, and allows the school
‒‒ You can take a screenshot to capture evidence you think
leadership team and governing body to track and monitor
might be deleted this way.
progress, and prioritise specific incidents or approaches. For
example – they may wish to record any instances of bullying ‒‒ On a phone, Flight Mode will take the device offline.
that are linked to discrimination – for example, sexist, racist Evidence cannot be deleted remotely while it remains
or homophobic bullying and cyberbullying, so that they can disconnected.
inform whole school’s strategies for dealing with these • Some Instant Messaging services allow the user to record
issues. Schools are not required to record incidents, but all conversations.
doing so supports a robust approach to monitoring and
‒‒ Capture messages by switching any record/archive
evaluating incidents.
feature on.
‒‒ Conversations can also be printed, or sections can be
Preserve the evidence saved as a screenshot.
‒‒ Copied and pasted conversations are less useful as
Schools should advise pupils and staff to try to keep a record evidence, as these could be edited.
of abusive incidents, particularly: the date and time, the
• On social networking sites, video-hosting sites, or other
content of the message(s), and where possible a sender’s
websites, keep the site link, print page or produce a
ID (e.g. username, email, mobile phone number) or the web
screenshot of the page and save it.
address of the profile/content. Taking an accurate copy,
preferably a screenshot (an image which captures what you • In chatrooms, print the page or take a screenshot of
can see on the screen) – where this is legal, or record of the the page.
web-page URL will help the service provider to locate the
• Emails can be printed or forwarded to the person
relevant content.
investigating the incident. Save or forward all subsequent
Keeping evidence will help in any investigation into the emails. Preserving the whole message, and not just the
cyberbullying by the service provider, but it can also be useful text, is more useful as this will contain information about
in showing what has happened to those who may need to where the message has come from.
know, including parents, carers, teachers, and pastoral
care staff.

Identifying the person carrying out
cyberbullying “Pupils are told that they can report bullying
incidents electronically on the school learning
Although the technology seemingly allows anonymity, there platform. A child sent us a message about
are ways to find out where messages or data were posted an upsetting photo that had been put online
from. However, technical investigations may not necessarily without his permission, and comments that
identify an individual. If another person’s phone or school were being made on in. The same children
network account has been used, locating where the
had been name calling him in school. After
information was sent from will not by itself determine who the
talking to the child, the teacher spoke to
sender was. There have been cases of people using another
the other pupils involved individually. They
individual’s phone or hacking into their IM or school email
admitted uploading the photo and adding
account to send nasty messages.
the hurtful comments. The child who had
In cases where the identity of the person carrying out posted the photo agreed to delete it and they
cyberbullying is unknown, there are some key questions all wrote an apology letter. The parents of the
to ask: pupils were informed, and it was suggested
they talk to their children about appropriate
• Was the bullying carried out on the school system? If yes,
behaviour online. They were also invited to
are there logs in school to see who it was? Or are there
records of which student was using a particular device
attend our next e-safety workshop for parents
at the time the incident occurred? The school network if they wanted to find out more.”
manager or technical support will be able to tell you what Assistant Headteacher, primary school
is possible.
• Are there identifiable witnesses or friendship groups who

can provide information? There may be others who have
visited the offending site and left comments, or who have
received copies of images. Seizing and confiscating items
• If the bullying was not carried out on the school system, Staff members can confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s
was it carried out on a mobile, or a particular internet property as a disciplinary penalty, where this is reasonable.
service or game? The service provider, when contacted, This can include mobile phones when they are being used
may be able to take some steps to stop the abuse by to cause a disturbance in class or otherwise contravene
blocking the aggressor or removing content it considers the school behaviour / anti-bullying policy. The law protects
defamatory or breaks their terms of service. However, the members of staff from liability in any proceedings brought
police will need to be involved to enable them to look into against them for any loss of, or damage to, any item they
the data of another user (see below). have confiscated, provided they acted lawfully.
• If the bullying was via mobile phone, has the person Where a device contains material that needs to be passed to
responsible withheld their number? If so, it is important to the police, school staff can confiscate and secure the device,
record the date and time of the message and contact the for example by placing it in a locked draw.
mobile operator. Steps can be taken to trace the call, but
the mobile operator can only disclose this information to Where a member of staff finds an item which is banned under
the police, so police would need to be involved. the school rules, i.e. evidence which relates to cyberbullying
but does not constitute a criminal offence – they should
• Has a potential criminal offence been committed? If so,
take into account all relevant circumstances and use their
the police may have a duty to investigate. Police can issue
professional judgement to decide whether to return it to its
a RIPA (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000)
owner, retain it or dispose of it. Legal content can be deleted,
request to a service provider, enabling them to disclose the
but staff should be aware of how to capture and retain
data about a message or the person sending a message.
evidence of cyberbullying incidents and of when this
This may help to identify the person responsible. Relevant
would be useful.
criminal offences here include harassment and stalking,
threats of harm or violence to a person or property, any It is recommended that where possible school staff do
evidence of sexual exploitation (for example grooming or not delete content. Young people can be asked to delete
inappropriate sexual contact or behaviour). offensive or upsetting content, and confirm they have
done so.
Where text or images that contravene the school’s behavioural

policy or the law are visible on a device, staff should act on
this. All school staff can request a pupil reveal a message
or show them other content on their phone for the purpose
of establishing if bullying has occurred. All school staff in
England can search learner-owned devices with the consent

of the pupil. Only headteachers, and members of staff who
have been formally authorised by the headteacher, can search Searching, screening and confiscation
a pupil or a pupil’s device without consent. They can only do (Department for Education, 2014) provides the
so where they have reasonable grounds for suspicion the following statutory guidance in relation to
device contains items specified as prohibited. ‘Prohibited electronic devices:
items’ include pornographic images, or articles that have
been or could be used to commit an offence or cause harm, “Where the person conducting the search finds an
or that are banned in the schools published rules. electronic device they may examine any data or files
on the device if they think there is a good reason to
Searches without consent can only be carried out on the do so.
school premises, or in another location in England where the
staff member has lawful control or charge of the pupil (for Following an examination, if the person has decided
example, a school trip in England). These powers only apply to return the device to the owner, or to retain or
in England. dispose of it, they may erase any data or files, if they
think there is a good reason to do so.
Except in cases where there is reasonable suspicion that
serious harm will be caused unless the search is carried out The member of staff must have regard to the following
immediately, the authorised staff member searching the pupil guidance issued by the Secretary of State when
without consent must be the same sex as the pupil, and determining what is a “good reason” for examining or
another staff member should be present as a witness. The erasing the contents of an electronic device:
power to search without consent enables the requirement
• In determining a ‘good reason’ to examine or erase
of the removal of outer clothing (e.g. a coat) and the searching
the data or files the staff member must reasonably
of pockets. Only police officers can carry out more
suspect that the data or file on the device in
intimate searches.
question has been, or could be, used to cause
harm, to disrupt teaching or break the school rules.
Searching electronic devices • If inappropriate material is found on the device it is
up to the teacher to decide whether they should
Caution should be exercised in relation to undertaking such
delete that material, retain it as evidence (of a
searches. The situations where this power may be exercised
criminal offence or a breach of school discipline) or
should be clearly detailed in the school’s bullying or behaviour
whether the material is of such seriousness that it
policy. It is recommended that school staff should not search
requires the involvement of the police.
through electronic devices unless this is unavoidable.
• Teachers should also take account of any additional
guidance and procedures on the retention and
disposal of items that have been put in place by
the school.”
In the UK, privacy is protected under Article 8 of the Human

Rights Act 1998. Article 8 is a qualified right, which means
that if a public authority believes it is in the greater interest
of the community, or to protect other people’s rights, it can
interfere with the right to a private life. Any breach of Article 8
should be appropriate to the balance of qualification.
Investigating allegations
against staff
Some messages might allege abuse against a teacher
or other member of staff. There have been cyberbullying
incidents where pupils, or parents and carers have made
unfounded and malicious claims against staff members.
It is critical to take every claim seriously and investigate
it thoroughly.

Students, staff, parents and carers should also be made Individuals or groups carrying out the cyberbullying may say
aware it is an offence to publish the name of a school staff they are ‘only joking’ or that it is just ‘banter’ and that their
member who is subject to an allegation against a current behaviour has been misinterpreted. They may believe that the
pupil, until such a time as they are formally charged with problem is not that they are bullying someone else, but that
an offence. ‘Publishing’ includes posting details of an the person they are bullying reacts badly to their behaviour
allegation on a social networking site that could lead to the (e.g. they ‘do not have a sense of humour’).
identification of the staff member by the public.
The school should work with the pupil or pupils to ensure
The school is legally required to act in cases where an they recognise the consequences of their actions, and are
allegation is made that an employee or volunteer has: supported to change their attitude, behaviour, and the way
they use technology. You may want to adopt restorative
• behaved in a way that has harmed or may have approaches to change behaviour.
harmed a child.
• possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to

a child.
“I recently supported a primary school
• behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates where some Year 6 children were bullying on
s/he is unsuitable to work with children. Instagram. The school had delivered e-safety
education within PSHE and computing,
Regardless of where the alleged abuse took place, the so pupils knew that they should take a
allegation should be reported to the headteacher immediately. screenshot of any bullying and tell a trusted
The headteacher will contact the local authority designated adult – in this case, their class teacher. I and
officer for child protection concerns. In cases where the the schools designated safeguarding lead
headteacher is the subject of allegations, the Chair of (DSL) supported the teacher, and the incident
Governors or equivalent will contact the designated officer. handled in line with the school policy - treating
cyberbullying like any form of bullying. One
The local authority designated officer will decide whether
parent was initially reticent, however when
to consult the police or children’s social care services.
Detailed guidance on dealing with allegations of abuse
they saw the screenshots of the content their
is provided in Keeping children safe in education child had sent, they were happy to work with
(Department for Education, 2015). the school. The school took a restorative
justice approach which was felt to be
Schools have a duty of care to their employees. Any successful by the children, staff and
allegations should be reported and investigated as quickly parents involved.”
as possible, and the staff member should be supported Local Authority e-Safety Officer
during the period of investigation. Staff can also seek
additional advice and help from a range of organisations,
including their union, professional association, and from the
Teacher Support Network.
The purpose of sanctions and the school’s work with the

person responsible for bullying is to:
3.5 Changing bullying
• help the person harmed to feel safe again, and be assured
behaviour that the bullying will stop.
Once the person/s responsible for cyberbullying have been • ensure the person carrying out the bullying takes
identified, it is important that – as in other cases of bullying – responsibility for their actions, recognises the harm caused,
appropriate sanctions are applied. and does not repeat the behaviour.
• demonstrate to the school community that cyberbullying

is unacceptable and that the school will actively address
all incidents.
“Cyberbullying issues are dealt with in the
same way as physical bullying in school. The
same sanctions are given, and any problems
at home are followed through in school if they
are reported to us.”
e-Learning Advisor, primary school

Responding to
cyberbullying: checklist
Further resources:
Do pupils and staff understand the basics of
keeping themselves safe online – including • CEOP ThinkUKnow: Selfies: The naked
privacy settings, reporting, and getting material truth
taken down?
• UK Safer Internet Centre: sexting
Are staff familiar with the school’s processes for resources
responding to cyberbullying?
• Childline: Sexting resources
Are staff and pupils aware of the ways in which
the school provides support for people who
are bullied? Are people who have been bullied Contacting service
appropriately involved in the decision making providers
and resolution process?
Mobile phone operators
Do pupils and staff understand which kinds of
cyberbullying may be illegal? Do staff know what • EE, (Orange and T-Mobile): Call 150 from
to do if they suspect cyberbullying activity your EE phone, or 07953 966 250 from
is illegal? any phone.
Are clear processes and policies in place in • Telefónica/O2: Email malicious@

relation to searching pupils, confiscating devices telefonica.com, or call 202 (from a Pay
and deleting materials? Monthly phone) or 4445 (from a Pay As You
Go phone).
What are the consequences for bullying,
including cyberbullying in your school? Is the • Tesco Mobile: Call 445 from a Tesco
whole school community clear about sanctions? Mobile phone, or 0345 3014455 from
any phone.
• Three: Call 333 from a Three phone, or

08707 330 333 from any phone.
Resources • Vodafone: Call customer services on 191

from a Vodafone phone or on any other
phone call 08700700191 for Pay Monthly
customers or on 08700776655 for Pay As
Searching, screening and confiscation:
You Go customers.
advice for schools (Department for
Education, 2014)
VOIP and IM Services
Keeping children safe in education
(Department for Education 2015) Part Four: • Facebook Messenger: Information on
Allegations for abuse made against reporting abusive messages can be
teachers and other staff. found here
• Google Hangouts: Reporting abuse in

Sexting public video hangouts in Google+
Several organisations provide advice and • Kik: Reporting abuse

guidance about sexting and youth produced • Skype: You can report abuse on
sexual imagery. Making, possessing and Skype here
distributing ‘indecent’ images of anyone
under 18 is illegal, and may have negative • Snapchat provide safety information and
consequences for the young people involved. reporting options
• Whatsapp provide safety and security

Sexting is not necessarily related to bullying,
information on using the service
however, images or video may be used to
cyberbully or manipulate people.
• UKCCIS: Sexting in schools

and colleges

Email providers Games
• Gmail: Information on blocking unwanted • PlayStation: Reporting abusive players will

emails, and reporting a Gmail user who is depend on
sending harassing emails the console you are using
• Yahoo! Mail: Advice on receiving • Steam: Reporting abusive behaviour in the

threatening emails Steam Community
• Outlook Mail (including hotmail.com, msn. • Xbox Live

com and live.com)
Social network service providers
• Facebook: Facebook provide a range of

information at their online Family Safety
Centre, including a bullying prevention hub
• Google: Google provides a range of

information about keeping yourself, your
accounts and others safe at their Online
Safety Centre, including information about
reporting and safety tools
• Instagram: You can reporting abusive

posts on the web or from the app.
Instagram hosts an online Help Centre
which provides privacy and safety advice
• Twitter: You can report abusive incidents or

harassment here. The Twitter Safety Centre
provides information for
young people, families and educators
• YouTube: In order to report content to

the site provider as inappropriate. You will
need to log in to your account, or create
an account if you don’t already have one
(this is free), and then you will have the
option to ‘flag content as inappropriate’.
The option to flag the content is under
the video content itself, and you can also
flag individual comments under a video.
YouTube provides information
on its policies and reporting tools at its
Policy and Safety Hub.

4. Cyberbullying:
Supporting School
Staff
The use of technology can provide incredible opportunities
What is cyberbullying?
for school staff, as well as young people. It is crucial that
everyone knows how to use technology responsibly. School Cyberbullying is the use of technologies by an individual
staff should: or by a group of people to deliberately and repeatedly
upset someone else.
• be aware of what cyberbullying is.
• Cyberbullying can consist of threats, harassment,
• be clear about how they report incidents.
embarrassment, humiliation, defamation or impersonation.
• know what support is in place to help them deal with
• Cyberbullying may take the form of general insults,
incidents quickly and effectively.
or prejudice-based bullying including hate crimes, for
• be provided with opportunities to develop their example homophobia, racism, sexism or other forms
digital literacy. of discrimination.
• There have been cases of school employees being

Cyberbullying can seriously impact on the health, wellbeing, cyberbullied by current or ex-pupils, parents and carers,
and self-confidence of those targeted. It may have a and by colleagues, as well as by people who attempt to
significant impact not only on the person being bullied, but remain anonymous.
also on their home and work life too. Career progression may
• There are reported cases of cyberbullying involving a
be affected, and there have been cases where the person
wide range of technologies and services, including social
bullied has chosen to leave the education sector altogether.
networking sites, apps, email, instant messaging (IM),
Dealing with incidents quickly and effectively is key to
learning environments, games and by mobile phone.
minimising harm in potentially highly stressful situations.
All employers, including employers of school staff, have

statutory and common law duties to look after the physical
How common is cyberbullying
and mental health of their employees. Protecting staff from against school employees?
cyberbullying is best done within a prevention framework,
School workforce unions, professional associations and
with whole school policies and practices designed to combat
industry providers have noted an increase in cyberbullying
cyberbullying. Each school should have a designated
reports and related inquiries, and are committed to working
cyberbullying lead – a member of the senior management
to reduce incidence and support schools to deal with
team who will oversee and manage the investigation and
incidents effectively.
resolution of all incidents.
Cyberbullying incidents can be extremely upsetting –
Staff members who are subject to cyberbullying or online
even devastating – for the victim, whatever age they are.
abuse should:
All forms of bullying, including cyberbullying, should be
• never personally retaliate.
taken seriously. Bullying is never acceptable, and should
• keep evidence of the incident. never be tolerated.
• report any incident which relates to their role as a
school employee to the appropriate member of staff
as soon as possible.
Cyberbullying: Supporting School Staff UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 27

Cyberbullying and the law rights and responsibilities regarding taking pictures and
making films.
While there is not a specific criminal offence called
• Photos and video taken for personal use are exempt from
cyberbullying, activities related to cyberbullying may be
the Data Protection Act (1998), for example, a parent
criminal offences under a range of different laws.
taking photographs of a school event.
• Cyberbullying in the form of discrimination or harassment of
• The Data Protection Act ensures that personal
a member of staff may mean that the school has breached
information – which includes images of staff and students
its duties under discrimination legislation.
where they are identifiable – is processed fairly. To do this,
Schools are liable for the actions of staff members who schools should obtain consent from each student’s parent
discriminate against or harass other staff members in the and carer, and from all students who are 12 years old or
course of their employment. Schools should ensure such over. Consent should be obtained in advance, with an
acts are understood by their community as unacceptable. explanation of why images are being taken and what they
Where schools become aware that an employee has been are going to be used for – especially if they are going to be
subjected to harassment, they will need to take steps to published online.
prevent it from recurring.
• The acceptable use of equipment for creating images
• It is the duty of every employer under health and safety and film (which may most typically be mobile phones)
legislation to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the should be covered by the appropriate behaviour policy
health, safety and welfare at work of all employees. and agreements.
Staff resignation as a consequence of cyberbullying, • The school can request that students and staff should not
in cases where the school has failed to take adequate take, share or publish photographs of other members of
steps to address the situation, may prompt claims of the school community without the subject’s permission.
constructive dismissal. Schools should clearly communicate expectations,
acceptable conduct and potential sanctions regarding
• Schools are required to provide staff with training and inappropriate image-taking and use by staff, pupils
information relating to abuse, including cyberbullying; have and parents.
procedures in place for addressing cyberbullying incidents;
• School-owned devices should be provided for staff
and include acceptable use in relation to online and mobile
members who need to take images of pupils for
communications in their staff behavioural policy.
school purposes.
• Both pupils and employees should take care not to

Incidents that are related to employment, even those attach significant personal information to publicly posted
taking place outside of the hours or place of work, may information, for example full names.
fall under the responsibility of the employer.
Personal Mobile Devices

Additional Support
School employees should secure their phones when not in
Staff should be aware of alternative routes they can access use, by setting up a timed lock following a short period of
for additional support. These include: inactivity, and using a pin code or password. If a phone goes
missing or is suspected as being stolen, it should be reported
• their Union or professional association
to the police and mobile operator as soon as possible, using
• The Professionals Online Safety Helpline: the phone’s unique International Mobile Equipment Identity,
0844 381 4772 or IMEI number. This can be found printed on the phone
www.saferinternet.org.uk/about/helpline underneath the battery, or by typing *#06# on a handset.
• occupational health services If it is necessary for an employee to lend a pupil a mobile
• Education Support Partnership: phone, staff should use a school owned device. If being able
Helpline: 08000 562 561 (UK-wide) to contact pupils by their mobile becomes necessary – for
example on a school trip – school employees should only use
• other helplines such as the Samaritans
school-owned mobiles to store numbers and contact pupils.
Numbers can be deleted following the event, and learners will
not have access to an employee’s personal number. Security
Images and Video features, such as a time-activated PIN or passcode, should
Employees and learners use a wide range of devices, be used to ensure that if a school-owned phone is lost or
including tablets and mobile phones, to take photographs stolen, content will be inaccessible.
and videos. Photo and video-sharing websites and apps
are extremely popular, and are used by schools to capture
learner progress, showcase events and share presentations.
Employees and pupils should be informed about their

When posting information, personal contact details, video
“I rang a parent with my mobile over a normal or images, ask yourself if you would feel comfortable about
a current or prospective employer, colleague, pupil or
school matter. My mobile number was passed
parent, viewing your content.
around and got into the hands of some
teenagers who sent abusive messages.” Make sure you understand who is allowed to view personal
A staff member content on the sites that you use – and how to restrict
access to your account where necessary. If you are not
clear about how to restrict access to your content to
certain groups of people, regard all of your content as
publicly available and act accordingly.
Employees should be given clear guidance regarding the use
of their personal mobile phone by their employer, regarding • Do not ‘friend’ current or past pupils or add
having access to pupils’ numbers, storing pupils’ numbers, them to your contact lists on personal social
and giving pupils access to their personal numbers. networking accounts.
• Information sent using official school accounts or

equipment will usually be accessible to the school for
Protecting personal information monitoring purposes (this will be outlined in the schools
Many school employees use web-based and social Acceptable Use Policy), and information may also be
networking services for both personal and work related requested under the Data Protection Act.
purposes. Some people will choose to restrict their • You can also check to see that other people aren’t
connections to people that they know well. Many staff misrepresenting you or treating you unfairly online. If
use online services and sites to connect to new people – you find things you object to, you can ask the poster
for example, in order to share work and develop to take these down in the first instance.
professional networks.
Where cases are work-related, these should be reported to
• While school employees are private individuals, they have your line manager or to the appropriate person as soon as
professional reputations and careers to maintain. possible. More serious incidents, including cyberbullying,
will require a formal response from your employer, and will
The Teachers’ Standards outline the legal minimum
be dealt with within the schools’ disciplinary frameworks, or
requirements for teachers practice and conduct. Teachers,
in more serious cases, legal frameworks.
including headteachers, should safeguard children’s
wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching You can check to see if others are creating or posting
profession as part of their professional duties. objectionable material about you online:
• School staff should be supported in their use of • You can use search engines to check what images and
technologies including social media. text are associated with your name, or with a combination
Schools are required to ensure staff receive regular training of your school and name. This will help establish what
and information relating to online safety and cyberbullying. information other people can easily find about you.
In addition, school staff behavioural policies must include • You can search within social networking services.
the acceptable use of technologies and the use of social
media, including communications between staff • Staff may only become aware of other people posting
and students. objectionable material when a colleague or student
alerts them. Encouraging everyone to report any
For further information about these requirements, see the inappropriate material they find is an important way
Department for Education statutory guidance, Keeping to address cyberbullying.
children safe in education.
• Staff should take steps to ensure they protect their

personal data. “Unfortunately we have had incidents of inappropriate
comments made about school staff members on social
Staff should be aware that many employers carry out networking services. A Facebook and Twitter account
web and social network service searches to find online was set up deliberately to attack the school and its staff.
After consulting the Professional’s Online Safety Helpline,
information about staff – background, interests, career we were successful in our dealings with Twitter to get
experiences and self-presentation. All staff, including new the site taken down and with Facebook to remove the
school’s branding. We were quick to move when alerted
staff in training and induction, need to be advised to
to this content, giving strict instructions to staff not to
ensure that publically available information about them engage with these individuals online which I am sure
is appropriate. stopped the problem escalating.”
e-Safety Co-ordinator, secondary school
• Communications online are rarely private. Others may pass
on or re-post material shared digitally.

What young people have told us
5. What young
people have told us
What did young people tell us about effective • cyberbullying doesn’t always have to be extreme, but it
approaches in preventing and responding can be the regularity or the number of people involved that
to cyberbullying? makes it particularly upsetting.
This guidance has been developed in consultation with • while many young people were aware of cyberbullying
young people. Childnet International talked to five groups of incidents in their school, they also recognised that they
secondary-aged young people between the ages of 12-17, might not always know about it.
about cyberbullying, what effective strategies schools are • there can be a tendency to typecast people as either a
implementing and what can be improved to help support “bully” or a “victim” but it is often not as clear cut as this.
young people more effectively.
What awareness do young people have on school rules

What are young people’s definitions and experiences around cyberbullying?
of cyberbullying?
• Some young people were very aware of rules around
The young people were able to define cyberbullying in the cyberbullying and what the consequences would be, while
following ways: others knew you would get in trouble for cyberbullying but
said they hadn’t been explicitly told about it. Some young
• posting comments, messages, photos or screenshots
people didn’t think there were any rules at all.
that are mean, threatening, untrue, personal, secret or
embarrassing. Young people also mentioned cyberbullying • Most young people found out about the rules around
could be targeted on the grounds of gender, gender cyberbullying because they saw what happened with an
identity, sexual orientation and race. incident in school; for example, a pupil being excluded.
However, young people also commented on issues that
• anonymous messages or abuse (on social networks or
went unpunished or were not reported to school in the
online gaming).
first place.
• filming you or taking photos of you without your consent.
• Some young people felt that schools often did not have
• ‘indirect’ messages when you don’t directly name rules about bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation,
someone but everyone knows who you are talking about. gender or gender identity. Young people felt they were told
that cyberbullying was wrong, but not told about different
• fake accounts or profiles.
types of prejudice-based bullying.
• excluding people from online conversations or talk behind
your back.
Where would young people turn if they were
• Young people highlighted a range of reasons why people being cyberbullied?
might cyberbully others, including: boredom, acting
tough, jealousy, hiding behind a screen, grudges or • Friends or siblings.
disagreements, wanting attention, peer pressure or those
• Parents or other family members.
who had been bullied themselves might want others to
experience what they have been through. • A few young people would turn to a teacher or
counsellor, and often named a particular teacher who had
responsibility for offering pastoral support to pupils.
Young people also identified a number of experiences in
relation to cyberbullying: • Some young people wouldn’t tell anyone if they had
been cyberbullied.
• cyberbullying often happens alongside offline bullying.
• a range of popular services were named where

cyberbullying takes place, including social networks and
online gaming platforms.
What young people have told us UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 30
What reasons did young people give for why they might • Inclusion of cyberbullying when the school talks
not tell someone they were being cyberbullied? about bullying
• Fear of the bully or worried the bullying might escalate • Cyberbullying should not be addressed as an isolated
issue, but be integrated across behavioural, pastoral and
• Embarrassment citizenship activities
• Not wanting others to see them as a ‘snitch’
• Telling someone would be perceived as a sign What young people would do to help someone who
of weakness was being cyberbullied
• Feeling that people would not care • Positive approaches include:

• Being threatened or blackmailed into not speaking out ‒‒ being aware of risks and managing these ahead of time
• Belief that they were somehow responsible for (i.e. only friending trusted people on identifiable accounts,
being bullied protecting personal information and using privacy settings).
‒‒ telling a trusted adult.
• Did not think adults would believe them, or understand
what cyberbullying was ‒‒ supporting the person who is being cyberbullied (i.e.
making sure that they didn’t feel alone, trying to cheer them
• Would only tell if the bullying got really bad up, helping them to report, giving practical advice – e.g.
• Worry that parents might confiscate devices or stop them showing them how to use blocking and privacy settings).
from going online
• Approaches to be cautious of include:
‒‒ relying solely on support from friends or siblings.

What reasons did young people give for why they
might not tell a school staff member they are ‒‒ standing up for the person being bullied – with the risk of
being cyberbullied? getting drawn into the incident.
‒‒ reacting to the incident by removing themselves from the
• Uncertainty about who to turn to in school or teachers situation or changing their behaviour (i.e. closing accounts,
being too busy changing user names or using a different app).
• Fear of everyone at school finding out if they told a teacher
• Risky approaches include:
• Feeling the schools don’t have a detailed enough
understanding of social networks and other online services ‒‒ getting angry and cyberbullying the person back, or
physically attacking the person doing the cyberbullying.
• For LGB&T people, perception that school staff lack
‒‒ doing nothing and advising others to ignore it.
familiarity with issues relating to gender identity and
sexual orientation
• Teachers might not feel they have a role to play as it’s

something that happens in a young person’s private life.
• Feeling that schools don’t take an interest in cyberbullying

or take it seriously
• If they were being cyberbullied by someone from another

school or being cyberbullied anonymously – feeling that the
school would not be able to help
What would make it easier for young people to turn to

someone at school?
• Having an approachable member of staff that pupils feel

comfortable around and knowing what times they would
be available
• More confidential and private routes for reporting concerns
• Assurance that if they reported concerns it would not result

in everyone in the school finding out
• Being able to speak to someone their own age like

peer mentors
What young people have told us UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 31
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CYBERBULLYING:

Acknowledgements 4 What is cyberbullying? 27

Executive summary 5 How common is cyberbullying against school employees? 27

1. Understanding cyberbullying 7 Cyberbullying and the law 28

What is cyberbullying? 7 Additional support 28

Forms that cyberbullying can take 8 Images and video 28

Characteristics of cyberbullying 9 Personal mobile devices 28

Research into cyberbullying 9 Protecting personal information 29

Legal duties and powers 10

A whole school community approach 12

Understanding and talking about cyberbullying 13

Updating existing policies and practices 14

Making reporting cyberbullying easier 14

Promoting the positive use of technology 15

Evaluating the impact of prevention activities 16

Brought to you by: As part of: Supported by:

Foreword UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 3

Professionals Online Safety Helpline

South West Grid for Learning

Teacher Development Trust

The UK Safer Internet Centre

Welsh Government: Llywodraeth Cymru

UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 4

• There is not a criminal offence called cyberbullying.

UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 5

• The person being bullied may have evidence of the activity

Executive Summary UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 6

“We often discuss cyberbullying with our ‒‒ impersonation

• Any member of the school community – pupil, staff

Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 7

• On some services, it is possible for members to set up a

• Using public forums, such as social networking sites

• Tracking someone’s activity and collecting information

Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 8

cyberbullying disproportionately affected. Girls, learners with

Motivation: cyberbullying is typically carried out on

Evidence: online and mobile communications leave a

Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 9

• they do not like a person

• they feel provoked Civil and criminal law

• Protection from Harassment Act 1997: includes criminal

Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 10

• Criminal Justice Act 1988: makes the possession

Gov.UK Bullying at school: the law

Understanding Department for Education (2014) Cyber

Is the school familiar with the key laws and

Does the school effectively address the range of

Understanding cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 11

Effectively addressing cyberbullying is an ongoing

• understand and talk about cyberbullying

• keep policies and practices up to date

The schools anti-cyberbullying work will need to involve:

Preventing cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 12

Key external organisations can provide information, guidance,

Schools are under a statutory duty to promote the Spiritual,

2.3 Understanding and

Preventing cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 13

The school should publicise arrangements for dealing with

All members of the community should recognise that asking

Preventing cyberbullying UNDERSTANDING, PREVENTING AND RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING 14