Evidence from Next Steps supports Anti-Bullying Week campaigns

The Anti-Bullying Alliance, a leading charity working to stop bullying in the UK, has seized on findings from Next Steps in a campaign to stop the victimisation of young people with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN).

Researchers at the UCL Institute of Education and the London School of Economics and Political Science found that 15-year-olds with statements of SEN were significantly more likely to be frequent victims of threats or acts of physical violence and theft, even when other factors that increase the risk of bullying were taken into account. They were also more likely to be excluded by a group of schoolmates or called names – a form of victimisation that is often referred to as ‘relational bullying’.

The disproportionate bullying of young people with disabilities and special educational needs prompted the Anti-Bullying Alliance to focus on this group in its 2014 campaign for Anti-Bullying Week.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance called on schools to act: “This November we called on the school community to take action to stop the bullying of all children and young people – including disabled children and those with special educational needs – children who are significantly more likely to experience bullying in our schools.”

Other research based on Next Steps is available to young people, parents and teachers through the Anti-Bullying Alliance website as resources for understanding the experience of young people who are bullied.

Watch the Official Anti-Bullying Week Video 2014

This video, from the Anti-Bullying Alliance, cites findings from Next Steps at 0:58 sec