The largest survey ever into bullying in Scotland is to help shape the support given to children and young people
Nearly one in three pupils at Scottish schools have been bullied in the last year according to a groundbreaking new survey.
Anti-bullying service Respect Me conducted the biggest ever poll of pupils across all 32 local authorities and discovered only half had told their parents of their troubles.
The survey found 30% of children were bullied in the last school year – with one in five only being subjected to online bullying and the majority of 60% only being bullied offline.
For just over 20% there was no escape though as they were bullied both on and offline.
Respect Me released the results of its survey of almost 8000 eight-19 year olds to coincide with Anti-Bullying Week, which runs until Friday.
That the majority of bullying did not take place online should help schools, parents and the wider community make sure they maintain a focus on all types of bullying
Brian Donnelly, director of Respect Me, said: “The number of responses to this survey exceeded our expectations and has given us a very clear picture of what children and young people are experiencing.
“I think the finding that the majority of bullying did not take place online should help schools, parents and the wider community make sure they maintain a focus on all types of bullying, both bullying that happens in person and online.
“We will now continue to work with the Scottish Government to further analyse the survey findings that will influence policy, training and resources to help adults make a real difference to the lives of children and young people.”
The survey also found that nine out 10 children knew who their bully was, challenging the belief that online bullying thrived on exploiting anonymity.
Mobile phones have also overtaken personal computers as the way for most young people to access the internet which could have implications for the way that parents, carers and teachers safeguard online behaviour, but also for the government and its partners offering support for those concerned about online safety.
Alasdair Allan, minister for learning, science and Scotland’s languages, said: “This is the first time that we have an indication of the scale and impact of bullying on Scotland’s young people.
“Though it does not offer a direct comparison, a previous report for the UK government showed that just under half of those questioned said they have experienced bullying so this would indicate a step in the right direction, but it is still too high a number of young people being targeted.
“The response to the survey has been incredible and the government will continue to support Respect Me to break down this information further and ensure that lessons are learned and we make even greater progress to help those suffering and bring about a culture change that recognises bullying in all its forms and clearly says we will not tolerate this.”
Allan added the results of the survey will be used to further develop anti-bullying policies.
A working group will be set up in the new year to refresh and develop a revised national approach.
