National bullying review recommends sweeping reforms to tackle the crisis
Schools will be told to act on bullying complaints within 48 hours of incidents being reported, with teachers receiving specialised training under reforms from a landmark review.
Schools will be told to act on bullying complaints within 48 hours of incidents being reported, with teachers receiving specialised training to tackle the crisis, under sweeping reforms unveiled in a landmark review.
A year after a Sunday Telegraph investigation uncovered a deadly patchwork of school policies that revealed widespread failures to support victims of bullying, it can be exclusively revealed a national standard will be implemented in every school across the country.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare handed down the 120-page review to state and territory ministers on Friday, which recommends key measures to be included in the national standard, such as faster responses to bullying incidents, trauma-informed training for teachers, and ongoing improvements in how schools address the issue.
Mr Clare said the federal government would inject $10 million into tackling the issue, including $5 million into a national awareness campaign and a further $5 million into new resources for teachers, students, and parents to better prevent and respond to bullying.
In a win for children, teens and victims of bullying across Australia, education ministers in each state and territory have agreed to this historic national standard.
Importantly, the report said all schools must initiate a response to any observed or reported harmful behaviour and report incidents or complaints within two school days, rapidly speeding up the investigation process for cases, and giving parents a metric to hold slow-moving schools accountable.
Schools should also be made to keep records on every report or incident of bullying, including details about the people involved, any evidence presented, and the actions undertaken by the school, including time frames.
On Friday, education ministers also agreed to create a resource hub that will offer educators evidence-based bullying resources and programs.
The Telegraph’s investigation was driven by the suicide of 12-year-old Charlotte O’Brien, whose parents struggled to get support from her school before her death despite repeated complaints.
The investigation tracked the experiences of three other families who were unable to get the support they needed from schools when they asked for help.
Charlotte’s parents, Mat and Kelly O’Brien, who met with Mr Clare earlier this week, supported the reforms, including forcing schools to act faster when complaints are made.
Mr Clare, who welcomed the review’s findings and recommendations, said the need for schools to act “really quickly” stood out to him.
“A lot of parents told us it was taking far too long for schools to act on bullying complaints,” he said.
“If we’re going to properly tackle bullying, we need to nip it in the bud and to act early to make sure that action is taken within two days of a complaint being made to the school.”
Mr Clare said the report also recommended schools being equipped with the best resources to tackle bullying.
“We need to make sure teachers have the right tools and training so they know how to act and what to do.
“The report refers to the term upstander and for young people not to be bystanders to bullying, but upstanders who stand up to protect others.”
Expert co-chairs, Dr Charlotte Keating, a clinical psychologist, and Dr Jo Robinson, who leads suicide prevention research, led the review and received almost 1700 submissions from students, parents and educators detailing accounts of real-life bullying experiences and the need for urgent action.
The report states the co-chairs heard strongly about the “devastating” impacts of bullying in Australian schools, including that students who are bullied are three to six times more likely to experience depression, as well as thoughts about self harm and suicide.
“Bullying also undermines student attendance, engagement and learning outcomes; can have lifelong health and relationship impacts; and has broader impacts on social cohesion and Australia’s economy,” the report states.
“Bullying can also have tragic consequences, including young Australians dying by suicide.”
Some of the disturbing findings include 53 per cent of young people claiming they had been cyberbullied, with 13 per cent of them revealing they were told they “should die”.
Fifty-three per cent of year 4 to year 9 students reported being bullied regularly every few weeks.
Mr Clare said the review’s findings were “frightening.”
“I’m not naive. There’s always been bullies, and they’ll always be bullying, and sometimes it will be at school, sometimes it’ll be outside school, but schools are a place where we can do something about it.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “This review backs up what parents and teachers have been saying for years.”
“Experts have outlined the damage that bullying can do to a young person, especially after the bell rings and it follows them home on their phones via social media,” he said.
Mr Clare said work will begin “immediately” to address the issue in schools, with an implementation plan to be discussed at the Education Ministers meeting in February.
ACU education expert and former principal Associate Professor Paul Kidson welcomed the commitment to extra funding and training but raised concerns about a mandated timeframe to respond to incidents.
“Any good school will already respond as soon as practicable. Given how complex some bullying issues are to unravel, a thorough investigation and appropriate action can take time. More funding could be used to hire allied health and support staff to help deal with incidents, so already overworked educators can focus on teaching and learning,” he said.
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Originally published as National bullying review recommends sweeping reforms to tackle the crisis
