Is bullying a safeguarding issue or not?

Under the Children Act 1989, a bullying incident should be addressed as a child protection concern when there is ‘reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm’.

Where this is the case, the provider’s staff should report their concerns to their local authority’s social services department.

Even where safeguarding is not considered to be an issue, providers may need to draw on a range of external services to support the pupil who is experiencing bullying, or to tackle any underlying issue, which has contributed to a child engaging in bullying.