Weekly bullying reported by 42% of students at some schools

Radio NZ News 15 August 2017
Nearly half the children at some primary schools report being bullied at least once a week, a national survey has found.
The Education Ministry’s Wellbeing at School survey found the incidence of weekly bullying at 100 large primary schools ranged from 2 to 42 percent, and from 2 to 26 percent at 82 large secondary schools.
The survey collected data from more than 58,000 students, ranging from year 4 to year 13.
Overall, across all the schools, 15 percent of children – nearly 9000 – reported being bullied at least every week.
Schools that provided extra support for the victims of bullying had a lower rate of reported bullying than schools that had no extra support, the survey found.
The Council for Educational Research, which managed the survey, said the results showed there was less aggressive behaviour at schools that actively promoted student wellbeing at a school-wide level.
“Teachers reported these schools had practices that promoted a wellbeing culture, demonstrated collaborative leadership, offered support for students, and prioritised staff development,” senior researcher Sally Boyd said.
“These practices were backed up with effective policies and procedures relating to behaviour.”
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