A recent survey of 4,336 school teachers in the UK has revealed that only one in three teachers feels equipped to deal with cyberbullying in the classroom. The survey conducted by Teacher Tapp for the EIF found that over 60% of front-line classroom teachers had not been given any cyberbullying training and felt ill-equipped to support students or intervene effectively in cyberbullying incidents. Figures from the report also suggest that older teachers and headteachers were the most likely members of staff to have received training related to cyberbullying.
The lack of teacher training for dealing with cyberbullying-related issues as well as the lack of definitive evidence, guidelines, and understanding of what works to prevent online bullying is all the more worrying given the scale of the problem. Recent figures from the UK's Office for National Statistics show that 764,000 10 to 15-year-olds were cyberbullied in the year ending March 2020.
We understand the challenges facing educators when attempting to tackle cyberbullying. It is essential that schools are given the resources and training to not only enable staff to deal effectively with incidents and support those students affected, but also to create learning opportunities that can empower young people to learn more about looking after themselves and each other online.
Dan Raisbeck, Co-founder, The Cybersmile Foundation
The survey has prompted calls for social and emotional learning (SEL) to be introduced into school curriculums as a priority to help children develop emotional and social skills that can help limit harms caused by online bullying. Other important areas that can be explored through SEL learning include diversity, empathy, resilience, self-awareness, responsible decision making and relationship skills.
Schools are being encouraged by stakeholders to provide more guidance, education, and support for teachers and pupils regarding increasing and ever-changing risks online. Educators falling behind in their knowledge and understanding of these issues have been urged to focus on creating more opportunities for meaningful engagement with children, young people, and parents so that a wider network of support, guidance, and learning for whole school communities can be established.