Luton schools commended for tackling bullying in recent Ofsted survey

Ofsted gathered responses from 699 parents in Luton who completed the survey.

One question asked if their child had been bullied between the start of the school year and this April, and whether the school had dealt with it quickly and effectively,

325 people said the question applied to them and more than half (52%) agreed with the statement, while 32% said they did not know. Just 17% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the school had acted in this way.

In Luton, just 7% of parents also said their child was not happy at their school, and 6% said their child did not feel safe.

Cllr Aslam Kham, portfolio holder for education, said: “The result of the recent Ofsted survey stating that Luton schools have one of the best records of dealing with bullying in England, is confirmation of the ethos of acceptance, tolerance and respect that is upheld in our schools.

“All Luton schools have an Ofsted judgement of effective safeguarding of pupils. Within this is a strong theme of anti-bullying with robust behaviour policies underpinning inclusion for all. Public affirmation of this is well deserved and welcome.”

Anti-bullying charity Bullies Out said that no school can claim not to have any bullying.

It estimates it affects half of all young people, but said that schools can help by dealing with incidents quickly and effectively.

Linda James, the founder of Bullies Out, said: "Bullying is an issue of strategic as well as operational importance. It is not ‘kids being kids’ or ‘part of growing up’.

"It can devastate lives and seriously affect a person’s academic, social, emotional and physical well-being.

"For a school to reduce bullying, the emphasis must be placed on creating a culture of acceptance, tolerance and respect."