ARRecent cyber-bullying research that has been conducted by the Early Intervention Foundation has shown that only a third of professionals working with adolescents were ‘equipped to help stop cyberbullying’. Other findings that were concluded showed a lack of training for certain professionals working within secondary schools.
The Latest Statistics
The research that was undertaken in October surveyed over 4,000 secondary school teachers and looked into how schools were supporting their students with the issue of cyber-bullying. The top findings that were uncovered showed that:
- ‘33% of respondents felt equipped to stop cyberbullying amongst pupils’
- ‘60% of secondary school teachers have not completed any cyberbullying-related training in the past 12 months’
- ‘Older teachers and headteachers were the most likely to have received cyberbullying-related training.’
*Taken from Early Intervention Foundation
From these findings, it shows that the majority of professionals working in these settings do not have the awareness or knowledge around how to respond to cyberbullying concerns. With the consistent use of social media, particularly within this age group, the issue of cyberbullying is one that is common within education establishments with ‘764,000 10-15 year olds experiencing a form of cyberbully in the year ending March 2020’ (Office for National Statistics). Professionals need to feel they can respond and support those pupils who are experiencing this problem.
This ties into our own research from the 360 report launched earlier this year that showed distinct weakness within training and data protection:
- Over 40% of schools had no staff training in place
- Just under 30% have no practice in place around data protection
Online Safety Training
Online safety training is more than just a formality for the current climate. With technology playing such a prevalent part of young people’s social lives, there needs to be continued awareness around how professionals can take an active part and not feel lost when faced with difficult situations.
Online safety is such a vast field that trying to cram everything in one session is just not viable. Luckily we host training sessions that cover a wide variety of aspects specifically related to what you need, including cyberbullying.
If you want to find out more about how online safety training can benefit your school, why not take a look at our training page for staff.
