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Bullying can have a significant impact on children's and young people's wellbeing, sense of safety and engagement with learning.
Schools work hard to respond effectively when concerns arise. Many have well-established policies, reporting systems and procedures to support children and young people when bullying occurs.
Yet for many school leaders, trust leaders and local authority professionals, an important question remains:
How do we create environments where bullying is less likely to happen in the first place?
At Thrive, we know that preventing bullying is about more than responding to individual incidents. It is about creating a culture where positive relationships, emotional wellbeing and a strong sense of belonging are woven into everyday school life.
This approach underpins our new course, Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action.
Looking beyond incidents
Responding effectively to bullying will always be an important responsibility for schools. Most schools already have policies, reporting procedures and support systems in place. Yet many leaders continue to consider a broader question:
What helps create the conditions where bullying is less likely to occur in the first place?
This is not simply a safeguarding issue. Bullying can influence children's sense of safety, belonging and wellbeing, as well as their engagement with learning and school life. Department for Education guidance makes clear that preventing bullying should sit within a wider approach to behaviour, safeguarding and pupil wellbeing.
Alongside this, evidence continues to highlight the links between attendance, wellbeing, relationships and pupils' experiences in school. The Education Endowment Foundation identifies bullying as one of a number of factors that can contribute to absence, alongside anxiety and wider emotional challenges.
For schools, trusts and local authorities alike, this reinforces the importance of creating environments where children feel safe, connected and able to thrive.
Building a culture of prevention
While clear procedures and effective responses remain essential, many leaders recognise that preventing bullying requires more than policies alone.
It requires a shared understanding of what bullying is and what it is not, consistent practice across staff teams and a culture where relationships, inclusion and belonging are actively nurtured every day.
Research into anti-bullying approaches highlights the value of whole-setting strategies that focus on culture, staff confidence and consistency. A pilot funded through the Education Endowment Foundation and Youth Endowment Fund found participating schools strengthened their anti-bullying approaches, practices and strategies through a whole-school model.
At Thrive, we have long championed the role of relationships in supporting positive behaviour, emotional wellbeing and inclusion. Understanding behaviour through a developmental and relational lens can help schools move beyond simply managing incidents towards strengthening the conditions that support prevention.
A relational and developmental approach
At Thrive, we understand that behaviour can communicate something about a child or young person’s needs, experiences and social context. When bullying behaviour occurs, adults need to understand the patterns and conditions surrounding it, while acting promptly to protect those who have experienced harm.
Understanding does not excuse harmful behaviour or reduce the need for clear boundaries, safeguarding and follow-up. It helps adults respond with greater clarity, fairness and effectiveness, holding safety, dignity and accountability together. A relational and developmental approach also avoids shame and fixed labels, recognising that children and young people can be supported to take responsibility, repair harm where appropriate and develop different ways of relating to others.
A relational approach encourages schools to:
- protect and support children and young people who have experienced harm
- respond to bullying behaviour with clear boundaries, accountability and support for change
- recognise and address prejudice-based and identity-targeted bullying
- notice how adult regulation, assumptions and bias may shape responses
- make reporting and support accessible for different communication, cultural and developmental needs
- strengthen belonging and positive relationships across the whole setting
- establish consistent language and follow-up across staff teams
These are the foundations of prevention.
Introducing Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action
Developed for educators working in primary and secondary settings, Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action is Thrive's first dedicated training programme focused entirely on bullying prevention through a relational, developmental and whole-setting lens.
Delivered through two live online sessions across six hours of learning, the course combines anti-bullying guidance, developmental neuroscience, relational practice and practical implementation support.
The programme is designed to be practical and implementation-focused. Learners are supported to review their current approach, identify priorities and develop a clear plan for strengthening prevention across their setting. Learners use a completed audit to identify strengths, patterns and priorities within their setting. During the course, they are supported to turn those findings into focused actions, with clear ownership, success indicators and practical next steps that can be embedded into policy, curriculum and everyday practice.
The course is relevant for senior leaders, governors, DSLs, pastoral teams, teachers, teaching assistants, inclusion leads and wider staff teams. It can support individual schools, trusts seeking greater consistency across settings, and local authorities looking to strengthen anti-bullying practice across their school communities.
Creating cultures where every child can thrive
Schools, trusts and local authorities share a common goal: creating environments where children and young people feel safe, valued and able to thrive. Preventing bullying is an important part of that work.
It is not about finding a quick fix or implementing a standalone initiative. It is about creating the conditions that support belonging, strengthen relationships and promote positive behaviour across an entire setting.
By combining evidence-informed practice with practical implementation, Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action has been designed to help education professionals take the next step in that journey.
Because when children feel safe, connected and understood, they are better placed to learn, develop positive relationships and achieve their potential.
Secure places on the first Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action cohort
The first cohort of Preventing Bullying Through Awareness and Action runs from 18-25 November 2026, during Anti-Bullying Week.
Find out more and book your place.
If you're a local authority and would like to discuss a authority-wide approach to bullying book a discovery call.
