Teachers offered support to tackle harmful banter within schools
Teachers can now access support to deal with harmful banter in their schools thanks to a unique new CPD course, developed through a partnership between the Anti-Bullying Alliance and Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
By Helen Breese | Published on 28 June 2024
Categories: Press office; Research; School of Social Sciences;
Research carried out by NTU for Anti Bullying Week 2023 showed that a quarter of teachers (26%) think face-to-face banter is a serious problem within their schools, with even more (37%) thinking its effects online are serious.
Of the almost 900 teachers questioned, 62% agreed that there is a fine and subjective line of acceptability between banter and bullying.
Lucy Betts, Professor of Social Developmental Psychology at NTU’s School of Social Sciences, said: “Our research showed that knowing when banter crosses the line into bullying is a challenge for teachers. The overwhelming majority - 84% - told us that they receive no training on the issue, and 64% said they have no school policy for dealing with banter to fall back on.”
These findings have led to the development of a short online course written by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which is the first to tackle banter specifically.
Professor Lucy Betts and Dr Oonagh Steer explain their research into banter in schools
It aims to give teachers an understanding of the difference between banter and bullying, and prepare them to take a whole-school anti-bullying approach to preventing the misuse of banter, as well as identify bullying and harmful behaviours when they might be disguised as banter.
The resource will also help teachers to equip children and young people with the skills to navigate the line of acceptability between banter – which can be fun and help to strengthen friendships - and intentional unkind behaviour.
Martha Evans, Director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said: "We are thrilled to launch our new free CPD online training course we hope will address the need to manage banter effectively, ensuring it remains fun and neutral, not unkind or unwanted. We hope many educators will use this resource to help us prevent childhood bullying and foster a safe school environment."
Banter or bullying? Navigating the line of acceptable behaviour can be accessed on the Anit-Bullying Alliance website.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.
The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded The Times and The Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2023 and ranked University of the Year in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023. It was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards), University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).
NTU is the 5th largest UK institution by student numbers, with approximately 40,000 students and more than 4,400 staff located across five campuses. It has an international student population of 7,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
Since 2000, NTU has invested £570 million in tools, technology, buildings and facilities.
NTU is in the UK’s top 10 for number of applications and ranked first for accepted offers (2021 UCAS UG acceptance data). It is also among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and was the first UK university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge.
NTU is ranked the second most sustainable university in the world in the 2022 UI Green Metric University World Rankings (out of more than 900 participating universities).
About the Anti-Bullying Alliance
We are a unique coalition of organisations and individuals, working together to achieve our vision to stop bullying and create safer environments in which children and young people can live, grow, play, and learn. We train over 20k participants each year and deliver Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day to 80% of schools in England, Wales and NI. We are part of the National Children’s Bureau. We are united against bullying.
For more information visit: www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk