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Can a school‐based programme reduce bullying?

Because of the mental health consequences of childhood bullying and violence, prevention is clearly a major priority for public health and education systems internationally. A cluster randomised trial using a whole secondary school intervention (Learning Together) was compared with standard practice (controls) in southeast England. Intervention involved staff training plus a student social and emotional skills curriculum. Primary outcomes, measured after 36 months, were self-report of bullying (Gatehouse Bullying Scale (GBS)) and perpetration of aggression (Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC) school misbehaviour sub-scale). Forty schools were randomised (20 in each group), and a total of 6667 students participated, with an 83% follow-up rate. At 36 months, there was a small but significant difference in mean GBS bullying score between groups (adjusted mean difference (−0.03, 95% confidence interval –0.06 to −0.001; adjusted effect size −0.08). However, although there was a small between groups difference in mean ESYTC score at 36 months, it was not statistically significant. Although this randomised trial on preventing bullying found only a small positive effect, promoting student health through a whole-school programme appears to be a feasible and efficient way of addressing school bullying – and possibly violence.