New survey reveals 60% of local authorities have no safer travel policy

- more needs to be done to tackle bullying on the buses say charity 4children and annette brooke MP -

One year on from the publication of Government  guidance on tackling bullying on journeys to and from school, a new survey shows that the majority of local authorities still do not have a safer travel policy in place.

Tackling bullying has been identified as a high priority by Government and is explicitly referenced in two of its five Every Child Matters outcomes.  The DCSF Safe from Bullying on Journeys document, published in April 2009, states that ‘Local authorities have a key role in co-ordinating the anti-bullying activities or partners in their area to ensure an effective joined up approach.’ The document goes on to state that the first key step is for relevant stakeholders to agree a safer travel policy.

However, new figures from research carried out by 4Children, with support from Annette Brooke MP, reveal that many local authorities have failed or have been slow to develop and implement important policies to prevent children from bullying on the bus.

The survey of 67 local authorities, carried out by 4Children revealed that: 

• % did not have a safer travel policy
• 52% did not have a safer travel team
• Of those local authorities who did have a safer travel policy
• only 50% said it covered all forms of bullying
• only 38% said it covered all forms of journeys

Anne Longfield OBE, Chief Executive of 4Children said: “We know that bullying at school causes extreme distress for many children and also their parents. But bullying will often follow a child beyond the school gates when they are out of view from school staff. Sometimes sadly it can end in tragedy. 

“The implementation of anti-bullying policies outside the school gates has been slow with many local agencies still not working together as well as they could.  We must drive up efforts to stamp out bullying outside as well as inside schools to protect children from a daily misery which can lead to tragic outcomes.”

Paul Vodden, father of 11 year old son Ben who tragically took his own life after bullying on a school journey said: “What happened to Ben must be considered fairly unique. Things came to a head when not only was he bullied by a few fellow students but the bus driver joined in. 

“In my opinion, this incident represents a small tip to a very large iceberg of misery for many children who have a hard time on their way to and from school on dedicated school buses.  In what other situation would we expect an untrained and unqualified adult to be in sole charge of 50 or more children and to do another complex task at the same time, the clue is in the name “bus driver”, not “teacher” not “child minder” not “carer” but “bus driver”! 

“There is a real need for driver training in child psychology as well as to provide them an understanding of what is acceptable behaviour with children.  There is also a need for a second level of monitoring students whilst they are on such buses, not simply leaving it to bus drivers on their own to provide discipline and to deal with behavioural problems as they arise.”

Annette Brook, MP for Mid Dorset and Poole North and Liberal Democrat spokesperson for children and young people said: “The survey revealed what I had long suspected, that paperwork and policies may well be in place but the actual implementation of strong anti bullying policies is not consistently happening, particularly with bullying beyond the school gates.

“This has been highlighted to me by the tragic case of Mr Paul Vodden’s son, Ben. Mr Vodden now lives in my constituency but the incident took place in another part of Southern England.  Ben took his own life after persistent bullying on a school bus. The bullying incidents were reported but still the end result was this dreadful tragedy. It is important that as a society we learn the lesson that bullying must be tackled at all levels and appropriate training given to everybody involved, including school bus drivers.”

Full DCSF Safe from Bullying on journeys document is available at the link here. http://tinyurl.com/y9kdaqs

4Children
4Children is the national charity all about children and families. It aspires to ensure that all children, young people and families have access to a creative, safe and child focused environment, and activities. For more information see www.4Children.org.uk.