Toward a just and inclusive anti-bullying policy: Submission to the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review

What is the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review
The Department of Education Anti-Bullying Rapid Review was announced on 16 February 2025. Expert co-chairs, Dr Charlotte Keating and Dr Jo Robinson AM are leading the rapid review to look at what is working and what needs strengthening before reporting to Education Ministers with options for the development of a consistent national standard for responding to bullying and its underlying causes in schools.

A standard could inform policies across jurisdictions, in both the government and non-government school sectors, to provide children and parents confidence that no matter where a child goes to school, if they’re experiencing bullying, it will be managed in an appropriate way.

The Rapid Review will include in-person engagement, online engagement and a written feedback process. In person and online engagement will include engagement across parent groups, school peaks, unions, and government agencies, as well as directly with parents, teachers and young people

Submission to the Department of Education Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. 
30 June 2025

Executive Summary
Bullying in Australian schools remains a persistent and deeply harmful problem. It disproportionately affects students from marginalised groups and is one of the main reasons for young people disengaging from school and community. It is undermining educational opportunity and in areas facing disadvantage, perpetuating cycles of poverty. Chain Reaction Foundation (Chain Reaction)’s submission offers a set of guiding principles for a national anti-bullying framework, grounded in over 20 years working with schools, families and young people at risk of disengagement from school. The guiding principles are also supported by academic research on anti-bullying such as Jadambaa et al., (2021) and Parada et al.,(2005; 2022) among others.

Our submission advocates for restorative, relational, and identity-strengthening approaches that address the root causes of bullying. We propose investment in whole-of-school strategies and targeted small-group interventions that support the development of self-concept, self-esteem and self-efficacy and consider the young person in context of their life experience and environment.

Learning Ground in School (LGiS), our evidence-backed and academically evaluated program, has shown measurable success in improving emotional regulation and peer relationships in high-need schools.

To address bullying effectively, we must prioritise wellbeing and relationality alongside literacy and numeracy. Systemic transformation is possible through fostering a sense of belonging within schools and community. This submission outlines the case for a systemic, inclusive national approach that reflects the complex social and developmental realities of young people today.

About Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction’s purpose is to empower young people and their families living in disadvantaged circumstances to overcome challenges such as social disconnection and mental health struggles through a relational approach. Our programs are culturally inclusive, academically proven, evidence-based and foster resilience, self-confidence, and meaningful connections. Through programs like Learning Ground, we support young people to stay (and engage) in school, develop life skills, and make positive life choices. We focus on the specific challenges faced by young people, including disengagement from school, behavioural struggles, and mental health challenges. We work to create brighter futures by nurturing personal growth, wellbeing, and building stronger, more inclusive communities. Our wellbeing and behavioural change programs are delivered at a standalone centre in Mt Druitt, Western Sydney ( Mt Druitt Learning Ground) and in schools across Western and South Western Sydney ( Learning Ground in School).

Bullying as a Social Justice Issue
Bullying is more than interpersonal conflict and is often a manifestation of structural and cultural inequalities within the education system. Our experience shows that marginalised students, whose identities may differ by geography or context, are disproportionately affected. Families frequently report confusion around school bullying policies, frustration with ineffective responses, and pressure to encourage self-defence in their children. Often those that have been bullied, at school or in the home, become bullies as self-defence.

It is important that a national approach to anti bullying acknowledges and addresses the vulnerable time that adolescence is in young people. It is a time when young people develop their sense of self and start to make choices about who they will be. In bullying behaviour, both perpetrators and victims often suffer from damaged self-concept, which contributes to ongoing relational conflict and psychosocial distress. This is why it is important that we move away from labelling and recognise the role fluidity between the bully and victim. This reinforces the need for an approach that avoids labelling and instead addresses the underlying reasons behind behaviour manifestations.

It is important that the national approach addresses the persistent problem of bullying in Australian schools through a psycho-social lens, focusing on developmental psychology, restorative justice and inclusivity.

Whole-school changes that improve prevention and response
Effective anti-bullying efforts require a whole-of-community approach. Parents, carers, and students must be clearly informed of school policies and reporting processes. Professional development for teachers and school staff should include training in relational and restorative practices that help identify stress factors early and build positive peer connections.

At whole school level, programs should focus on creating a sense of belonging and emotional safety for all students and staff, as well as training for school staff to identify stress factors in young people early, not just addressing bullying as a barrier to overcoming academic and social success.

Small Group interventions
Whole of school strategies must be complemented by small group interventions that build self-esteem and help students resist engaging in or being drawn into bullying behaviours. Chain Reaction’s Learning Ground in School (LGiS) program provides small-group, trust-based group session that re-engage at risk students and prevent bullying escalations.

Learning Ground is a program that was developed in Mt Druitt, NSW, one of the toughest areas in Australia and has been academically proven as a successful focused intervention. LGiS was piloted from 2020-2022 in seven Western and Southwestern Sydney secondary schools. These seven schools cater to many students for whom complex intersecting inequities are a dominant feature of their lives. Pre- and post-evaluation provided an assessment of outcomes for the student participants showing that students improved in two vital areas of wellbeing that are related to long-term resilience.

These include;

1. Emotional regulation: students were less likely to lose their temper or engage in reactive behaviours.
2. Peer relationships: students demonstrated improved social interaction, with decreased fighting and antisocial behaviour.

After attending LGiS, students reported that they did not lose their temper as easily, engaged less in activities such as taking things that did not belong to them and did not fight as frequently. School staff reported improved attendance and engagement.

Trust based small group interventions like LGiS include identity-strengthening practices that allow students to reflect on who they “want to be,” a key strategy that disrupts negative self-narratives. They also provide inclusive spaces supporting marginalised students through voice and relational safety.

Literacy, Numeracy and Relationality
There is need for significant investment in researching and implementing local based solutions that show promise in addressing student behaviour and bullying within schools.

Programs that exclude students’ emotional, social, and identity contexts, such as zero-tolerance policies, often miss addressing the underlying causes of bullying. Understanding the WHY behind students’ behaviour and helping them address those behaviours is critical to policies addressing bullying. We must invest in solutions that help young people understand WHY they behave in certain ways and support them to change.

Both state and federal government need to invest more in wellbeing programs and prioritise wellbeing in schools. Relationality must have similar investment as literacy and numeracy within Australia’s education system to meet the needs of the 21st century student. Social–emotional learning (SEL) and emotion-coaching needs to be embedded across classrooms as core competencies for students and staff alike.

Conclusion
Effective anti-bullying policy must embrace identity development, relational approaches, and systemic transformation. Evidence-backed programs grounded in inclusion, such as LGiS help improve interpersonal communication and address underlying issues for students. LGiS demonstrated that weekly groups (one hour a week) helped re-engage students at risk and promoted a sense of belonging and safety for students and staff.

We recommend a national approach to anti bullying;

• Includes significant investment in prioritising relationality as a key learning in schools. Consistent modules in schools that build self-concept and identity are effective in disrupting cycles of bullying, for both those targeted and those engaging in harmful behaviours.
• Ensures early, targeted support is funded and staffed for at-risk/disengaged students. LGiS has demonstrated that this prevents escalation and enhances emotional literacy across schools for students and staff.

Together, these principles help shape a safer, more inclusive education system where all students can thrive.