1. Key Understanding
Children and young people with disabilities or special educational needs are more likely to experience bullying than their peers.
This includes learners with:
- Learning disabilities
- Autism and developmental conditions
- Physical disabilities
- Sensory impairments
- Chronic health conditions (e.g. diabetes, epilepsy, allergies)
- Emotional or behavioural needs
These risks increase due to differences in:
- Communication
- Social understanding
- Physical ability
- School inclusion and environment
2. Why Bullying Risk Is Higher
Several factors can make students more vulnerable:
🧠 Social understanding differences
Some children may:
- Struggle to read social cues
- Misunderstand intent
- Find it hard to respond to bullying appropriately
🧍 Physical vulnerability
Students may be:
- Less able to defend themselves
- Slower to move away from unsafe situations
- Dependent on support or mobility aids
🏫 Environmental factors
Bullying is more likely when:
- Staff are unaware or undertrained
- School culture lacks inclusion
- Anti-bullying systems are weak or unclear
3. Who Is Most at Risk?
Children with:
- Autism spectrum conditions
- ADHD or behavioural needs
- Learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia, intellectual disability)
- Physical disabilities (e.g. cerebral palsy, spina bifida)
- Chronic medical needs
- Food allergies or medical conditions
👉 Some children may also be targeted specifically because of their condition or health needs.
4. Types of Bullying Experienced
👄 Verbal bullying
- Name-calling
- Mocking differences
- Threats or insults
🚶 Physical bullying
- Hitting, pushing, or blocking movement
- Damaging personal belongings
- Misusing or interfering with medical equipment
🤝 Social exclusion
- Being left out deliberately
- Ignoring or isolating the student
- Spreading rumours
💻 Online bullying
- Hurtful messages
- Public humiliation
- Exclusion from online groups
5. Special Health Risk Concerns
Some bullying behaviours can become extremely serious, including:
- Deliberately exposing children to allergens
- Making threats involving medical conditions
- Interfering with medication or treatment needs
👉 In these cases, bullying can become dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
6. Signs a Child May Be Being Bullied
Adults should look for:
- Avoiding school or activities
- Sudden behaviour changes
- Anxiety or low mood
- Injuries or damaged belongings
- Withdrawal from friends
- Changes in sleep or eating
- Fear of certain places or people
- Increased distress around devices (possible cyberbullying)
7. Impact of Bullying
Bullying can affect:
🧠 Mental health
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Emotional distress
📚 Education
- Falling grades
- Loss of focus
- School refusal
🧍 Social development
- Isolation
- Difficulty forming friendships
- Long-term confidence issues
8. What Schools Should Do
Schools have a responsibility to:
- Protect students from discrimination and bullying
- Ensure safe learning environments
- Respond quickly to concerns
- Train staff properly
- Provide reasonable adjustments
- Use safeguarding procedures consistently
If bullying is linked to disability, it may fall under disability harassment, requiring stronger action and legal compliance.
9. Responding to Bullying (Best Practice Steps)
Step 1: Listen and support
- Take concerns seriously
- Reassure the child
- Avoid blaming or minimising
Step 2: Record everything
- Dates
- Details
- Witnesses
- Patterns
Step 3: Report to school
- Inform safeguarding lead or leadership team
- Request formal documentation
Step 4: Ensure action is taken
- Behaviour plans for perpetrators
- Safety plans for the child
- Monitoring of ongoing risk
Step 5: Advocate if needed
- Escalate concerns if unresolved
- Seek external support if required
10. Prevention Strategies
🏫 School-level actions
- Clear anti-bullying policies
- Disability awareness training
- Inclusive classroom culture
- Active supervision
👥 Social support
- Peer mentoring systems
- Buddy schemes
- Friendship-building activities
🧑🏫 Staff development
Staff should be trained to recognise:
- Subtle bullying
- Social isolation
- Behavioural changes linked to distress
📘 EASY READ VERSION
Bullying and Special Educational Needs
💡 What we know
Children with disabilities or extra needs:
- May be bullied more often
- May find speaking up harder
- May need extra support
⚠️ Why this happens
Some children are bullied because:
- They learn or communicate differently
- They look or behave differently
- They may need extra help
👄 Types of bullying
Bullying can be:
- Hurtful words
- Being left out
- Hitting or pushing
- Online messages
🧠 How bullying affects people
Bullying can make someone feel:
- Sad
- Scared
- Lonely
- Worried about school
🛑 What schools should do
Schools should:
- Keep children safe
- Stop bullying quickly
- Teach kindness
- Include everyone
🤝 What to do if it happens
- Tell a trusted adult
- Write it down
- Ask for help
- Keep safe
🌟 Important message
Every child deserves:
- Respect
- Safety
- Support
- Friendship
🧭 PRACTICAL SAFEGUARDING TOOLKIT
👀 Warning signs checklist
- School refusal
- Emotional distress
- Sudden behaviour changes
- Loss of belongings
- Fear of peers
- Social withdrawal
🧑🏫 Staff response checklist
- Listen without judgement
- Record clearly
- Report to safeguarding lead
- Follow policy
- Monitor ongoing risk
- Communicate with parents/carers
🧩 Prevention focus
- Inclusion in all activities
- Strong reporting systems
- Disability awareness training
- Safe classroom culture
- Peer relationship support
📊 KEY TAKEAWAY
- Children with special needs are at higher risk of bullying
- Risk is linked to communication, environment, and vulnerability
- Bullying can have serious emotional and educational effects
- Schools must act quickly and appropriately
- Prevention depends on inclusion, awareness, and safeguarding systems
