School anti-bullying programmes work modestly on average: a meta-analysis of 44 evaluations found bullying fell by 20 to 23% and being bullied by 17 to 20%. [ttofi-2011] That is real but far from a solution, and the research says less than people assume about why programmes succeed or what a parent can do at home. This guide covers what the reviews found, how results vary, whether involving parents helps and what remains unproven. Our overview of bullying covers what bullying leaves behind and what a whole-school response involves.
Do school anti-bullying programmes work?
Yes, on average and modestly. The 2011 meta-analysis pooled evaluations that compared a group receiving an anti-bullying programme with a control group that did not, and found overall decreases of 20 to 23% in bullying and 17 to 20% in victimisation. [ttofi-2011]
A larger 2019 meta-analysis of 100 independent evaluations reached the same overall conclusion: programmes were effective in reducing school-bullying perpetration and victimisation. [gaffney-2019-global] Two reviews eight years apart point the same way, which is why the average effect is the best-supported claim in this field.
Do some programmes and countries do better?
Apparently, though the rankings are shaky. In the 2019 meta-analysis, programmes evaluated in Greece were the most effective at reducing bullying perpetration, followed by Spain and Norway, while those evaluated in Italy were the most effective at reducing victimisation, followed by Spain and Norway. By region, North America led on perpetration and Scandinavia on victimisation. [gaffney-2019-global]
Among four programmes with multiple evaluations, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program produced the largest effects on perpetration, and NoTrap! was the most effective on victimisation. [gaffney-2019-global] Treat these as leads and not league tables: the authors compared countries and programmes using the evaluations that happened to exist, and a ranking built from a handful of studies can reshuffle with one more.
Does involving parents help?
A little. A meta-analysis of 22 studies with 212,211 students from kindergarten to 12th grade found that school programmes with a parental component had a small but significant effect on reducing bullying (d = 0.179, 95% confidence interval 0.095 to 0.264) and victimisation (d = 0.162, 0.059 to 0.265). [huang-2019]
Pooled effect sizes for school anti-bullying programmes with a parental component, Huang et al. (2019), 22 studies, 212,211 students. 95% confidence intervals: 0.095 to 0.264 (perpetration) and 0.059 to 0.265 (victimisation).
The effect was not affected by school level, country or the type of parental component. The abstract also says that empirical support for the common recommendation to involve parents had been scarce, which is why this synthesis was done. [huang-2019] A small effect is still an effect, but it means parent involvement is an add-on and not a fix.
| Review | What it covered | What it found |
|---|---|---|
| Ttofi and Farrington (2011) | 44 programme evaluations | Bullying down 20 to 23%, victimisation down 17 to 20% |
| Gaffney and colleagues (2019) | 100 evaluations, 12 countries | Effective overall; results vary by country and programme |
| Huang and colleagues (2019) | 22 studies with a parent component, 212,211 pupils | Small but significant effects on both outcomes |
What can this research not show?
It cannot show which recipe works, what happens in a particular school or what a parent should do at home. Five limits matter most:
- The recipe is disputed. Other researchers wrote a commentary criticising some of the strong policy implications drawn from the 2011 analysis of which programme elements and design features matter. [smith-2012]
- Rankings rest on few evaluations. The country and programme comparisons used four programmes with multiple evaluations, so they are leads. [gaffney-2019-global]
- Averages hide variation. A 20% average reduction pools many programmes, so any one programme can do better or worse than the average. [ttofi-2011]
- Parent effects are small. The parent-component effects were small, and the studies were of school programmes with a parental element, not of a parent acting alone. [huang-2019]
- Nothing here tests home advice. None of these reviews examined what a parent does when their own child is being bullied.
What can parents do?
Treat it as a school problem and a wellbeing problem, and do both. This section is our suggestion and is not something the reviews tested.
Ask the school what its anti-bullying programme is and how it records and responds to incidents, since whole-school programmes are what the evidence supports. Keep a dated record of what happened. Watch your child’s sleep, mood and willingness to go to school, because the effects of bullying can last: our guide to the long-term effects of bullying covers them, and cyberbullying covers the online form. If worry about school has taken hold, school refusal covers that.
No screener on this site covers bullying. The self-assessment hub lists the seven we do have, and none is built for this question.
When to seek help
Speak to a doctor if a child who is being bullied seems persistently low, anxious, withdrawn or unwell, or avoids school, and to the school at once if there is any threat or violence. If anyone feels unable to stay safe, contact your local emergency services or a crisis helpline.
How MyFreud can help
A clear record helps with both the school and a doctor. Daily mood tracking in MyFreud shows how days go over weeks, and the notepad is somewhere to note what happened and how it felt. It does not replace support from a professional.
Download MyFreud and start today: App Store or Google Play.