Bullying Prevention and Response: Student Voice

Introduction

This report focuses on Years 4 to 13 students’ experience of bullying prevention and response in schools. The information was collected via a voluntary online survey in 136 New Zealand schools during Terms 1 and 2, 2018. The survey questions focused on students’ awareness of bullying, confidence and application of bullying prevention strategies taught in their school, and what happened when they responded to a bullying incident. In publishing this report, ERO intends to explore in depth, and elevate the voices of students on an issue that affects them profoundly. Improved student agency is a powerful potential lever for moving towards a bullying-free environment in all New Zealand schools.

The evaluative question this report will answer is:

How well are schools’ efforts in bullying prevention and response working for students?

To answer the evaluative question, the report is structured on the following five sub-questions:

• How aware are students that they are being bullied, and what impact could bullying have on students?
• Have students been taught by their school what to do when they experience or witness bullying?
• Do students tell an adult if they experience bullying?
• Do students apply what they have learned when experiencing/witnessing bullying, and if not, why not?
• If students do apply what they had learned when experiencing/witnessing bullying, does the bullying stop?

ERO is simultaneously releasing two reports in 2019 on bullying prevention and response. The companion to this report, Bullying Prevention and Response in New Zealand Schools, focuses on the extent to which schools are working towards a bullying-free environment, and is based on data ERO’s review officers collected while onsite during schools’ regular education reviews in Terms 1 and 2, 2018. The report draws on interviews and meetings with school leaders, trustees, teachers and students, as well as observations and document analysis.

Key findings

Most students who had been bullied experienced negative behaviours weekly or daily

Thirty-nine percent of students said they had been bullied at their current school. Students most commonly reported experiencing non-physical forms of negative behaviour, such as being left out or called names. Gender-diverse, male and primary-aged students were more likely to experience negative behaviours compared to female and secondary-aged students.

Of the 61 percent of students who said they had not been bullied, many nevertheless still reported experiencing negative behaviours once or twice a month. Students who experienced multiple negative behaviours were less likely to feel people accepted them in their school or to say that they enjoyed being at school.

Most students have been taught by their school what to do if they experienced or witnessed bullying

Eighty-three percent of students had learned at school what to do when they experienced or witnessed bullying. Eighty-nine percent of primary-aged students had learned what to do when experiencing bullying, compared to 76 percent of secondary-aged students.

Many students would tell an adult if they experienced bullying

Parents were the people students were most likely speak to if they experienced bullying. Students who had learned at school what to do when experiencing bullying were more likely to speak to someone if they then experienced bullying. Sixty percent of students would tell an adult at their school if they were experiencing bullying. Secondary-aged students were less likely than primary-aged students to tell an adult in their school, such as their teacher.

Many students applied what they had learned when they experienced or witnessed bullying

Students who had learned what to do when witnessing or experiencing bullying were more likely than those who had not learned what to do, to say that they were confident to use bullying response strategies. Furthermore, students who were confident were also more likely to apply what they had learned when they experienced or witnessed bullying.

Of the students who experienced or witnessed bullying, the majority applied what they had learned at their current school in response. For most students who did not apply what they had learned this was because of a lack of confidence, or not knowing how to apply what they had learned in the particular context.

Only some students who applied what they had learned had the bullying completely stop

Of the students who applied what they had learned, only 36 percent reported that the bullying had stopped. The remaining students had the bullying stop for a while but then start again, or not stop at all. For a few students, after applying the strategies they had learned, the bullying got worse.

How ERO distributed this survey

ERO distributed the survey to primary and secondary schools that were part of ERO’s regular education review cycle during Term 1, and to secondary schools in Term 2, 2018. Schools distributed the survey link to students in Years 4 to 13, and students could access the survey in either Te Reo Māori or English on SurveyMonkey. Students responded to the survey individually.

Students were asked their school’s name and location, their current school year, gender and ethnicity, and how long they had been going to their school. None of these questions were compulsory.

Student responses were analysed based on student year groups, which were collapsed into two age brackets:

• primary-aged students: students in Years 4 to 8
• secondary-aged students: students in Years 9 to 13.

In relation to bullying prevention and response, the survey asked students:

• who they would speak to if they experienced bullying
• their sense of belonging to school
• what form(s) of bullying behaviours they had experienced
• if they had been bullied, or seen bullying, at their current school
• how confident they felt to respond to bullying, either of themselves or others.

The complete list of questions asked in the survey can be found in Appendix 2.

ERO received responses from over 11,000 students

The responses from 11,085 New Zealand students across 66 schools were used for analysis. Not all respondents completed every question. A breakdown of the characteristics of the schools that had students contribute to the survey is in Appendix 3.

A full breakdown of the characteristics of respondents can be found in Appendix 4.

The characteristics of respondents in the sample are not representative of the national population of students as per Ministry of Education roll data from July 2018. Specifically, female students were over-represented in the sample, and Māori students were under-represented. Therefore, the findings of this report should not necessarily be generalised to the New Zealand population of students. However, the responses in this report have been weighted for gender, school-age, and ethnicity to bring proportions more in line with national percentages. A full breakdown of the unweighted survey responses is in Appendix 5.

ERO received 11,161 responses to the survey. Responses were cleaned to make sure respondents were based in New Zealand. Seventy-four responses were removed from the sample as they were completed outside of New Zealand. This was checked against an IP address locator, and the school name provided was checked to see if it matched the IP address. No school could be clearly identified in 137 of the responses. These responses were still included in the sample.

Findings

One-third of students had been bullied at their school

Students were asked if they had been bullied in their school, and if they had seen anyone else being bullied in their school. ERO found differences according to age group, gender and ethnicity. The difference between groups in this report was tested using a Chi square test. The significance level for all statistical testing in this report was p < 0.05. The impact of ethnicity, gender, and school-age, were tested against different questions using a regression model.

Primary-aged students experienced and witnessed bullying more than secondary-aged students

Forty-six percent of primary-aged students had been bullied, compared to 31 percent of secondary-aged students.

Rates of witnessing someone else being bullied were similar between primary and secondary-aged students. Sixty-one percent of primary-aged students said they had seen someone bullied at their school, compared to 58 percent of secondary-aged students.

Over half of gender-diverse students said they had been bullied at their school

Fifty-eight percent of students who identified as gender-diverse said they had been bullied at their school. Forty-two percent of males said they had been bullied, compared to 37 percent of females.

Māori and Pākehā students experienced bullying more than other ethnicities

Forty-two percent of Māori students experienced bullying, compared to 40 percent of Pākehā students, and 36 percent of Pacific students. Thirty-two percent of Asian students said they had been bullied. However, a higher proportion of Asian students were from secondary schools, a grouping that had fewer students state they had experienced bullying.

We investigated how much the ethnicity of students contributed to whether they experienced negative behaviours and who they would speak to. Once findings have been corrected for age, ethnicity and gender, we found that differences in being bullied were more strongly associated with gender (particularly gender-diverse) and age than with ethnicity. In other words being a Māori male primary student meant you were slightly more likely to be bullied than if you were a Pacific or Asian male primary student. However, if you were a Pākehā male primary student the likelihood of being bullied was similar to Māori males in primary schools.

Negative behaviour experienced at school

Students were asked if they experienced any of the eight negative behaviours listed below. If students had experienced these behaviours, they were asked if they occurred on a monthly, weekly or daily basis.

Students were asked if they had:

• been called names, put down, or teased in a mean way
• been left out by other students or ignored on purpose
• lies or bad stories spread about them
• been made to do something they didn’t want to do
• been physically assaulted (such as hit, pushed, kicked, punched, choked)
• personal things (like pens, clothes or money) damaged in a mean way, or stolen
• been threatened
• received nasty messages on their phone or computer (like text or Facebook messages)
• experienced other negative behaviour (students were asked to describe what these behaviours were. These were too varied to include in the figures that follow).

The most common negative behaviours experienced were non-physical

The most common negative behaviour students reported they experienced, at least monthly, was being called names, put down or teased (see Figure 1). Thirty-nine percent of students experienced this behaviour at least monthly.

Almost one quarter of students said they had been hit, pushed, kicked, punched and/or choked at least monthly.

Figure 1: The most common negative behaviour that students experienced at least monthly was being called names, put down, or teased

 

 

Primary-aged students were more likely to experience most of the negative behaviours

A higher percentage of primary-aged students experienced most of the negative behaviours, compared to secondary-aged students (see Figure 2). The only negative behaviour secondary-aged students experienced more was receiving nasty messages on their phone or computer.

Figure 2: Primary-aged students were more likely to experience most of the negative behaviours in their school

 

Male and gender-diverse students experienced more negative behaviours than female students

Gender-diverse students were more likely than both male and female students to experience all of the negative behaviours listed in the survey (see Figure 3). Male students were more likely than female students to experience the most negative behaviours. Female students were more likely to experience being left out or ignored by other students and having lies or bad stories spread about them.

Figure 3: A higher percentage of gender-diverse students experienced negative behaviours, compared to males and females

 

Students who experienced negative behaviours did not necessarily consider they were being bullied

ERO compared the data about students’ experiences of these negative behaviours with their experiences of bullying at their school (see Figure 4). At least one-quarter of students who said they had not been bullied had actually experienced at least one negative behaviour in the past month. In addition, a few students who said they had not been bullied, had experienced negative behaviours, such as being threatened or assaulted.

Figure 4: Some students that said they had not experienced bullying had still experienced negative behaviours at least monthly

 

Students may recognise bullying to have an element of repetition

For most of the students who said they had not been bullied, but had experienced negative behaviours, these behaviours happened once or twice a month (see Figure 5). The reason for this could be that students consider that bullying occurs more frequently.

Figure 5: The majority of students who said they have not been bullied, but experienced negative behaviours, tended to experience these events less frequently.

 

Students who experienced more negative behaviours felt less belonging to their school

ERO asked four questions to assess students’ sense of belonging at school. The questions asked students if they:

• felt people accepted them for who they are
• enjoyed being at school
• learned how they should treat each other
• felt teachers behaved how they would like the students to behave.

Of the students who experienced no negative behaviours, 85 percent were likely to say they felt accepted at school and enjoyed being at school. In contrast, of those students who experienced all eight negative behaviours only one-third felt accepted at school (34 percent) and enjoyed school (42 percent).

Figure 6: Students who experienced more negative behaviours were less likely to enjoy being, or feel accepted, at school

 

Most students have been taught by their school what to do when they experience or witness bullying

Students were asked if, at their current school, they had learned what to do if they are bullied by other students, or if they see other students being bullied. Eighty-three percent of students said they had learned what to do at school if they experienced, or witnessed bullying.

More primary-aged students had learned what to do compared to secondary-aged students

Eighty-nine percent of primary-aged students reported that they had learned what to do when experiencing bullying, compared to 75 percent of secondary-aged students. However, only 31 percent of secondary-aged students experienced bullying in their school, compared to 46 percent of primary-aged students.

The differences between students who had, and had not, learned what to do at school, will be explored in the following sections.

Do students tell an adult if they experience bullying?

Students were asked who they would tell if they had been bullied. They could select as many options as they wanted from the list below:

• parent or caregiver
• friends
• teacher
• other adults at school – for example, principal, dean or counsellor
• nobody
• another person.

Additional responses included: siblings, cousins, grandparents, partners, senior students, God.

Students were more likely to tell their parents if they had been bullied

The most common person students would tell if they were being bullied was a parent (69 percent), followed by a friend (57 percent). Of concern was that 11 percent of students said they would not tell anybody.

Figure 7: Students were most likely to tell their parents or friends when they had experienced bullying

 

Most students of different ethnicities would tell somebody if they experienced bullying

Pacific students were the least likely to report bullying. The percentage of students who would tell their parents varied across ethnic groups. Pākehā students were most likely to talk to their parents (73 percent). In comparison, 66 percent of Māori and Asian, and 65 percent of Pacific, students would tell their parents.

Students who learned what to do were more likely to tell somebody

Students who had learned what to do when experiencing bullying were more likely to tell their parents than those who had not learned what to do (75 percent compared to 54 percent). Students who learned what to do were also more likely to tell an adult in their school. Fifty-eight percent of students who had learned what to do would tell their teacher, compared to only 34 percent of students who did not learn what to do. Telling friends was something that many students would do regardless if they had learned what to do or not (60 percent compared with 54 percent). Nine percent of students who had learned what to do chose not to tell anybody. By contrast, 22 percent of those who had not learned what to do did not report bullying.

Figure 8: Students who learned what to do when experiencing bullying were more likely to tell someone

 

Secondary-aged students were more likely to tell a friend

Secondary-aged students were slightly more likely than primary-aged students to tell their friends if they experienced bullying (62 percent compared to 53 percent). However, 17 percent of secondary-aged students would not tell anybody, compared to only six percent of primary-aged students.

Gender-diverse students were more likely not to tell anybody

Twenty-three percent of gender-diverse students said they would not tell anybody if they were experiencing bullying. This is double the percentage of male and female students who said they would tell nobody (12 percent and 9 percent respectively). Males were slightly more likely than females to tell their teacher (55 percent compared to 51 percent); and females were more likely than males to tell their friends (64 percent compared to 51 percent).

The percentages for gender-diverse students are unweighted, as population figures were not available.

Do students apply what they had learned when experiencing/witnessing bullying, and if not, why not?

Students were asked how confident they felt to use the knowledge they had learned about what to do if they experienced bullying. Only students who had been bullied, or seen someone being bullied, were asked these questions, which accounted for 58 percent of the sample (n = 6416).

Students who had learned what to do at school were more confident to act

Of the 83 percent of students who had learned at school what to do if they experienced bullying, most (85 percent) were a little confident or very confident to apply their knowledge when they, or another student, was being bullied.

Of the 17 percent of students who had not learned at school what to do when experiencing bullying, only 69 percent were a little confident or very confident to deal with bullying. These relationships are presented graphically in Figure 9 below. In Figure 9, ‘Confident’ is a combination of two options in the survey: ‘a little confident’, and ‘very confident’.

Figure 9: Students who had learned what to do when experiencing bullying were more confident to apply their learning

 

More primary-aged students were confident to say or do something when experiencing bullying

Eighty-six percent of primary-aged students were at least a little confident to apply what they had learned, compared to 78 percent of secondary-aged students (see Figure 10).

Figure 10: Primary-aged students felt more confident than secondary students to apply what they had learned when experiencing bullying

 

Students with more confidence would speak to their teacher

Students who were very confident to apply their learning were more likely to speak to a teacher than students who lacked that confidence (60 percent compared to 34 percent). Twenty-one percent of students who were not confident to apply their learning would tell nobody, compared to only 10 percent of students who were a little confident or very confident to apply their learning.

Putting bullying prevention and response education into practice

Students were asked to indicate whether they had actually used what they had learned to do when they, or other people, were being bullied (as opposed to simply feeling confident to act).

Sixty-five percent of students said they used the knowledge they had learned when experiencing bullying. Thirty-five percent of students did not use their knowledge when they experienced bullying. This was influenced by their level of confidence.

Students who felt more confident were likely to say, or do, what they had learned

Seventy percent of confident students used the knowledge they had learned when they experienced or saw someone else being bullied, compared to only 38 percent of not confident students.

Outcomes of using learning

When students indicated they had used what they had learned to do when experiencing bullying, ERO asked what happened as a result. Students had the following options to choose from:

• the bullying stopped totally
• the bullying did not stop
• the bullying got worse
• the bullying stopped for a bit but then started again
• something else happened, which they could describe.

If the student said they had not used what they had learned, ERO asked them what the main thing was that stopped them saying, or doing, any of the things they had learned. Students had the following options to choose from:

• I did not feel confident enough
• I wasn’t sure what to do
• I felt too afraid
• someone else did something
• other, which they could describe.

For most students who did not use what they had learned it was because of a lack of confidence, or knowledge of what to do

Of the 35 percent of students who did not put into practice what they had learned to do, one-third were not sure what to do when experiencing, or seeing, someone else being bullied. Another 26 percent of students did not feel confident enough to act, and 17 percent felt too afraid. Twenty-two percent of students did not act because someone else intervened.

Only some students who used their knowledge had the bullying stop completely

Of the 65 percent of students who used the knowledge they had learned, around one-third had the bullying completely stop. For the remaining two-thirds of students, the bullying continued. In most cases the bullying stopped for a bit but started again later. Some saw no change as result of using their knowledge, and the bullying did not stop. For a few students, the bullying got worse. Students who were secondary-aged, and/or told someone they were experiencing bullying, were more likely to have the bullying stop. Variables that contributed to the increased likelihood of the bullying stopping when students applied what they had learned were tested using a regression model.

Students who experienced worse outcomes felt less of a sense of belonging to their school

Eighty percent of students who had the bullying completely stop, when they used their knowledge, enjoyed being at school. However, of the students who had the bullying get worse, only 54 percent enjoyed being at school.

Conclusion

It is clear from ERO’s survey that bullying is part of life for too many students in New Zealand schools. Students have different experiences of bullying based on their gender, ethnicity and year level. The bullying is manifested through a range of negative behaviours and with varying levels of frequency. However, every form of bullying damages students’ sense of belonging and enjoyment of school, and can have negative impacts on their health, wellbeing and learning (source: Bullying Free New Zealand)

Almost every school has a bullying prevention and response policy and most students have been taught strategies by their school on what to do if they experience or witness bullying. These are necessary but not sufficient conditions for developing a bullying-free environment.

Condition	Ideally, all of these conditions must be in place when working towards creating a bullying-free environment	The reality ERO found while conducting this evaluation
Knowledge	Students must have the knowledge of how to respond if they experience or witness bullying	Eighty-two percent of students had been given strategies at their current school to respond to bullying
Confidence	Students must have the confidence to respond	Eighty-five percent of students with knowledge felt confident about the strategies they had learnt
Implementation	Students must put the strategies into effect	Seventy percent of confident students actually used the strategies
Outcome	The bullying ceases for good	Thirty-six percent of students who used the strategies found the bullying stopped altogether
Monitoring	The school must monitor the ongoing effectiveness of whatever action is taken to address the bullying, intervening as required.	Seventy-three percent of schools had satisfactory of better, use of data for monitoring of bullying at their school

ERO’s findings make it clear that while a large proportion of students have the knowledge they need, fewer have the confidence to act, fewer still take action, and not everything was effective in stopping bullying. In other words, while most students knew what to do when they experienced or witnessed bullying, applying the strategies they had learned did not lead to a full and lasting cessation of the bullying behaviour. Indeed, the most common outcome was that the bullying stopped for a while and then started again.

ERO encourages schools to focus more carefully on each condition – knowledge, confidence, implementation and outcome. Students’ confidence to act and the extent to which they do act will be heavily influenced by the specific context of the bullying, but these can both be improved if students anticipate that the response will successfully eliminate the bullying.

Leaders and teachers in schools can improve the outcomes by ensuring they take appropriate action when bullying is reported and continue to monitor the situation over time. They need to pay particular attention to the most at-risk group, albeit a small one. Gender-diverse students are the most likely to experience bullying and the least likely to report it.

Additionally, as ERO found students were most likely to speak to their parents and whānau when experiencing bullying (69 percent) it is crucial schools work with whānau on an ongoing basis.

ERO’s 2019 report Bullying Prevention and Response in New Zealand Schools, released simultaneously with this report, found many schools were not engaging proactively with parents, but rather notifying them only when serious bullying incidents occurred. The most effective schools had ongoing relationships with parents where they worked together not only in response to bullying, but also building a shared understanding around bullying prevention and the strategies children could use.

Positive partnerships with home and students (giving students a voice and agency) contribute powerfully to the overall school climate and hence the work towards a bullying-free school. This goes beyond what can be captured in a survey. It rests upon a foundation of inclusive, respectful relationships between all members of the school community, where everyone can be trusted to play their part in providing a safe physical and emotional environment, conducive to learning.

Appendix 1: Terms of quantity

The following terms of quantity are used in this report:

Terms used	Percentage
All	100%
Almost all	91-99%
Most	75-90%
Many, Majority	50-74%
Some	15-49%
A few	Less than 15%

Adapted from Education Scotland

Appendix 2: Questions ERO asked in this survey

Hi,

Your answers will not be shared with your teacher or parents. You do not have to give your name.

Please answer by ticking the boxes. Answer what you can and add any comments you would like to make.

If you are being hurt by bullying behaviour, please talk to an adult you trust.

Your answers are important to us to help schools know how to make them safe and free from bullying.

This survey will take less than 10 minutes.

Thank you for your time.

1. What is the name of your school? (Textbox)
2. What town or city is your school in or near? (Textbox)
3. What is your gender? (Textbox)
4. What is your ethnicity?
   • New Zealand European/Pākehā
   • Māori
   • Pacific
   • Asian
   • Other
5. What year of school are you in? (Options between Year 4 - 13)
6. How long have you been in the school you go to now? (Options for ‘Less than one year’ and ‘More than one year’)
7. Who would you tell if you were being bullied?
   • My teacher
   • My parents
   • My friends
   • Other adults at school – like your principal, dean or counsellor
   • Nobody
   • Is there any other person you would tell if you were being bullied?
8. Please tick whether you agree or disagree with the following sentences (agree, disagree or not sure)
   • At my school, people accept me for who I am.
   • I enjoy being at my school.
   • At my school we learn how we should treat each other.
   • My teachers behave in the way they would like us to behave.
9. At the school you go to now, have any of the things below happened to you? (please tick how often: Never, or hardly ever; 1 or 2 times a month; 1 or 2 times a week; Almost every day)
   • I have been called names, put down, or teased in a mean way
   • I have been left out by other students or ignored on purpose
   • I have been threatened
   • I have been hit, pushed, kicked, punched, choked
   • I have had personal things (like pens, clothes or money) damaged in a mean way, or stolen
   • I have had lies or bad stories spread about me
   • I have got nasty messages on my phone or computer (like text or Facebook messages)
   • I have been made to do something I didn’t want to do
   • Other (please describe)
10. At the school I go to now, I learn what to say or do if students are bullying me, or other students? (Options for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’)
11. Have you ever been bullied at the school you are going to now? (Options for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’)
12. Have you ever seen someone else bullied at the school you are going to now? (Options for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’) If student selects ‘Yes’ for this option, question 13 will be displayed. If the student selects ‘No’ for this option they will be re-directed to question 17
13. How confident did you feel to say or do what you had learned when you were bullied or saw someone bullied? (Options for ‘Very confident’, ‘A little confident’ or ‘Not confident’)
14. Did you say or do any of the things you learned about when you were bullied or saw someone bullied? (Options for ‘Yes’ and ‘No’) If student selects ‘Yes’ for this option, question 16 will be displayed. If the student selects ‘No’ for this option, question 15 will be displayed.
15. What was the main thing that stopped you saying, or doing, any of the things you learned?
    • I did not feel confident enough
    • I wasn’t sure what to do
    • I felt too afraid
    • Someone else did something
    • Other (please comment)
16. What happened when you said, or did, any of the things you learned?
    • The bullying stopped totally
    • The bullying did not stop
    • The bullying got worse
    • The bullying stopped for a bit but then started again
    • Did anything else happen? (please describe)
17. What do you think adults at school should do if you tell them you have been bullied? (Textbox)
18. What do you do to make your school a safer place to prevent bullying? (please describe) (Textbox)
19. If you had a magic wand, what would you change in your school to stop bullying? (Textbox)

Appendix 3: Schools in sample

Differences between the sample and the national population of schools were not statistically significant.11

Table 1: School type

School type	Number of schools in sample	Percentage of schools in sample	National percentage of schools
Full primary (Year 1-8)	23	35	43
Contributing (Year 1-6)	26	40	32
Intermediate (Year 7-8)	1	1	5
Composite (Year 1-15)	1	1	5
Secondary (Year 7-15)	4	6	5
Secondary (Year 9-15)	11	17	10
Total	66	100	100

Table 2: Decile

Decile group	Number of schools in sample	Percentage of schools in sample	National percentage of schools
Low decile	21	32	28
Mid decile	19	28	40
High decile	26	40	32
Total	66	100	100

Table 3: Location

Urban/rural area	Number of schools in sample	Percentage of schools in sample	National percentage of schools
Main urban area	44	67	55
Secondary urban area	3	5	6
Minor urban area	4	6	12
Rural area	15	22	27
Total	66	100	100

Table 4: School size

School roll	Number of schools in sample	Percentage of schools in sample	National percentage of schools
Very small	3	5	8
Small	13	20	22
Medium	23	35	37
Large	16	23	21
Very large	11	17	12
Total	66	100	100

Explanatory notes

The differences between observed and expected values in for tables in Appendix 1 and 2 were tested using a Chi-square test.

The national percentage of schools for type, decile and location is as at February 2019.

Deciles 1-3 are low decile schools; deciles 4-7 are mid decile schools; deciles 8-10 are high decile schools.

Main urban areas have a population greater than 30,000; secondary urban areas have a population between 10,000 and 29,999; minor urban areas have a population between 1000 and 9,999; and rural areas have a population less than 1000.

Roll sizes for full primary, contributing and intermediate schools are: very small (1-30); small (31-100); medium (101-300); large (301-500) and very large (more than 500). Roll sizes for secondary and composite schools are: very small (1-100); small (101-400); medium (401-800); large (801-1500) and very large (more than 1500).

The national percentage of schools for size is as at July 2018, which was when the survey was conducted.

Appendix 4: Students in sample

Female students are over-represented in the sample, compared to the national percentage of student population. The ‘other’ ethnicity category was over-represented in this sample, though this was due to many ethnicities students entered not being identifiable. Year 7 and 8 students were under-represented in the sample, and Year 10 to 13 students were over-represented.

In the tables below, non-response has been excluded from the sample totals on a question by question basis.

Table 1: Student gender

Student gender	Number of students in sample	Percentage of students in sample	National percentage of students (as at July 2018)
Female	6433	60	49
Male	4362	40	51
Gender-diverse	60	<1	Not reported
Total	10855	100	100

Table 2: Student ethnicity

Student ethnicity	Number of students in sample	Percentage of students in sample	National percentage of students
New Zealand European/Pākehā	4779	48	50
Māori	1717	17	25
Pacific	994	10	10
Asian	1137	12	12
Other/cannot be identified	1259	13	3
Total	9886	100	100

Table 3: Year level of students

Year level	Number of students in sample	Percentage of students in sample	National percentage of students (Y4-13)
Year 4	1083	10	11
Year 5	1226	11	11
Year 6	1284	12	11
Year 7	748	7	11
Year 8	713	6	10
Year 9	1113	10	10
Year 10	1307	12	10
Year 11	1143	10	9
Year 12	1276	12	9
Year 13	1140	10	8
Total	11033	100	100

Appendix 5: Student survey responses

Percentages are of the number of students who responded to each question, and not the overall sample. These percentages have not been weighted. The percentages for Question 7 do not sum to 100, as respondents could choose multiple options.

Q6: How long have you been at your current school?

Length of time	Frequency	Percent (%)
Less than one year	1995	18
More than one year	8945	82
Total	10940	100

Q7: Who did you tell about bullying?

Who	Frequency	Percent(%)
Teacher	5279	48
Parents	7567	68
Friends	6586	59
Other adults at school	3821	34
Nobody	1203	11

Q8a: I am accepted for who I am …

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Agree	7284	69
Disagree	717	7
Not sure	2593	24
Total	10594	100

Q8b: I enjoy being at school …

Response	Frequency	Percent(%)
Agree	7927	75
Disagree	1079	10
Not sure	1545	15
Total	10551	100

Q8c: We learn how to treat each other …

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Agree	8167	77
Disagree	919	9
Not sure	1435	14
Total	10521	100

Q8d: Teachers behave like we should behave …

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Agree	7657	72
Disagree	942	9
Not sure	1969	19
Total	10568	100

Q9a: How often have you been called names/put down/teased in a mean way?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	736	7
1 or 2 times a week	985	10
1 or 2 times a month	2011	19
Never, or hardly ever	6551	64
Total	10283	100

Q9b: How often have you been left out by other students or ignored on purpose?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	573	6
1 or 2 times a week	959	9
1 or 2 times a month	2326	23
Never, or hardly ever	6412	62
Total	10270	100

Q9c: How often have you been threatened?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	325	3
1 or 2 times a week	368	4
1 or 2 times a month	1024	10
Never, or hardly ever	8366	83
Total	10083	100

Q9d: How often have you been assaulted (hit, pushed, kicked, punched, choked)?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	377	4
1 or 2 times a week	409	4
1 or 2 times a month	1314	13
Never, or hardly ever	8148	79
Total	10248	100

Q9e: How often have you had personal things damaged or stolen?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	258	3
1 or 2 times a week	375	4
1 or 2 times a month	1470	14
Never, or hardly ever	8156	79
Total	10259	100

Q9f: How often have you had lies or bad stories spread about you?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	400	4
1 or 2 times a week	555	5
1 or 2 times a month	2004	20
Never, or hardly ever	7268	71
Total	10227	100

Q9g: How often have you had nasty messages left on your phone or computer?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	214	2
1 or 2 times a week	211	2
1 or 2 times a month	772	8
Never, or hardly ever	9023	88
Total	10220	100

Q9h: How often have you been made to do something you didn’t want to do?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Almost every day	357	4
1 or 2 times a week	406	4
1 or 2 times a month	1471	14
Never, or hardly ever	7986	78
Total	10220	100

Q9i: Have you experienced other bullying behaviours (besides those in Q9a to Q9h)?*

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Other behaviour indicated in text-box	547	5

*Responses here varied widely and in the end did not form part of ERO’s analysis and reporting.

Q10: At the school you go to now, have you learnt what to say or do if you or other students are being bullied.?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Yes	8252	82
No	1871	18
Total	10123	100

Q11: Have you ever been bullied at the school you are going to now?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Yes	3711	37
No	6413	63
Total	10124	100

Q12: Have you ever seen someone else bullied at the school you are going to now?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Yes	5749	57
No	4369	43
Total	10118	100

Q13: How confident are you to say or do something when you are bullied?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Very confident	2067	32
A little confident	3163	49
Not confident	1207	19
Total	6437	100

Q14: Did you say or do anything if you were bullied or saw bullying?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
Yes	4074	64
No	2339	36
Total	6413	100

Q15: If your answer to Q14 was No, what stopped you saying or doing something?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
I did not feel confident enough	551	28
I wasn’t sure what to do	636	32
I felt too afraid	364	19
Someone else did something	415	21
Total	1966	100

Q16: If your answer to Q14 was Yes, what happened when you said or did something?

Response	Frequency	Percent (%)
The bullying stopped	1382	35
The bullying did not stop	608	16
The bullying got worse	235	6
Stopped for a bit, started again	1658	43
Total	3883	100

Publication Information and Copyright

Bullying Prevention and Response: Student Voice

Published 2019

© Crown Copyright

ISBN 978-0-478-43893-2

Except for the Education Review Office’s logo used throughout this report, this copyright work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence. In essence, you are free to copy, distribute and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work to the Education Review Office and abide by the other licence terms. In your attribution, use the wording ‘Education Review Office’, not the Education Review Office logo or the New Zealand Government logo.