The Department for Education has produced a new guide for headteachers, staff and governing bodies to help them avert and take action against bullying, as part of their overall behaviour policy.

It documents the legal obligations that schools have to meet, the powers they have in resolving issues emerging out of bullying and outlines the principles of bestpractice that have proven to be highly effective.

Bullying is covered by a number of statutes, which can be found in, among others, the Equality Act (2010), the Education and Inspections Act (2006) and in the Independent School Standard Regulations (2010).

In short, every school is required by law to have anti-bullying policies in place, which is achieved, in part, through inspiring children and young people to demonstrate consistent good behaviour.

Definition of bullying

The government describes bullying as a negative form of behaviour by an individual or group that "intentionally hurts another individual group either physically or emotionally".

It is also considered to be a sustained activity and can manifest itself in a number of ways – it can be physical, verbal, in person and, increasingly so, "remote" (otherwise known as cyber or virtual bullying).

Tackling bullying

The key to success is having in place effective schemes that result in quick and effective resolution with incidents of bullying. It must be clear in language so that it is understood by all stakeholders, including pupils, teachers and parents.

Moreover, schools that demonstrate best practice when it comes to bullying are known for cultivating an inclusive and positive environment, whereby bullying is prevented from becoming a "serious problem in the first place".

Stopping bullying from happening

The DfE states in the document that responses to bullying should be proactive – it must start before the point at which a child is bullied. Leading schools in anti-bullying initiatives have been found to "gather intelligence" about possible conflicts that may be emerging between pupils and then work to nip it in the bud.

Resolving these issues takes time and effort and can occur in numerous ways – teachers may, for example, talk to both the possible victim and bully about their thoughts and feelings and then clarify why bullying is wrong.

Intervening in incidents

It is important that where bullying has taken place and perpetrators have been identified that they are punished accordingly. This cannot be a blanket response and must take into account the particulars of the case.

Consistent, fair and reasonable discipline should articulate the severity of the bullying that has taken place and make obvious that not only is it wrong but that there are always consequences.

Clarifying some grey areas

Some types of bullying need to be prioritised with the document stating that "immediate physical safety obviously comes first". However, it is important to emphasise to pupils that bullying, in all its forms, will not be tolerated.

There will be proportional punishments for one-off incidents and more severe penalties for repeat cases. Schools should emphasise this on a regular basis so that pupils are highly informed.

Teachers do have the power to discipline a student found to be bullying another outside the school premises – again, the guide explains, "this will send a strong signal to pupils that bullying will not be tolerated and perpetrators will be held to account".

Beyond the guide

Every year the Anti-Bullying Alliance coordinates the national Anti-Bullying Week, which raises awareness of bullying and for 2014 the focus is on tackling the "bullying of ALL children".

The capitalisation is important because one area schools struggle to effectively deal with concerns the bullying of disabled children and those with special educational needs.

It is all the more surprising because, the alliance says, this group are "significantly more likely to experience bullying in schools and the wider community". Therefore, there is a need to transform approaches to reducing incidents of bullying in such cases.