RATES of bullying in Welsh schools have reached record levels, with more than one in three children and young people reporting being bullied, the Senedd heard.

Gareth Davies raised concerns about a 6% increase in bullying between 2021 and 2023, according to a survey of more than 130,000 pupils in 200 secondary schools.

The Conservatives’ shadow mental health minister told the Senedd: “These results are higher than ever previously reported in the survey, which is deeply troubling.”

He said the latest survey showed regression on “just about every metric of pupil wellbeing”, including growing social isolation and a rise in behavioural issues.

Mr Davies, who worked in the NHS in north Wales for more than a decade, pointed to a 2021 legal duty to have regard to the mental health of children and young people.

He said: “The mental health of pupils has declined and reports of bullying in schools have only increased, so the Welsh Government have failed in that duty, unfortunately.”

Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell called for an update to 2019 anti-bullying guidance for school governing bodies following a commitment from the Welsh Government eight months ago.

The shadow education secretary focused on the impact of poverty, warning the high cost of school uniforms can cause stress and lead to bullying.

Mr Campbell, a former lecturer, expressed concerns about penalties, such as detention, for pupils over non-compliance with uniform policies.

Raising a report on “horrific” experiences of racism in Welsh schools, he said one pupil was told a classmate did not want to sit next to them due to the colour of their skin.

“That’s entirely unacceptable in our schools,” said Mr Campbell.

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned children’s mental health is at an all-time low, pointing to smartphones and social media as major contributing factors.

She said: “They can be used to bully, manipulate and control, sending young people into an isolated world of despair, not thinking they can get out of it or go to somebody for help.”

The North Wales politician highlighted a petition calling for a ban on phones in schools.

Rhys ab Owen, an independent who represents South Wales Central, stressed that bullying can impact people for decades to come after school.

“But it’s an issue that doesn’t affect learners equally,” he said. “In Cardiff, around a third of learners come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

“And I was staggered to read a survey from 2020, which said that 61.5% of learners had expressed stereotypes over skin colour, religion and nationality.”

In a statement on November 12 to mark anti-bullying week, Lynne Neagle accepted that bullying continues to be an issue in Welsh schools.

Pledging to prioritise the problem, Wales’ education secretary said new statutory anti-bullying guidance will be published for consultation after Christmas.

Ms Neagle pointed to concerning trends, including 42% of girls scoring high or very high in a questionnaire on psychological problems compared with 27% of boys.

She told the Senedd: “I wouldn’t want to be a teenager growing up today.”

Ms Neagle stated the Welsh Government provided more than £800,000 this year for one of the biggest surveys of children and young people in the UK.

She said: “The link between bullying and mental health is well known. At its most extreme, young people have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied. This is a tragedy for the young life lost, for their family and friends and for whole communities.”

LEARNERS at Pembroke Dock Community School are being inspired to think of a future in renewable energy as they found out more about how the energy sector is changing in Pembrokeshire.

The whole school focused on the topic and discovered more about wind turbines, energy testing areas, combating climate change, solar power, and more, in a number of engaging and practical workshops.

Pembrokeshire Coastal Forum and the Darwin Centre brought the subject to life and learners enjoyed getting involved in researching and testing their work.

Some groups designed and built model floating platforms for offshore wind turbines as well as model turbines, children learnt all about how renewable energy is generated and used in modern life, as well as storage energy, while others went on a visit to Dragon LNG in Waterston to see a solar power farm.

Science, maths, problem solving and key thinking skills were all incorporated into the projects.
Pembroke Dock Community School Headteacher Michele Thomas said: “The work of the school this term has been inspired by the exciting opportunities in net-zero careers in Pembrokeshire, as Wales heads towards being net-zero by 2050.  

“We want our learners to be knowledgeable about renewable energy across many levels, and to experience what it would be like to be a scientist or an engineer in the field. We have also strived to empower our learners to take social action on matters that are important to them and their lives, as well as on local decisions that impact on the global population. 

“The staff have been hugely creative in their curriculum design, which has in turn engaged and inspired all of the learners right across all school.”

A £75,000 feasibility budget to look at ways of tackling roof leaks at Tenby’s VC school, including a complete new roof for the school built just eight years ago, has been backed by senior councillors, with the potential of seeking redress from those who built it.

A report for Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet members at their November meeting, presented by Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language Cllr Guy Woodham, said: “Since being established in 2016, and having been built as part of the Band A tranche of the Council’s 21st Century Schools Programme, the Tenby VC School building has experienced water ingress in roof areas.

“A number of these have been repaired, but unfortunately a number of leaks have resulted in a weakening of the structure and components within the roof construction. In order to reduce the load on the roof, the PV/Solar array which was installed at the time of the school’s construction has been removed; furthermore, a number of ‘props’ remain in place internally in order to support vulnerable areas of the roof.

“Over the past months, a number of discussions have taken place between the council’s professional construction services team and an external structural engineer to determine some possible options going forward.

“Such options range from limited intervention with a reliance on ongoing repair and maintenance, to a replacement of the entire roof structure. Given that the preferred option could result in a funding requirement in excess of £300,000, the council’s Capital Strategy requires Cabinet to approve feasibility funds.

“A project board has been established to review progress until the agreed works have been completed, the membership of which includes the headteacher and chair of the governing body.”

The report added: “As an operational school, it is considered essential that the roof issues at Tenby VC School can be resolved at the earliest opportunity. A feasibility exercise is required to be undertaken, but due to the constraints imposed by the terms and conditions of the most recent Welsh Government Capital Maintenance Grant, it cannot be funded via this grant.

“In accordance with the council’s Capital Strategy, Cabinet is asked to approve a £75,000 feasibility budget to explore the above options. Unless funded from an existing revenue budget, the feasibility study will be funded from the programme for administration reserve.”

Members agreed to approve a budget of £75,000 to fund a feasibility exercise to explore the options identified and to see whether there is potential redress from the contractors involved in building the school.