Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of introducing a programme of appearance-related bullying workshops in schools to counter the bullying and stigma faced by children with visible facial difference.

Bullying for any reason is unacceptable and all schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their school and are held to account by Ofsted.

The Department has published guidance to help schools develop their own anti-bullying strategies which can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying. There is also a grant programme that offers £1.75 million over two years for four anti-bullying organisations to support schools tackle bullying. Funding includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those with special educational needs and disability and those who are victims of hate related to bullying, along with a project to report bullying online.

It is for school leaders to identify the motivations for bullying in their schools and to prioritise those issues when developing a strategy that will work best for their pupils. It is for schools to decide whether to hold an appearance-related bullying workshop as part of that strategy.