Anti-Bullying Week 2026: a practical planning guide for schools
Anti-Bullying Week 2026 is a chance to make speaking up feel safer for every pupil. For school leaders, teachers and support staff, useful preparation means agreeing how pupils can report concerns, how adults will respond and what happens after the week’s activities.
This guide offers practical ideas for secondary schools, with adaptations for different learning and communication needs. Use it to plan purposeful lessons and brief everyone working with pupils, including supply teachers and teaching assistants.
When is Anti-Bullying Week 2026?
According to the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s official campaign page, Anti-Bullying Week runs from Monday 16 to Friday 20 November 2026. The theme is Break the Silence, and Odd Socks Day takes place on Monday 16 November.
Build your programme around a clear question: does every pupil know how to tell someone when they feel unsafe? An assembly can introduce that message. Tutor time, lessons and individual conversations can help pupils practise using it.
Start with a shared understanding of bullying
The Anti-Bullying Alliance’s definition identifies intentional harm, repetition and an imbalance of power as central features of bullying. Use that framework when discussing examples with staff and pupils.
However, do not wait for behaviour to repeat before responding to harm. Staff should follow the school’s behaviour and safeguarding procedures whenever a concern arises. Avoid dismissing hurtful comments as banter or expecting pupils to sort out an unsafe situation themselves.
For school leaders in England, the Department for Education’s preventing and tackling bullying guidance provides a reference point for reviewing the school’s approach. Schools elsewhere in the UK should use their own nation’s guidance alongside local policies.
Five practical Anti-Bullying Week 2026 activities
Choose activities that lead to a clear action pupils can remember. Adapt the examples to age, understanding and communication preferences, and avoid inviting personal disclosures in front of a class.
1. Map the routes to help
Ask pupils to identify where they could go if they needed support during a lesson, at break or after an online incident. Then compare their answers with the school’s actual reporting routes.
Finish with a simple reminder showing who to contact and how. Check that pupils can explain the next step in their own words. Offer a private way to ask questions.
2. Discuss a fictional group-chat scenario
Use a short example in which a pupil is repeatedly excluded or mocked in a group chat. Ask what makes the behaviour harmful and how someone watching could seek help safely.
Focus on avoiding further sharing, supporting the person targeted and reporting through an agreed route. Do not ask pupils to display real messages or name classmates.
3. Practise a helpful response
Give pupils short phrases they could use with a trusted adult: “I am worried about something that keeps happening” or “I saw something and need help reporting it.” Allow pupils to write, point to a prompt or use their usual communication support.
Staff can practise their response too: thank the pupil, listen calmly and explain the next step without promising secrecy.
4. Explore belonging through Odd Socks Day
Use Odd Socks Day to start a discussion about difference and inclusion. For example, ask each tutor group to suggest one everyday action that helps someone feel welcome.
Keep participation flexible. Pupils should be able to join the conversation without buying anything or changing what they wear. Turn the group’s ideas into specific routines, such as making space for someone in a paired task.
5. Review whether the message is clear
At the end of the week, ask a short question: “Do you know how to get help if bullying happens?” Use an accessible format and explain how responses will be used.
If you use an anonymous survey, make clear that it cannot provide an individual response. Show pupils the separate route for reporting a concern that needs action.
Brief every adult, including supply staff
A pupil may approach whichever adult feels easiest to talk to. Include supply teachers, cover supervisors, teaching assistants and other relevant colleagues in your preparation.
Create a one-page briefing that answers these questions:
- Who is leading the week’s activities, and where are the approved resources?
- Who is the designated safeguarding lead, and who is available if they are absent?
- How should staff record and pass on a bullying concern?
- What should happen if a pupil needs immediate support?
- Which communication adaptations or classroom routines should staff know?
Keep individual pupil information within the school’s approved systems and share it only as appropriate for the role. Before cover begins, check that the incoming educator understands the reporting process.
If you need classroom cover, explore Milk Education’s secondary school staffing support. Explain the assignment, pupil needs and planned activities so your consultant understands the brief.
Build in support after the week
Decide who will follow up concerns and when staff will review the activities. Look at what pupils found useful, whether reporting routes were understood and which messages need revisiting in PSHE or tutor time.
Keep checking how pupils who raised concerns are feeling, in line with school procedures. A quieter classroom or fewer reports should prompt thoughtful review rather than an automatic assumption that bullying has stopped.
For enrichment, Unbottled, powered by Milk Education, brings lived experience into school learning. Its Unbottled Live programme includes assemblies and workshops, with bullying and kindness among its listed topics. Discuss your pupils’ needs, safeguarding arrangements, follow-up and available dates before booking.
Start your planning with one manageable action: check that every adult and pupil can describe the route to help. Then choose activities that reinforce it. For wider planning, read Milk’s guide to PSHE, staffing and student support.
FAQs about Anti-Bullying Week 2026
When is Anti-Bullying Week 2026?
Anti-Bullying Week 2026 takes place from Monday 16 to Friday 20 November. The Anti-Bullying Alliance is the official organiser in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What is the theme for Anti-Bullying Week 2026?
The theme is Break the Silence. Schools can use it to help pupils understand how to speak to a trusted adult and report bullying safely.
When is Odd Socks Day in 2026?
Odd Socks Day takes place on Monday 16 November 2026. It encourages children and adults to celebrate what makes them unique.
How can schools include pupils with SEND?
Use clear language, visual prompts and pupils’ usual communication support. Provide private reporting options and adapt activities with staff who know each pupil’s needs.
What should supply staff know before Anti-Bullying Week?
Supply staff should know the school’s reporting and recording procedures, safeguarding contacts, planned activities and relevant communication adaptations. Give them a clear briefing before they work with pupils.
