Best Practices in Bullying Prevention 

and Intervention

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional

and that involves an imbalance of power or

strength. Often, it is repeated over time and can

take many forms. In many respects, research on

bullying prevention is still in its infancy. Although

researchers have documented success of some

comprehensive programs in reducing bullying, we

still have much to learn about which aspects of

these programs are most important. 

However, a review of existing bullying prevention

programs and feedback from educators in the field

led us to suggest ten strategies that represent “best

practices” in bullying prevention and intervention.

1. Focus on the social environment of 

the school. To reduce bullying, it is important 

to change the climate of the school and the social

norms with regard to bullying. It must become

“uncool” to bully, “cool” to help out students who

are bullied, and normative for staff and students 

to notice when a child is bullied or left out. This

requires the efforts of everyone in the school

environment—teachers, administrators, counselors,

other non-teaching staff (such as bus drivers,

nurses, school resource officers, custodians,

cafeteria workers, and school librarians), parents, 

and students.

2. Assess bullying at your school. Intuitively

adults are not always very good at estimating the

nature and extent of bullying at their school.

Frequently we are quite surprised by the amount 

of bullying that students experience, the types of

bullying that are most common, or the “hot spots”

where bullying happens. As a result, it is often quite

useful to assess bullying by administering an

anonymous questionnaire to students about

bullying. What are the possible benefits of

conducting a survey of students? 

• Findings can help motivate adults to take action

against bullying;

• Data can help administrators and other educators

tailor a bullying prevention strategy to the

particular needs of the school; and

• Data can serve as a baseline from which

administrators and other educators can measure

their progress in reducing bullying.

3. Garner staff and parent support for

bullying prevention. Bullying prevention should

not be the sole responsibility of an administrator,

counselor, teacher—or any single individual at a

school. To be most effective, bullying prevention

efforts require buy-in from the majority of the staff

and from parents.

4. Form a group to coordinate the school’s

bullying prevention activities. Bullying

prevention efforts seem to work best if they are

coordinated by a representative group from the

school. This coordinating team (which might

include an administrator, a teacher from each

grade, a member of the non-teaching staff, a school

counselor or other school-based mental health

professional, a school nurse, and a parent) should

meet regularly to digest data from the school

survey described in Strategy 2; plan bullying

prevention rules, policies, and activities; motivate

staff, students, and parents; and ensure that the

efforts continue over time. A student advisory

group also can be formed to focus on bullying

prevention and provide valuable suggestions and

feedback to adults.
These and other materials are available online at: www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

5. Train your staff in bullying prevention.

All administrators, faculty, and staff at your school

should be trained in bullying prevention and

intervention. In-service training can help staff to

better understand the nature of bullying and its

effects, how to respond if they observe bullying,

and how to work with others at the school to help

prevent bullying from occurring. Training should

not be available only for teaching staff. Rather,

administrators should make an effort to educate all

adults in the school environment who interact with

students (including counselors, media specialists,

school resource officers, nurses, lunchroom and

recess aides, bus drivers, parent volunteers,

custodians, and cafeteria workers).

6. Establish and enforce school rules and

policies related to bullying. Although many

school behavior codes implicitly forbid bullying,

many codes do not use the term or make explicit 

our expectations for student behavior. It is important

to make clear that the school not only expects

students not to bully, but that it also expects them to

be good citizens, not passive bystanders, if they are

aware of bullying or students who appear troubled,

possibly from bullying. Developing simple, clear

rules about bullying can help to ensure that students

are aware of adults’ expectations that they refrain

from bullying and help students who are bullied. For

example, one comprehensive program, the Olweus

Bullying Prevention Program (see resources section

on the Web site) recommends that schools adopt

four straightforward rules about bullying:

• We will not bully others.

• We will try to help students who are bullied.

• We will make it a point to include students 

who are easily left out.

• If we know someone is being bullied, we will 

tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

School rules and policies should be posted and

discussed with students and parents. Appropriate

positive and negative consequences also should 

be developed for following or not following the

school’s rules.

7. Increase adult supervision in hot spots

where bullying occurs. Bullying tends to thrive

in locations where adults are not present or are not

vigilant. Once school personnel have identified hot

spots for bullying from the student questionnaires,

look for creative ways to increase adults’ presence

in these locations.

8. Intervene consistently and appropriately

in bullying situations. All staff should be able to

intervene effectively on the spot to stop bullying

(i.e.., in the 1–2 minutes that one frequently has to

deal with bullying). Designated staff should also

hold sensitive follow-up meetings with children

who are bullied and (separately) with children who

bully. Staff should involve parents of affected

students whenever possible.

9. Focus some class time on bullying

prevention. It is important that bullying

prevention programs include a classroom

component. Teachers (with the support of

administrators) should set aside 20–30 minutes

each week (or every other week) to discuss bullying

and peer relations with students. These meetings

help teachers to keep their fingers on the pulse 

of students’ concerns, allow time for candid

discussions about bullying and the harm that it 

can cause, and provide tools for students to address

bullying problems. Anti-bullying themes and

messages also can be incorporated throughout the

school curriculum.

10. Continue these efforts over time. There

should be no “end date” for bullying prevention

activities. Bullying prevention should be woven into

the entire school environment.