Feasibility trial of an adapted anti-bullying programme for children in special schools

This project will work with eight special schools to conduct a feasibility randomised controlled trial of anti-bullying programme KiVa-SEND.

Bullying is a public health risk with rates amongst pupils with special educational needs and disabilities estimated to be up to 69%. Bullying involvement can have detrimental effects on health, educational and social outcomes with some negative outcomes lasting into adulthood. Yet to date, there are no evidence-based anti-bullying programmes specifically designed for use in special schools.

We aim to 1) examine whether an adapted anti-bullying KiVa programme can be delivered successfully by teachers to children in special schools, and 2) whether it would be feasible to later conduct a definitive randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of the adapted programme (with a focus on: recruitment and retention, implementation and adherence, engagement, acceptability, and outcome measure suitability).

The research team will recruit eight special schools and work with a selection of classes with pupils aged 9-13. Baseline bullying and mental health data will be collected in spring/summer 2025. Half of the schools will be randomly assigned to implement KiVa-SEND for a year. Follow-up data from all schools will be collected in spring/summer 2026. Process evaluation interviews will be conducted with a selection of pupils and teachers.