From schools to services: Extending anti-bullying reform into early learning

The release of the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review Final Report has brought national attention to the urgent need for consistent, timely and effective responses to bullying across Australia’s school systems. With $10 million in federal funding committed to implementing the report’s recommendations, including teacher resources, parent support and public awareness campaigns, the policy momentum is clear. But while the review targets school-aged children, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector also has a critical role to play.

The review provides eight recommendations aimed at ensuring every school in Australia is a safe, inclusive and respectful learning environment. A central feature of the report is the introduction of a National Standard on addressing Bullying in Australian Schools, designed to provide a best practice framework for preventing and responding to bullying behaviour.

The standard calls for clear, school-wide policies, early intervention, and tailored approaches that reflect the diversity of student cohorts and community contexts. Importantly, the recommendations include expectations that schools respond to bullying complaints within two school days, highlighting concerns raised by parents about inconsistent or delayed responses.

While the report’s scope is focused on schools, its underlying message, that respectful, inclusive environments must be actively created and maintained, resonates with early childhood educators. 

The ECEC sector already delivers foundational experiences in social learning, emotional regulation, empathy and conflict resolution. Embedding these practices in the earliest years is a critical prevention strategy.

Children’s early experiences with peer relationships and adult-guided behaviour support lay the groundwork for how they respond to difference, challenge, and conflict. Quality early learning environments aligned with the National Quality Framework (NQF) and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) are well placed to foster the dispositions, skills and understandings that protect against later bullying behaviours, whether as targets or perpetrators.

Recognising the link between early experiences and later outcomes, the ECEC sector may consider the national anti-bullying reforms as an opportunity to:

• Strengthen social-emotional learning programs with age-appropriate strategies that promote inclusion, resilience and respect.
• Review current policies relating to behaviour guidance, inclusion support and wellbeing through the lens of early intervention and lifelong impact.
• Engage with families on the importance of consistent approaches to kindness, respect and conflict resolution across home and care settings.
• Participate in national conversations about child wellbeing, not just in school contexts but across the education continuum.

Although bullying typically enters the public discourse in the context of older children, the seeds of harmful social behaviour can be observed and addressed well before school age. For children affected by trauma, disability or disadvantage, proactive teaching and relational approaches are essential.

As federal education priorities evolve to reflect broader goals of wellbeing, inclusion and safety, the ECEC sector can play a vital role in shaping the implementation of these goals from the earliest years. Approved providers and service leaders may wish to:

• Monitor the development of resources under the $5 million allocated for anti-bullying education.
• Advocate for ECEC-specific adaptations of the new National Standard.
• Contribute to cross-sector dialogue with school systems, policy bodies and community services on child safety and behaviour support.

Minister for Education Jason Clare described bullying as “cruel” and “dangerous”, with impacts that “can last a lifetime.” His call for early action and educator support echoes long-standing sector concerns about the emotional wellbeing of children in education settings.

While the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review centres on schools, its relevance to early learning is unmistakable. Creating a national culture that does not tolerate bullying begins in the earliest years, through nurturing relationships, inclusive practices, and environments where every child feels safe, seen and valued.

The ECEC sector has both the expertise and the mandate to contribute meaningfully to this goal.