From the Teacher Support Network, www.teachersupport.info.

FEARS THAT SCHOOL BANDING SYSTEM WILL LEAD TO CYBERBULLYING

A broadcaster and sixth-form student has claimed that the school banding system leads to cyberbullying and creates "bad feeling" amongst pupils.

Sian Williams, a pupil at Ysgol Bodedern, will tell S4C programme Y Byd ar Bedwar that the rating system has invited negative criticism over social networking sites, Wales Online reports.

"When it came out it was all over Facebook with things being said such as: 'that Bodedern school was one of the worst scoring schools.' Some pupils who had moved over the years from Bodedern were really slating the school," Ms Williams stated on the current affairs programme.

The school banding system, uses national data on school performance to group schools together into one of five 'performance bands'. The band model uses data such as: GCSE results, free school meal eligibility, attendance record and progress in order to categorise schools.

Ms Williams also said that before the banding system was announced, she was "happy with the education she received". Ysgol Bodedern has recently been placed in Band Five, the lowest ranking category.

Ms Williams continued: "If I was in Year 11 now, I think it would have an effect on my decisions and I probably would have moved to a school with a better rating. There is so much competition out there at the moment it puts a lot of pressure on young people like me to be able to get into universities to get the best education to be able to get a good career in the future."

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) Cymru have also spoken out against the banding system, criticising the way it categorises schools.

David Evans, Welsh Secretary of the NUT commented: "It's going to be natural instinct for any parent or teacher that they want to send their children to a school in a higher band. If there's a drift of pupils and teachers away from a school, it could end up in a spiral of decline which isn't in anyone's interests. We already know there is going to be no additional funding put into those schools."

However, Dr Philip Dixon, Director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) Cymru stated that if properly used, the banding proposals could help all schools in Wales.

He commented: "Crude league tables of raw GCSE results, as seen in England, tell us little about a school's performance but a great deal about the affluence or poverty of their pupils. By including value added data and attendance, the banding system could mean that the successes of schools in difficult areas will receive more recognition. These school banding proposals are ostensibly focussed on raising standards across the board, not on driving out poor performers."

Last month, the Welsh Government released advice for its teachers on tackling bullying, which included bullying around race, religion and culture and cyberbullying. You can read "Respecting others: anti-bullying guidance 2011" on the Welsh Government website.

If you have been a victim of cyberbullying and want to share your story, click here. You can be as anonymous as you like.

For more information on cyberbullying, try these links:

• Cyberbullying and online safety: resources for teachers
• Advice for teachers: dealing with cyberbullying
• Bullying: the role of the teacher