The Government does not hold information on the number of cases of homophobic bullying recorded in schools. The recording of instances of bullying is managed locally by schools.

We are examining the overall prevalence of a range of bullying types, including homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and the Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys, which will report later this year.

We are committed to promoting LGBT equality, including amongst young people. We are currently investing £3million in a three-year programme to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The Government announced a £2.8m investment in tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying in September 2016. This followed the successful completion of a £2m pilot programme last year. Since we announced this programme, a further £0.2m has been allocated in order to enable more robust evaluation and quality assurance of the programme. This brings the total to £3.0m.

Six grantee organisations were selected through open competition to deliver innovative schemes to tackle HBT bullying in schools which have no or ineffective measures in place. These were: Barnardo’s, LGBT Consortium, Metro Charity, National Children’s Bureau, Proud Trust and Stonewall. The Government has also contracted with the PSHE Association to quality assure the resources produced as part of the programme and Sheffield Hallam University to assess the impact of the programme. The funding for the programme is split between these organisations.

Since September, the six grantees have been further developing their implementation plans and they have been registering schools to be part of the programme. The aim is that the grantees will start working with schools during 2017. An action plan for the current programme has not been published and we do not intend to do so. We published the evidence from the pilot programme on GOV.UK in July 2016. A report demonstrating the evidence from, and the impact of, the current programme will be published after this programme concludes in 2019.

The Government has used a wide variety of evidence to inform its decision to tackle HBT bullying, including external research and the evidence from the 2015-2016 pilot programme. The organisations funded through the programme have been and will continue to be in regular contact with local authorities, academy chains and individual schools as they are recruiting schools.

The Government does not hold information on the number of cases of homophobic bullying recorded in schools, as the recording of instances of bullying is managed locally by schools. Nonetheless, we are examining the overall prevalence of a range of types of bullying, including homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and the Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys, which will report later this year.

We are committed to promoting LGB&T equality, including amongst young people. We are currently investing £2.8 million in a three-year programme to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The Government does not hold information on the number of homophobic cases of bullying recorded in schools. The recording of incidents of bullying is managed locally by schools.

We are, however, investigating overall prevalence rates for a range of types of bullying, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys which will report later this year.

This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

All forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying, are completely unacceptable. In order to tackle homophobic bullying in schools we are providing £2 million this financial year to fund projects designed to build schools’ knowledge and capacity to prevent and tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

While evidence points to a high level of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people being subjected to bullying, it also indicates that thanks to the efforts of teachers and charities it is falling. Research undertaken by Stonewall shows that homophobic bullying has reduced in recent years - 55% of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual secondary school pupils reported experiencing homophobic bullying at school in 2012, a drop from 65% in 2007 (Stonewall School Report, 2007 and 2012). The Stonewall Report of 2014 also indicated that homophobic bullying has fallen. The number of secondary school teachers who said their pupils are often or very often the victim of homophobic bullying had almost halved, from 25 per cent in 2009 to 13 per cent in 2014 (Stonewall Teacher Report, 2014 and 2009).

The Government believes that schools, internet providers and parents all have a role to play in keeping children and young people safe online.

All schools must have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying, including cyberbullying, and they are held closely to account by Ofsted. The Department for Education has issued advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying and on supporting bullied children which includes cyberbullying. We have also recently issued advice aimed at parents on how to keep children safe online, spot the signs that a child may be being cyberbullied and what to do if it happens.

In addition, e-safety is being taught at all four key stages of the curriculum and covers responsible, respectful and secure use of technology. Pupils are also taught age-appropriate ways of reporting any concerns they may have about what they see or encounter online.

The Department is also providing around £4 million in funding to various anti-bullying organisations, such as the Diana Award, Kidscape and the National Children's Bureau (NCB), who work in schools to combat bullying, including cyberbullying. The NCB has produced a guide for schools on preventing and tackling cyberbullying of children with a special educational need or disability who are especially vulnerable to this form of bullying.

Furthermore, we are currently considering bids through a £25 million voluntary and community sector grant programme to extend the work being done by anti-bullying charities in schools. A £2 million grant is being offered in conjunction with the Government Equalities Office to support projects which tackle specifically homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

More widely, the Government continues to work to protect children online through the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) which brings together representatives from government, industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups.

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 requires all publicly funded schools to promote community cohesion. It is for the governing body to determine how best to fulfil this duty in the light of their local circumstances. Ofsted can identify any inappropriate practices that may undermine community cohesion, and it holds schools to account for the manner in which they handle behaviour and bullying.