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The specific role of ethnicity in the experience of bullying was examined, with a sample of 33 pairs of Asian and white children, matched for gender, age, and school. Each child was interviewed individually, using a modified version of the Olweus questionnaire. No differences by ethnicity were found for reports of enjoying school; having friends at school; disliking other children; likelihood and frequency of being bullied; and likelihood and frequency of bullying others. For those children being bullied, no differences by ethnicity were found for where it happened, or the likelihood of getting help. However, significant difference by ethnicity was found for racist name‐calling; one‐half of the bullied Asian children, but none of the bullied white children in this sample, were called names about their colour. This racist name‐calling appeared hurtful to the recipients and was often a reason for disliking other children. Racist name‐calling should clearly be one focus of work in schools against bullying.

The school bully has always been with us. Many examples appear in the literature, some portrayals of which have not fully conveyed the true horror that sustained intimidation can bring to the victim. Surprisingly, we still know very little about this problem and particularly how it affects pupils with special needs. One might intuitively expect them to figure in either of the two main roles. The Sheffield team set out to remedy our ignorance. Here they introduce us to a survey undertaken in local schools. The position of special needs pupils, initially, is far from clear. However, subsequent investigations prove more revealing. Now that the work at Sheffield has attracted support from the Department of Education and Science we can look forward to more detailed findings in a year or so.

In Vol. 7 No. 1 of Support for Learning we reported the initial findings of research into bullying conducted by Peter Smith and his colleagues at Sheffield University. Now, two years on, the team look at the incidence of bullying among children with special needs in mainstream schools. Their research concludes that statemented pupils, on the whole, are more likely to be victimised. General intervention strategies initiated by schools are effective in reducing bullying in this group without the need for specific targeting. We are, nevertheless, left with the worrying thought that this may not be necessarily true for the large number of pupils without statements who suffer some form of learning disability.

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