More than a quarter of parents who said their child had been bullied claimed York schools were not dealing with the problem quickly and effectively, new figures show.

It comes as the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which coordinates Anti-Bullying Week each year, said staff must be better equipped at tackling bullying to lessen the serious impact it has on children.

City of York Council said York's bullying figures were below the national position, and strong systems were in place in city schools to tackle the problem.

Ofsted figures for the year to September 2023 show 2,308 parents were asked if their child has been bullied and whether the school dealt with the bullying "quickly and effectively".

Of the 725 York parents that said the question was relevant to them, 27 per cent - 195 parents - disagreed or strongly disagreed that the school handled the bullying effectively.

Across England, 32 per cent of parents said their child's school did not deal with bullying well.

The data covers private and public nurseries, primary schools, secondary schools and special schools.

Martha Evans, director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance said bullying behaviour is a "persistent problem" in schools.

She added: "We know that almost a quarter of children say they are being bullied frequently face-to-face, so it is unacceptable that understanding how to deal with bullying isn’t a mandatory part of initial teacher training.

"There are many examples of school staff who do a great job for the children that rely on them, but we must do more," she said.

"If we get better at equipping staff to root out the problem, take a whole-school approach to tackling bullying, and make sure there is a senior teacher leading the way, then the serious implications of being bullied can be lessened."

The figures also showed 11 per cent of parents across England said their children were not happy in their school and nine per cent did not feel safe in the schools.

In York, eight per cent of parents said their child was not happy at their school while seven per cent said their youngster did not feel safe.

Councillor Bob Webb, executive member for children, young people and education at City of York Council, said York’s schools and academies took bullying "incredibly seriously". He said: "We recognise the huge negative impact it can have on young people’s lives and we want to ensure that pupils are safe from all forms of bullying and harassment. The use of sanctions such as exclusion provides evidence that schools do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour.

"Whilst the York figures are below the national position, there is no sense of complacency in the city and all recent Ofsted reports in the city describe strong systems in our schools and effective practise.

“While we all understand that talking about these issues can be extremely difficult, I would urge anyone who experiences bullying to speak to a trusted adult and seek help as soon as possible. Help is available at individual schools, via school staff, our trained school wellbeing team and through external partners.”

David Johnston, minister for children, families and wellbeing said: "Bullying is never acceptable, which is why this government is committed to working with schools to create good behaviour cultures and to improve approaches to tackling bullying.

"We’ve created behaviour hubs across the country, included teaching respect and inclusivity as part of the RHSE curriculum and provided more than £3 million of funding to anti-bullying organisations to support their vital work."