Learning Together Primary Schools pilot randomized controlled trial

ISRCTN	ISRCTN10215449
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10215449
ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT)	Nil known
Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS)	Nil known
Protocol serial number	1
Sponsor	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Funder	National Institute for Health and Care Research

Submission date: 02/11/2023
Registration date: 03/11/2023
Last edited: 03/11/2025

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Other

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
Bullying is really common, particularly in primary schools and among poorer children. It is experienced by 1 in 4 children. It harms young people’s mental and physical health. ‘Restorative practice’ is a way for schools to deal with bullying. Rather than just punishing bullies, teachers use restorative practice to work out what happened and prevent it from happening again. Bullies are made to understand the harm they caused and change their behaviour. ‘Learning Together’ is a programme that currently delivers restorative practice in secondary schools. It also involved students making decisions about how their schools are run. We evaluated Learning Together in English secondary schools. We found it reduced bullying and improved students’ mental health. We now want to adapt it for primary schools. This is important because primary schools lack effective methods to prevent bullying. Earlier intervention in primary schools is likely to work better.

Who can participate?
Students aged 7-11 years in primary schools in south-east England

What does the study involve?
We will first work with the staff and students from two primary schools to adapt Learning Together. We will also involve some other children in this work. We will use information from a survey of schools and a review of existing research to inform this work. As part of this, we will decide whether Learning Together in primary schools needs to include lessons on how students can manage their emotions and friendships. Then we will try out the adapted version of Learning Together in other schools. To do this, we will recruit six primary schools. We will ask students and teachers in these schools to fill in questionnaires at the start about bullying and mental wellbeing. Then we will randomly pick four schools to receive Learning Together and two to act as comparisons. The Learning Together schools will get a report on their students’ needs - how much bullying there is and how is the students’ mental well-being. These schools will then set up an ‘action group’ made up of some staff and students. This group will review the needs report and decide how to deliver restorative practice in their school. A charity called ‘Place2Be’ will help schools run these groups. All the staff in these four schools will also be trained in the basics of restorative practice. Four or five staff per school will be trained in more depth to lead restorative practice in their schools. If we decide that Learning Together for primary schools should also include lessons, schools will do these. We will do observations and interviews in these four schools to see how it is going. After 1 year, we will ask students and teachers in all six schools to fill in questionnaires again. This is a way of seeing whether there is now less bullying and better mental health in the schools that have delivered the intervention. In this study, we are checking that these methods are doable. Based on all this research, we will figure out if it would be possible and useful to do a larger study. This larger study would see if Learning Together works in reducing bullying and improving students’ mental health. We will share our findings with scientists, schools, young people, policy-makers and the public.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Potential benefits include reduced bullying and improved mental health. Potential risks are inconvenience and upset as a result of data collection.

Where is the study run from?
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
June 2020 to September 2025

Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Prof. Chris Bonell, chris.bonell@lshtm.ac.uk

Contact information

Prof Chris Bonell
Public, Scientific, Principal investigator

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

Phone	+44 (0)20 7636 8636
Email	chris.bonell@lshtm.ac.uk

Study information

Primary study design	Interventional
Study design	Pilot randomized controlled trial
Secondary study design	Cluster randomised trial
Study type	Participant information sheet
Scientific title	Adaptation and pilot randomized controlled trial of Learning Together Primary Schools, a whole-school restorative practice intervention to reduce bullying and promote mental health
Study objectives	1. Is it possible to adapt Learning Together for primary schools? 2. Is progression to a Phase III randomized controlled trial (RCT) justified in terms of pre-specified criteria? 3. Are outcome and covariate measures well completed and reliable? 4. Which methods to survey teachers are most feasible? 5. With what rates are schools recruited and retained? 6. What do qualitative data suggest about how context influences implementation and about refinements to the theory of change? 7. Are any potential harms suggested and how might these be mitigated? 8. What is treatment as usual in control schools and is there any evidence of contamination between arms? 9. Are methods for economic evaluation feasible?
Ethics approval(s)	Approved 13/02/2024, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine research ethics committee (Keppel St, London, WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom; +44 (0)20 7636 8636; ethics@lshtm.ac.uk), ref: 29958
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Prevention of bullying among primary school students
Intervention	The intervention comprises schools instituting action groups comprising staff and students (externally facilitated by staff from the Place2Be charity) which review a report on student needs (informed by student baseline survey) to plan local provision, plus teacher-delivered restorative practice sessions to address conflict and other behavioural incidents among students aiming to restore relationships (with external training provided by the L30 relational systems company). Control schools continue with existing provision focused on bullying prevention.
Intervention type	Behavioural
Primary outcome measure(s)	1. Student-level self-reported bullying victimisation in the past 2 months measured using the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 2. Student-level self-reported bullying perpetration in the past 2 months measured using the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline Updated 16/02/2024 to change timepoint from 17 months post-baseline to 12 months post-baseline.
Key secondary outcome measure(s)	Current secondary outcome measures as of 01/05/2024: 1. Student-level teacher-reported social and emotional problems measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire total difficulties score at 12 months post-baseline 2. Student-level self-reported cyber-bullying victimisation measured using the DAPHNE measure at 12 months post-baseline 3. Student-level self-reported wellbeing at school measured using the Adapted How I Feel About My School questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 4. Student-level student attendance/attainment measured using routine data at 12 months post-baseline 5. Teacher-level self-reported perceived behaviour of students in their class measured using the Pupil Behaviour Questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 6. Teacher-level self-reported self-efficacy measured using the Teacher Sense of Efficacy scale at 12 months post-baseline 7. Teacher-level self-reported burnout measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory at 12 months post-baseline Previous secondary outcome measures: 1. Student-level teacher-reported social and emotional problems measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire total difficulties score at 12 months post-baseline 2. Student-level self-reported cyber-bullying victimisation measured using the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 3. Student-level self-reported wellbeing at school measured using the Adapted How I Feel About My School questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 4. Student-level student attendance/attainment measured using routine data at 12 months post-baseline 5. Teacher-level self-reported perceived behaviour of students in their class measured using the Pupil Behaviour Questionnaire at 12 months post-baseline 6. Teacher-level self-reported self-efficacy measured using the Teacher Sense of Efficacy scale at 12 months post-baseline 7. Teacher-level self-reported burnout measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory at 12 months post-baseline Updated 16/02/2024 to change timepoint from 17 months post-baseline to 12 months post-baseline.
Completion date	30/09/2025

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Learner/student
Age group	Child
Lower age limit	7 Years
Upper age limit	11 Years
Sex	All
Target sample size at registration	960
Total final enrolment	1059
Key inclusion criteria	Current inclusion criteria as of 16/02/2024: Students in years 3-6 (aged 7-11 years) as well as their teachers at baseline and follow-up during the trial. No students deemed competent to complete data collection will be excluded from research recruitment unless they do not assent to the research or parents withdraw them from the research. Those who have mild learning disabilities or limited English will be supported to complete the questionnaire by researchers. Previous inclusion criteria: Students in years 2-6 (aged 6-11 years) as well as their teachers at baseline and follow-up during the trial. No students deemed competent to complete data collection will be excluded from research recruitment unless they do not assent to the research or parents withdraw them from the research. Those who have mild learning disabilities or limited English will be supported to complete the questionnaire by researchers.
Key exclusion criteria	1. Students who do not assent to the research or whose parents withdraw them from the research 2. Those who have more than mild learning disabilities or very limited English who cannot be supported to complete the questionnaire by researchers
Date of first enrolment	01/05/2024
Date of final enrolment	31/07/2024

Locations

Countries of recruitment

United Kingdom
England

Study participating centre

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	Yes
IPD sharing plan summary	Available on request
IPD sharing plan	The datasets generated during the current study will be available upon request from Chris Bonell (chris.bonell@lshtm.ac.uk)

Study outputs

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Participant information sheet	Participant information sheet	11/11/2025	11/11/2025	No	Yes
Protocol file	version 1.0	16/10/2023	03/11/2023	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.1	06/02/2024	16/02/2024	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.2	01/05/2024	30/05/2024	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.3	17/05/2024	30/05/2024	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.4	19/06/2024	09/07/2024	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.5		08/11/2024	No	No
Protocol file	version 1.6		17/01/2025	No	No
Study website	Study website	11/11/2025	11/11/2025	No	Yes

Additional files

44533_PROTOCOL_V1.0_16Oct23.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.1_06Feb24.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.2.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.3.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.4.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.5.pdf: Protocol file
ISRCTN10215449_PROTOCOL_V1.6.pdf: Protocol file

Editorial Notes

09/09/2025: The contact confirmed the record is up to date.
17/01/2025: Protocol uploaded (not peer reviewed).
20/12/2024: Protocol uploaded (not peer reviewed).
08/11/2024: Protocol uploaded (not peer reviewed).
19/07/2024: Total final enrolment was added.
09/07/2024: Protocol uploaded (not peer reviewed).
30/05/2024: Protocols uploaded (not peer reviewed).
01/05/2024: The following changes were made to the trial record:
1. The secondary outcome measures were updated.
2. The recruitment start date was changed from 01/03/2024 to 01/05/2024.
16/02/2024: The following changes were made to the study record:
1. Protocol uploaded (not peer reviewed).
2. Ethics approval details added.
3. The primary and secondary outcome measures and inclusion criteria were updated.
4. The target number of participants was changed from 1200 to 960.
5. The recruitment start date was changed from 01/04/2024 to 01/03/2024.
6. The recruitment end date was changed from 30/05/2024 to 31/07/2024.
09/01/2024: The recruitment start date was changed from 29/01/2024 to 01/04/2024. The recruitment end date was changed from 30/03/2024 to 30/05/2024.
18/12/2023: The recruitment start date was changed from 01/12/2023 to 29/01/2024.
03/11/2023: Study's existence confirmed by the NIHR.