Media headlines ensure that we are constantly reminded of the presence of bullying in our schools. This article draws on responses to a national survey on barriers to student learning. The strategies that primary and secondary schools that responded are implementing to address bullying are discussed in relation to the approach known as “health promoting schools”—an approach that is internationally recognised for its effectiveness in addressing mental health issues in schools.

This article presents a fine-detail analysis of one observation from a wider ethnographic study of four-year-old children in a primary school in mid-Wales. The social interactions of the participating children show the multifaceted nature of children’s everyday social organisation. By investigating the complexities of children’s social interactions, their social competencies in everyday events are revealed. This raises the question of the role of early childhood teachers and whether they should intervene in children’s social experiences.

There are many children who have interpersonal difficulties at school which affect their enjoyment of and achievement in learning. The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) recognises the critical role that schools have to play in supporting the development of students’ competency in relating to others. This article discusses a junior primary class intervention programme that targets children’s self-control and assertion behaviours.

Heteronormativity is pervasive and ongoing in most societies. New Zealand, despite its comparatively liberal laws in relation to sexual orientation, is no exception. The effects of such attitudes, values and prejudices extend into education and, by default, into curriculum. Findings from a study including student and staff online surveys, a series of focus group and individual interviews and an overview of programme content suggest that there was a hidden curriculum of heteronormativity in teacher education at a New Zealand faculty of education in 2009.