Children and young people in Swindon will showcase how they have taken a stand against bullying at a special celebration event tomorrow (18 November).
Eleven schools will use songs, plays and poetry to give out an anti-bullying message at the event which will be held at Ridgeway School in Wroughton.
This will be the seventh anti-bullying event to be held in the town and Swindon Mayor Cllr Ray Ballman will be attending to present certificates to winners of the Swindon-wide anti-bullying competition.
Four schools will also be receiving awards for their work on the anti-bullying accreditation scheme bringing the total number of schools in Swindon who have received recognition for their work in tackling bullying to 16. Many others are engaged in this work and working towards the award.
The anti-bullying scheme is a framework for schools to evaluate their anti-bullying work against. It takes around two years to complete the eight criteria and the scheme is recognised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
Schools in Swindon have undertaken a number of measures to combat bullying including making anti-bullying an integral part of the curriculum, training students to be peer mentors and providing training in restorative justice.
Many classrooms also now have worry boxes where pupils can write down any bullying issues. ‘Buddy bus stops’ are also used which is a place where children can sit if they have no one to talk to or play with and other pupils who pass by the bus stop are encouraged to engage with them or ask them to join in their game.
Swindon Borough Council’s Chief Executive Gavin Jones, who chaired the judging panel for the Swindon-wide anti-bullying competition, said: “Our schools take bullying extremely seriously and this is shown by the increasing number who are meeting the criteria in the anti-bullying accreditation scheme.
“It was a real pleasure to see some of the work that is going on in trying to tackle bullying and this year’s anti-bullying competition was of a very high standard. I’m sure the anti-bullying event at Ridgeway will be a great success.”