This week, Devonshire House and schools and organisations across the country have been taking part in Anti-Bullying Week. This is a week organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance to raise awareness of the negative impacts of bullying and to encourage everyone to stand up against it. Their aim is to remind everyone that by working together we can bring an end to bullying.
Bullying has been defined by the Anti-Bullying Alliance as ‘the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological. It can happen face-to-face or online’.
The theme of Anti-Bullying Week this year has been #MakeANoise. This empowers children to do something positive to ensure bullying and unkind behaviour is never something to be tolerated or accepted and the Anti-Bullying Alliance is clear in their call to action:
Too often, we are silent when we see bullying take place, silent about the hurt bullying causes, and silent when we hear bullying dismissed as ‘just banter’.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Of course, we won’t like everyone and we don’t always agree, but we can choose respect and unity.
This Anti-Bullying Week let’s come together to have discussions about what bullying means to us, how banter can turn into something more hurtful, and what we can do to stop bullying. Together, we can make a difference and take a stand against bullying.
From the playground to Parliament, and from our phones to our homes, let’s make a noise about bullying.
(Anti-Bullying Alliance 2023)
This week, the children at Devonshire House have been taking part in role plays, discussions and other activities where they have had the opportunity to talk about bullying and what they can do about it. By creating posters and acting out hypothetical situations, they have been making a lot of noise about bullying! They have also been thinking about the impact unkind words can have on other people and children in Year 1 used a great visual method to show the lasting impact that words, either positive or negative, can have.
‘Before you act think and be smart, it is hard to fix a wrinkled heart’
The children have also been spreading kindness in their own classrooms, using compliments to give each other a boost. Children in the Lower and Middle School watched a kindness assembly that was broadcast to schools across the country that reiterated the value of kindness. The qualities of kindness include being friendly, generous and considerate and Science has even proven that being kind has positive benefits to ourselves; both to our mental and physical health.
Bullying is never acceptable behaviour or something that should be tolerated by any child. While this week has shone a spotlight on bullying to ensure all children are aware of what it is and what to do if it happens, we are always alert to that type of behaviour.
If, as a parent you would like to find out more or discuss with your child anything to do with the topic of bullying, the Anti-Bullying Alliance has some great tips and advice to how to start the conversation.
https://anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/advice-and-support/advice-parents-and-carers
Interested in Devonshire House? Come and meet us at one of our Open Mornings and we will be happy to answer your questions.
