National Anti-Bullying Week, 17^th – 21^st November, 2008

The theme of this year’s Anti-Bullying week is difference and diversity. Worcestershire Children’s Services Anti-Bullying Operational Group are currently planning events throughout this week. Please check back for more details.

Young Worcestershire musicians tune into Anti-Bullying Week

Sixteen young people from the Worcestershire Young Carers’ Group joined forces with Nigel Clark, front man of British Indie band, Dodgy, to turn their thoughts and feelings about bullying into music – listen online now:

• Higher quality, larger file size mp3
• Lower quality, smaller file size mp3

(Just right-click on the links and select 'Save as' to download these mp3 files.)

Anti-Bullying Week 2007

The theme of Anti-Bullying Week 2007 was around school and community, which provided scope to explore safer routes to and from school, community cohesion, engaging parents/carers in school life, cyberbullying, and extended school provision. In Worcestershire the start of this week was marked by the launch of the DVD highlighting Models of Good Practice. There was also a national ABA event for children and young people held in London during the week

Feedback received during Anti-Bullying Week 2007 in Worcestershire

The DVD launch event included:

• Richard Hubbard, Director of Children’s Services, welcome address
• Worcestershire’s Anti-Bullying Task Group put the DVD into context
• Updates on Anti-Bullying developments within the county
• “The Boy in the Photograph”, presented by Robert Higgs. This one man play explores the issues surrounding bullying, and stresses the importance of telling someone about it when it happens.

Evaluation of the DVD launch event;

Question: “How have the issues raised today influenced your thinking, and how are you likely to change your practice in the future?”

Responses included:

• “Research the issues for the group of children I support, discuss the work with them to move forward. Awareness raising with school staff and colleagues.”
• “Great ideas to develop our peer mentoring programme.”
• “As a foster carer this has raised my awareness to how huge this problem is for our young children. Future – listen more and more often.”
• “Support PRUs with ideas and promote anti-bullying. Support anti-bullying strategies. Supprt and advise parents and pupils with anti-bullying.”
• “To encourage more recording of bullying so that the true picture can be seen and therefore tackled effectively.”
• “Raise it within my 10 teams in Paediatricians and CAMHS to ensure they are aware of bullying and the schemes around the county; and ask how they can help, listen, act.”
• “I work in a residential children’s unit/home. I am going to take back information from today to the group of staff in the home. We will take it all on board, and develop our workinf practices in anti-bullying.”
• “From personal experience, people can be approachable, but nothing gets sorted. I hope more people/organisations are able to acknowledge and accept that bullying happens everywhere and it is better to be proactive and not ignore it!”