This week has been Anti-Bullying week and to launch this, on Monday we wore odd socks. Our odd socks were a reminder to us that we are all different and our differences are to be celebrated.
Throughout the week we took part in Anti- Bullying Week completing lots of different activities and assemblies where we reinforced the messages about how our school approaches bullying. This includes knowing what steps to take if someone is being bullied, ensuring our pupils know what to do if they are being bullied, how to deal with anyone who bullies and that everyone should take bullying seriously because of the long-term impact it can have on friendships, self-esteem as well as emotional and mental health and wellbeing.
ANTI BULLYING ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE TO YOUR CHILD (Quoted directly from Anti-Bullying Week parent resource)
- Be kind and respectful to others: you have a vital role to play in modelling positive relationships. Your child is always watching you and learning from you. It’s important to talk kindly about other people and support your child to be kind and respectful to others.
- Understand true friendship: you can teach your child the qualities of a true friendship such as kindness, respect, boundaries, laughter, forgiveness, and trust. This will help your child recognise if others are being unkind or manipulative towards them. Encourage your child to be open to friendship rather than insisting on one best friend. Experience shows you can be vulnerable if they decide not to be your friend anymore!
- Role play together how to handle difficult situations: it is likely that your child will experience name calling, will get into arguments and may even be involved in physical fights. Role play together the different options you have in these situations, what you could say or do, and who else could help.
- Establish physical boundaries: help your child to understand that their body belongs to them, and that everyone has their own physical boundaries. This means it is not okay to be rough with other people, or to touch, hug or grab them without their consent.
- Make sure your child knows who else can help: there may be times, particularly as your child grows older, where they do not always tell you what is on their mind. This could be because they are worried about how you might react, or they do not want to upset or worry you. Help them think about other people in their lives who they can talk to. This could be a friend, a family member, a teacher at school or another adult they know and trust.