KAS & Anti-Bullying Week
28th November 23
This half term saw Anti-Bullying Week take place from Monday 13 – Friday 17 November but the idea of kindness to others is a year-round mantra.
Our students in Lower School are reminded to always be kind, aware and safe. In classrooms, playgrounds and Callovers we promote these three important qualities, making sure we recognise and celebrate them across the school.
We help children to identify bullying behaviour as unkindness that happens ‘several times on purpose’. Such behaviour has no place in our school and we are committed to addressing issues before they escalate, by ensuring that children understand that it is not tolerated in school and providing quality personal and social education and a climate of open and honest conversation.
While bullying is something we’re committed to combating all year, it was a great opportunity to have a week dedicated to bullying awareness.
As part of the week, the Lower School wore odd socks on Monday. One student commented: “it’s recognition that everyone is different and that’s okay! We celebrate those differences no matter what.”
As well as this, during Callovers, Head of Lower School, Karen Thomas discussed with students what bullying may look like and that, on some occasions, bullying is not always obvious. Pulling a story from the story chest (‘My Secret Bully’ by Trudy Ludwig), Karen read about just such a situation and it was fantastic to see all the children so engaged and empathetic to the main character.
The Year 3-6 Callover engaged in discussions where students asked for advice on what to do if they experience bullying across different platforms, including gaming. There was also a chat about ‘banter’ and what it is. Students shared their own, enjoyable, experiences of banter and how they knew they were having a good laugh with their friends rather than being potentially bullied. They also talked about how banter isn’t always enjoyable and how to identify when it has tipped over into bullying.
During the Callover, Karen and the children spoke about STOP, which turned out to have two different acrostic meanings. The first, ‘Several Times On Purpose’, helped the children understand just what bullying was before they discussed the different types of bullying so they could better identify them if needed. The second, ‘Start Telling Other People’, was set out to encourage students to speak to someone they trust if they ever felt that they were experiencing bullying.
There were other opportunities for students to bring awareness to the week, with Year 6 students having created tote bags and even shirts with anti-bullying messages on them. Then, Student Voice representatives Ben, Mark and Ivy spoke to tell their peers there would be the chance for everyone to create badges with their own anti-bullying message on them.
Since the Callover, we have seen the students creating badges and sharing them to raise awareness. Deputy Head of Lower School, Rachel was overrun with eager badge-makers!
Overall, it was fantastic to see our students so engaged with the issue of the week and we look forward to seeing the badges being worn out and about at School.
