Highlighting the Importance of Challenging Bullies to our Pupils

A survey from anti-bullying charity, Ditch the Label, found that 22% of people aged 12-20 had witnessed bullying taking place, but only 17% of these felt confident enough to challenge this behaviour. We therefore highlighted the importance of preventing bullying to our pupils through a training session run by The Diana Award as part of our continual efforts against bullying; educating our pupils on how to handle this type of conduct should it arise.

We delivered training sessions for pupils to become ‘Anti-Bullying Ambassadors’. Our new Ambassadors have been trained to improve their confidence in challenging and addressing bullying, both in offline and online situations.

Andrew McCleave, Headmaster at Ballard School, said:

“There’s always been a pro-active attitude surrounding bullying at Ballard School. If pupils do see evidence of it, we encourage them to speak to a member of staff, who will deal with any issues immediately. However, it is important for pupils to feel confident enough to challenge any form of intimidating and coercive behaviour.”

The programme saw Ballard pupils work peer-to-peer to develop skills for tackling bullying should any issues arise in the school or outside of school.

Throughout the day, pupils looked at bullying in different situations including face-to-face and online. They were also encouraged to make an action plan of how to approach issues that may arise and how they will commit to their roles as Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. The pupils’ role is to help educate their peers, lead on anti-bullying campaigns, promote a culture which celebrates and tolerates difference and help keep their peers safe.

Andy Marshall, Pastoral Lead at Ballard School, said:

“Having the team from The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme was a really good opportunity for the pupils to develop their understanding a step further. All of our pupils advanced as a result of the training and we are so proud of the maturity they have shown throughout our anti-bullying education.”

Our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors have access to a wealth of resources to help them further develop their role, including regular contact with trained professionals from the Diana Award.