National Anti-bullying week was held during 13th – 17th November. This year’s campaign was on the theme of ‘All Different All Equal’ and Northgate showed their support once again. This year, we also used the power of social media to highlight this message with daily tweets and Facebook posts. Some of the messages from the Anti-bullying Alliance can be seen below.
The anti-bullying message started just before Anti-bullying Week with a visit from the pair of former X-Factor contestants Misunderstood. Amongst singing a variety of their own songs, signing posters and selling merchandise, they gave a message to pupils in Years 8 and 9 about staying safe online, as well as the importance of sticking up for friends if they are getting bullied, by telling teachers, parents or other friends rather than ignoring what is happening.
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The weeks’ events were put together by Mrs Holt, who leads our Anti-bullying Ambassador team. First up was a presentation in PART lesson which gave students the opportunity to look at what bullying actually is and the types of bullying. We discussed who had been bullied and how it made us feel, whether certain situations would be classed as bullying or not and the role of bystanders. Advice was given as to what to do if you are being bullied or someone you know is being bullied. Assemblies for the week had the anti-bullying theme and were given by Ambassadors Emily, Year 11 and Hannah, Year 8. They did an amazing job speaking in front of 100s of students at a time and gave the clear message that Northgate takes a stand against bullying. The Anti-bullying Alliance’s film was played and this year was focussed on social media and online bullying. This has certainly grown over the years with more and more teenagers using social media as a platform to communicate. As a school, we have had assemblies in the past highlighting online safety and using social media in the right way. Finally, we are now looking to recruit more Anti-bullying Ambassadors to our team. These students will receive training and be a listening ear to those who may be being bullied.
Some of our Year 8 students summarised the week. ‘“In PART there was an anti-bullying presentation which discussed issues around bullying and the fact that we are all equal and all different. There was an emphasis on not being a bystander and ensuring you stepped up if you saw acts of bullying happening”
Thank you to Mrs Holt and all those involved in our Anti-Bullying Week activities #AllDifferentAllEqual
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