Awards see progress on beating bullies

PUPILS and staff from schools across the borough were rewarded for efforts in tackling bullying.

Six schools from Hinckley and Bosworth were among 31 invited to attend an awards ceremony as part of the county-wide Beyond Bullying programme.

Set up five years ago by Leicestershire County Council the initative offers resources and support to combat all kinds of playground and classroom harrassment with advice and tools which can also be taken outside of the academic forum.

Schools involved were Sharnford Primary, Newbold CE Primary, Ratby Primary, Newlands Primary in Barwell, All Saints Primary in Sapcote and Sketchley Hill Primary in Burbage.

The awards recognise active prevention and sharing of best practice with the award event a chance for pupils and staff to share their stories.

Since the awards were launched more than 100 schools across Leicestershire have received the accreditation. This year’s celebration was the biggest one to date with over 130 children and staff attending.

Within the borough contingent Sketchley Hill was receiving its first award.

Deputy head, and lead on Beyond Bullying, Jason Cadder said they were delighted to receive the honour and added: “It wasn’t just about getting the award that we started the programme obviously we also wanted to raise awareness of bullying and how to react so we could make the school a friendlier place for the children.

“Throughout the year we held assemblies and ran competitions.

“We got the children involved in discussions about what it was to be a good friend and the pupils were encouraged to come up with slogans of support - like ‘don’t be a bystander, be an upstander’

“We also appointed two Year 6 pupils as ‘ambassadors’ who were really at the forefront of the work we did and who children knew they could go to, as well as teachers, if anything did go amiss.”

At a final assembly the youngsters were treated to a video with accompanying music created by Jason showcasing highlights of the initiative over the past year.

Sketchley Hill on Sketchley Road, Burbage, has around 416 pupils aged four to 11.