Last week was National Anti-Bullying Week and this year the theme of the week was ‘United against Bullying’.
At school, we started the week by encouraging everyone to wear odd socks to schools to celebrate our differences. We joined in with the virtual online Anti-Bullying Assembly and then completed activities in each class.
In The Meadow Class, each child coloured odd socks to embrace and celebrate their differences and they also decorated people to show that we can be united with love. The Meadow children also worked with the Woodland class to make handprint hearts of kindness and friendship.
The Woodland Class played a game which involved them quickly getting into groups of a given number. The game allowed them to talk about feelings of inclusion and exclusion, and gave them the opportunity to empathise with children who were left out. The children showed great maturity and understanding in not wanting others to feel these feelings of being left out. They went on to talk about how although bullying is reoccurring and intentional, it is not OK for others to make unkind choices to you at all. The class discussed how to handle these situations when they do arise and the importance of sharing how a certain act made you feel.
Each week, the children are adding one item of unique clothing to their special gingerbread people to express and highlight how they are all individual.
In Ocean Class the children talked about the differences and similarities between falling out with someone and bullying. They looked at strategies for working as a team to ensure that they really are ‘united against bullying’.
The Mountains Class learnt about the different roles individuals can play where bullying is taking place: the ringleader, the target, the assistant, the reinforcer, the defender and the outsider. They also discussed and debated issues related to bullying, such as ‘When does ‘banter’ become bullying?’ and ‘Should all forms of bullying be against the law?’
As a result of the week’s learning, eight children from The Mountains have applied to become our official ‘Anti-bullying ambassadors’. These children will undertake Oxfordshire County Council virtual training on lots of bullying issues. They will then work with the adults in school to help make sure that we offer a safe and welcoming environment for all children.