Anti-Bullying Ambassadors present to GNSA staff during staff training

ANTI-BULLYING AMBASSADORS: Diana Award

 

To complement the amazing work by both staff and students to mark Children's Mental Health Week 2021, 20 new students successfully completed their Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training. They are all excited to now further develop their leadership skills, deliver a range of projects and ideas to further enhance our anti-bullying policy and create a culture which promotes kindness, compassion and understanding.

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors are trained, passionate young people who will stand up to bullying behaviour and believe they can change things for the better. 

Anti-Bullying Ambassadors believe that bullying behaviour is not acceptable and should not be part of everyday life at school. They support others and are upstanders against bullying behaviour and a support network for their peers. They stand to shape attitudes and change behaviours. They are a pillar of support, look out for others and are a strong voice for the school community.

Bullying behaviour is a serious issue amongst young people, with nearly half of young people expressing they have been bullied in the last 12 months, and around two-thirds reported seeing someone else being bullied at school (Department for Education, 2017). If not dealt with effectively, it can have long-term negative consequences on health and wellbeing (Wolke & Lereya, 2015). It is therefore clear that we need to work together to tackle bullying behaviour.

The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme offers informative and interactive anti-bullying training days to young people and staff in primary and secondary schools. The Diana Award's Aftercare team then provides continued support to help school’s anti-bullying campaigns succeed.

As a result of the programme, Anti-Bullying Ambassadors feel more knowledgeable about bullying behaviour, more confident in supporting their peers and that their school deals with bullying behaviour more effectively. 

 

 

 

The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme also helps to:

• Create a happy and safe learning environment for all, which in turn can boost attendance and attainment levels
• Develop resilience, confidence, and positive healthy relationships amongst young people
• Complement teaching and learning across the curriculum, including PSHE, Citizenship, and ICT
• Contribute to positive inspection reports; the Anti-Bullying Ambassador Programme has been referenced in hundreds of inspection reports as good practice

The training has made a difference in the lives of young people and as a result, this is used to create a positive learning environment for the young people.