Nuneaton pupils beat bullying
Year 5 and 6 pupils from All Saints Junior School in Nuneaton have taken part in an interactive workshop to get them to think about the consequences of bullying in creative ways.
Positive about Young People delivered its popular ‘Your Streets, Your Schools’ programme at the school, encouraging the children to share their views and develop inspirational messages which they expressed through music, dance, drama, and lyric-based activities.
The two-and-a-half hour session, involving over 30 students, raised awareness of the different forms of bullying, looked at its effects on young people, and helped the youngsters come up with innovative ways to stamp it out.
Speaking about the benefits to her pupils, All Saints’ Headteacher Sally Kaminski-Gaze said: “The children gained a lot from the session which increased their awareness of how upsetting bullying can be and helped them to confront some of their feelings on the topic. It enabled open and honest discussion amongst the pupils who expressed themselves really imaginatively.
“We will build on this work elsewhere in the school to reinforce messages and share the pupils’ learning with other year groups.”
‘Your Streets, Your Schools’ began as a pilot workshop focusing on gang culture. Its popularity with local schools led the team to think about other issues which could be tackled in a similar way.
The bullying course was introduced this year and the programme is currently being expanded to include topics like anti-social behaviour, knife crime, substance misuse or racism; all designed to challenge or offer different views for students to consider.
Participating schools are encouraged to further develop ideas collected during the sessions through PSHE and citizenship curriculum work or to help young people take ownership projects that can be promoted in their local community.
Michael Maguire, CEO of Positive about Young People programme, said: “Your Streets Your Schools is designed to challenge young people’s perceptions and get them to think about potential consequences to their actions, not just with gangs but a range of other issues.
“We simply introduce the initial scenario and offer some alternative views, and the students develop the positive messages, come up with the best way to deliver that and continue to build on that in the community.”
To find out more about Positive about Young People’s programme or for details of the nearest activity session to you, visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/payp.