Support for Schools

What Support Can We Offer Your School?

We have been developing programmes to offer schools and continue to to so. Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss your needs and we will be happy to arrange something for you.

We can support individual schools or Development Groups by:

1)Working with schools to develop, evaluate and review their anti-bullying policies. This could involve working alongside the Head/Principal, Senior Management Team, Governors or the whole staff.
2)Providing guidance, information, model policies, pro-formas, posters, books etc., either by visiting the school and discussing your needs or you can log onto our web site www.beyondbullying.com
3)Supporting schools in the planning and development of an Anti-Bullying Week/Day in school.
4)Providing individualised or school based training courses for staff/students in developing both pro-active and re-active anti-bullying strategies in such areas as Peer Support, School Councils, Persona Dolls, R Time/T Time, Positive Playtimes, Circle Time, The Shared Concern Method (SCm) - Pikas approach, No Blame Approach etc.
5)Inset for School Governors on bullying in schools and their role in addressing the issue.
6)Developing new initiatives in partnership with voluntary/charitable organisations such as Childline, Kidscape, CRISP and NSPCC etc. For example: a) the recent development of R Time in 160 Primary schools in Leicestershire and b) our new partnership with CRISP to promote Peer Mediation schemes and introduce Conflict Resolution skills in the classroom. This term we have three new initiatives around Peer massage, the I Decide programme and work with Year 3 students in the play ground.
7)Sharing successful practice both locally and nationally.
8)Holding conferences on issues related to bullying which schools have identified as areas of common concern (Reducing Bullying at Break and Lunchtime on June 24th 2005 was a direct consequence of concerns raised by a large number of schools).
9)Working with the PSHE&C. Co-ordinators and Healthy Schools Co-ordinators in the area of Emotional Health and Well-being.
10)Addressing the issue of Bullying in the Community.
11)A termly news letter to keep you up to date with new legislation, funding opportunities, award schemes and national initiatives via the Anti- Bullying Alliance.
12)Promoting the work of schools in the community via a media strategy including our web-site.
13)Raising awareness in the community and developing strategies to increase their involvement and participation in reducing bullying.
14)Organising a series of courses for 2006/7 reflecting the needs of schools and colleges. Full details of courses are available on our web site and are below.

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In this section you will find a selection of support materials, many that can be downloaded and used in your school immediately. The contents of each section are briefly explained below:

This will include everything from poems to resources that will help your school community consider the issues surrounding bullying and ultimately tackle it.

Leicestershire County Council guidance on bullying to parents, students and pupils is avialable online and easy to download straight from the site. No more time spent phoning for extra copies!!! This will mean you can generate as many copies as you need easily at the beginning of the new school terms for distribution as required.

ChildLine in Partnership with Schools

A multidisciplinary network of professionals from Health, Education, Social Services, Youth Offending and Voluntary Sector Services that work with parents and carers.

This section provides you with advice on how to develop an Anti-Bullying Policy for your school. We will also use this section to keep you supplied with some model example policies created by the Anti-Bullying Strategy Team, from which you will be able to develop your own.

We will also be looking to publish on the site any successful policies that have been developed by Leicestershire schools in consultation with the staff, govornors, parents and the wider school community.

Where does bullying fit into the wider spectrum of health? Use this section for further information on Healthy Schools and general health promtion issues for the learning community.

Find out about this muti-agency that encourages emotional well-being and positive behaviour in children.

Leicestershire County Council recognises the often difficult transition phase between Primary and High/ Secondary school. Under the management of Ruth Brunton of the Educational Psychology Service, a new initiative has been developed to address this. Find out more here . . . . .

Do you have strategies that are successful in your school? Have you got lots of ideas on how schools can reduce bullying? Do you have self-made resources that you are willing to share with other schools in the County?

Examples that you could contribute include:

• Assemblies
• Peer Support schemes
• Budding Systems (including Playground Buddying)
• School Councils
• R time and other improving relationship / creating effective relationships initiatives
• Playground strategies eg. for safe and happy playgrounds (this could include design, environment, games systems, division or integration of different year group ideas, whole-school play initiatives etc)
• Staff training that your school has undertaken
• Successful behaviour management techniques
• Use of the Arts to explore bullying issues (e.g. drama, dance or music)
• Assertive Discipline
• Consultation
• Raising awareness ideas - (including displays)
• Projects/ lessons with empathy dolls
• PSHE Modules/ ideas that have been put together by the school or adapted from published resources
• Lessons on Throwing Stones that have been successful or teaching strategies/ self-made resources to address racist bullying
• Any reactive strategies that have worked

. . . . and anything else that you feel that you school is doing to combat bullying. Individual schools/ headteachers/ teachers will be credited on the site for their contribution.

Please send an account of the strategy/ idea/ initiative and any accompanying sheets that teachers could download and use around the County.

If you feel that your school could contribute, contact:
Caroline Harbison
Educational Psychology Service
Anti-Bullying Strategy
OEM Building
Whiteacres
Cambridge Road
Whetstone
Leicester
LE8 6ZG
0116 284 5100
charbison@leics.gov.uk

Photographs of your work are welcome. Please telephone Caroline Harbison on 0116 284 5100 to discuss and to receive relevant permission letters.