How a Pupil Resilience Committee transformed anti-bullying
It was a salutary moment for the Leadership Team at one Blackpool school. Both the Headteacher and SLT prided themselves on their commitment to the personal development and well-being of their young people. The budget allocation and pastoral staffing allocation reflected this passion. Therefore, when the Pupil Resilient Committee, made their top priority to tackle bullying the Leadership Team were both horrified and defensive.
However, overnight they reflected and came back the next morning determined to make a difference. They actually built a quiet space for the pupils to go in unstructured periods. They completely relaunched the anti-bullying programme with pupils owning the initiative and driving it. They recruited more anti-bullying ambassadors and appointed a lead student ambassador and two members of staff to support the ambassadors.
The ambassador team were involved in the appointment of the lead members of staff to support and facilitate their work. All the ambassadors were trained and then developed further training to cascade to new recruits.
Because of the ideas of the pupil team, the anti-bullying ambassadors have a high profile around school. Their photographs and names are displayed all around school so students know who to turn to if they need help. They are based in the quiet zone but continue to identify areas where they may need to be to provide extra support. They have played a crucial role in designing the quiet space and have their own area within this space. Being an antibullying ambassador is an aspirational role at the school. The ambassadors deliver assemblies and ensure that a culture of supporting each other is paramount. For example, a wall dedicated to positive LBGT role models.
The project has only been running for 9 months but evidence suggests that students feel that the school is a safe place and a supportive community. The next step for the school is to develop further measures to ensure there is a flourishing inclusive culture at the school.