Blog – Latest stories tagged 'bullying'

Tootoot launch free World Pride celebration toolkit

June marks the start of Pride month, a time to celebrate diversity, promote equal rights and recognise the contributions that LGBT+ people have made to the world.

Whilst society has come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, LGBT+ people still face stigma and prejudice in their everyday lives.

This prejudice can start early in an individual’s life, young people who identify as LGBT+ are more likely to be bullied in school and, in 2017, Stonewall found that 45 per cent of LGBT+ pupils in Britain’s schools were bullied for being LGBT+.

This can significantly affect the mental health of LGBT+ pupils when they are older - there is overwhelming research showing the correlation between being bullied as an adolescent LGBT+ person and developing serious mental illnesses later on in life. (Nancy L. Beckerman & Charles Auerbach, 2014)

There has been new legislation brought in this year giving better to guidance to schools about how to teach topics such as LGBT+ relationships and identities to their pupils. This will help pupils to understand that there is nothing wrong with being LGBT+ and will in turn help to remove prejudices and discrimination.

Since launching, tootoot has supported over 140 students to speak-up about LGBT+ cases ranging from homophobic bullying and name-calling to hate crimes. The number of cases reported on tootoot increased by 144 per cent between 2016 and 2018. This could reflect that already pupils have an increased awareness of what LGBT+ discrimination is, and are choosing to seek support for it using tootoot.

For Pride month we have created a free toolkit to help your school celebrate pride, improve awareness and make it easier for your students to speak-up.

Your toolkit will include:

• Free targeted resources to encourage LGBT+ inclusiveness in your school
  
• Access to tootmood – the simple feedback app that makes it easy to track the feelings and attitudes of your pupils
  
• Access to tootoot – the pupil voice software that gives pupils a simple and trusted way to talk about any concerns

Click here to sign-up to the toolkit and we will be in contact shortly after.

Children want adults to show more respect for each other ahead of Anti-Bullying Week

Children want adults to show more respect for each other, as worrying numbers of 11 to 16 year-olds witness adults setting a bad example by bullying and disrespecting each other.

The results of a poll, published by the Anti-Bullying Alliance ahead of Anti-Bullying Week 2018, suggest that over four-in-ten children (41%) have seen adults bullying each other during the last six months, with an even greater number (60%) witnessing grown-ups being disrespectful to other adults.

Children said they saw much of the adult bullying take place face-to-face (21%), but had also come across it online (18%) or in the media (20%).

More than 4 in 5 of the children polled (87%) also reported having seen children bullying each other. The majority (76%) had seen this happen at school, with a third (34%) seeing it online and a quarter (27%) seeing it in their communities.

The results come as children continue to suffer on the receiving end of hurtful behavior. Nearly half of the children surveyed (45%) said they had been bullied face to face at least once during the last six months, with over a third (34%) saying they had been bullied online over the same period. Worryingly, the equivalent of one child in every classroom (4%) said they had been bullied face-to-face or online every day over the last six months.

However, nearly all children surveyed (98%) said that showing respect to each other is important and that it is possible to be respectful even if you disagree with someone else. 97% said adults should set a good example and show more respect for each other.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance, with the continued support of SafeToNet, is encouraging everyone to ‘Choose Respect’ during Anti-Bullying Week. The campaign, expected to be supported in approximately three-quarters of schools in England, takes place from 12 to 16 November.

CBeebies star Andy Day and Anti-Bullying Alliance patron, and his band Andy and the Odd Socks, have launched a new song in support of Anti-Bullying Week 2018 and are encouraging students to wear odd socks to school during the campaign to show their support and raise money for a good cause.

On Thursday of Anti-Bullying Week, the Anti-Bullying Alliance has teamed up with The Royal Foundation and The Duke of Cambridge to support their Royal Cyberbullying Taskforce to shine a spotlight on cyberbullying by holding ‘Stop Speak Support Day’ which encourages young people to become upstanders when they encounter bullying online.

Martha Evans, Director of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said:
‘Children who experience bullying are at higher risk of experiencing a range of mental health issues and leaving school with fewer qualifications. The impact of bullying can last well in to adulthood. We need children to learn that we don’t have to be best friends with each other or always agree with each other but this is never an excuse for bullying or hurtful behavior. We must always choose respect. We are urging adults to role model the ‘choose respect’ message, and help us stop bullying in schools to prevent it from affecting so many children’s lives.’

Richard Pursey, CEO of SafeToNet, said:
‘SafeToNet is delighted to once again support Anti-Bullying Week. We’re passionate about safeguarding children’s online experience from all kinds of cyber abuse, while allowing them to enjoy all of the positive benefits that the internet and social media provide. Bullying, whether online or offline, can have a damaging effect on young people’s lives and we all need to do everything we can to choose and show respect.’

Anti-Bullying Week runs from 12 to 16 November 2018 – get involved at www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk / @ABAonline: #AntiBullyingWeek #ChooseRespect #OddSocks.

Our sister site, Safeguarding Essentials (incorporating E-safety Support, offers resources to tackle bullying and cyber bullying. Join the FREE Membership service for the bullying assembly resource. E-safety Support members can also download cyber bullying specific resources and distribute Internet safety training. Safeguarding Essentials members have access to the full suite of cyber bullying and bullying resources including policies, teaching resources and staff training. Find out more.

• A poll of one thousand 11-16 year olds shows 97% would like adults to show more respect for each other.
  
• 41% of children have seen adults bullying each other during the last six months.
  
• Children themselves continue to experience bullying: nearly half (45%) say they have been bullied face to face, and 34% online, at least once during the last six months.
  
• The equivalent of one child in every classroom (4%) said they were being bullied face to face or online every day.
  
• Nearly all the children surveyed (98%) said that showing respect to each other is important and that it is possible to be respectful even if you disagree with someone else.
  
• Anti-Bullying Week runs from 12-16 November 2018 with the theme ‘Choose Respect’

After a record-breaking year last year, with over 150,000 pupils joining, tootoot’s Pupil Voice Week is back and bigger than ever.

Running from the 24th – 28th September, this year’s Pupil Voice Week has more partners and resources than ever before to help schools celebrate.

With the theme ‘Use Your Voice’ Pupil Voice Week this year will celebrate all of the incredible things that happen when our children and young people use their voice to speak-up about the things that are important to them.

Children and young people are our future and hold a huge potential for the communities they are part of. We know that when children feel valued and confident to speak-up it creates a positive force for change.

We want children around the world to feel comfortable to speak-up about anything; empowering children’s voices should be at the core of everything we aim to do which is why the Pupil Voice Week activities, lesson plans and resources focus on the idea that it’s good to speak-up, and that if we want to make a positive change in our communities children’s voices have to be a part of that.

It is time to act now and work together to make sure that this becomes a reality. Sign-up and download the resources and activities. Let’s celebrate the pupil voice together.

Receive your free support and resources by signing up at pupilvoiceweek.co.uk, and join the celebration on social media from the 24th – 28th September using #PupilVoiceWeek and tag @tootootofficial.