7 October 2009
ARE YOU READY FOR ANTI-BULLYING WEEK 2009?
The Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) is calling on all schools in
England to start preparing for Anti-Bullying Week 2009, which takes
place this year from 16 -20 November.
Throughout Anti-Bullying Week, ABA and its
60 member organisations will send the message that bullying is not
acceptable, or inevitable in our schools and communities.
This year’s campaign ‘Stay safe
in cyberspace’ offers schools and local authorities a
wealth of opportunities to explore the serious issue of bullying,
which takes place through mobile phones and the Internet.
As with all bullying, the experience of
being cyberbullied can be very painful for those who are the
targets. We want schools and communities to use Anti-Bullying Week
2009 to address issues around cyberbullying in a positive way,
involving the whole school community in tackling the problem.
To help plan for Anti-Bullying Week 2009,
ABA has sent a resource pack to every school and local authority in
the country. The pack is full of essential information to support
anti-bullying work, and the materials and complementary online
resources highlight links to the national curriculum.
The ABA resource pack also includes advice
for parents and carers on how to deal with cyberbullying, a summary
of the DCSF guidance on cyberbullying, ideas from Young ABA for
children and young people and an order form for ABA pin badges,
logobugs, pencils and posters highlighting this year’s theme.
Following the popularity of the Anti-Bullying Week stickers last
year, this year’s pack contains more stickers for every school.
Chris Cloke, Chair of ABA,
said: ‘We know that a significant number of children and
young people are experiencing cyberbullying. We also know that
there are others who may not realise that they are being
cyberbullied, who need our support. Throughout Anti-Bullying Week
2009, we are asking everyone to work together to help make sure our
children and young people
‘Stay safe in
cyberspace’.
The resource pack is available to download
from the
ABA website.