The winning designs of pupils from primary schools and secondary schools have been turned into posters which are the next step in the campaign being led by the County Council's anti-bullying team.
Cllr Rupert Simmons, the county council's lead member for learning and school effectiveness said: “Our anti-bullying team really is at the forefront of efforts to tackle what is a very important issue for young people and society as a whole. These posters are part of our on-going campaign to raise awareness of bullying and tackle the problem.”
The posters were created by young people following a competition run by the anti-bullying team. Of more than 200 entries, two winners and two runners-up were chosen. These four posters will now be used in schools. The best 12 entries will be turned into a calendar for next year.
The winning designs were created by Frank Winter of Ocklynge Junior School (primary section) and Nicola Wilkinson of Chailey School (secondary section). The runners-up were Lewis Innes of East Hoathly Primary School (primary) and Ellen Blakney also of Chailey School (secondary). They feature slogans such as “Say no to bullying”, “Don't be a bully, be a buddy” and “Be bigger than bullying”.
The anti-bullying team regularly works with schools and young people and is also currently running an anti-bullying survey involving pupils at dozens of schools across the county. By the time it is completed, the team hopes that as many as 12,000 pupils at 40 schools, including all the county's maintained secondary schools, will have had the chance to take part.
And as part of its work, the team also organised an anti-bullying conference last month which, as well as highlighting some of the successful work already being done in the county, also included discussion around future developments to anti-bullying initiatives. This included a number of workshops on subjects such as cyber-bullying, self harm, and promoting positive relationships.
Cllr Simmons added: “At all stages of this on-going campaign young people are involved. The Youth Cabinet has provided invaluable input into the team's work, the survey is providing us with important information on the views of young people, young people took part in the conference, and now these posters have been designed by young people. I am delighted they are playing such an integral part in addressing this issue.”
Reference:
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