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Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson today announced plans to expand the highly successful ‘Peer Mentoring’ scheme as the third annual.........

The innovative and forward thinking scheme encourages schools to elect young people to become pupil representatives who have responsibility to help teachers maintain good behaviour, prevent bullying and monitor pupil safety.

 

Alan Johnson announced a further £480,000 in funding and said that additional guidance would be commissioned to expand the programme to over 60,000 young people.

 

Mr Johnson said:

 

“The Peer Mentoring scheme is an excellent way to help prevent and tackle the problem by teaching children that action should always be taken when bullying occurs.”

 

Peer mentor pupils can wear special identifiable clothing and will help resolve conflicts between students, act as a mentor to younger children and report incidents of bullying to teachers following training in assertiveness. Schemes already underway have shown that many pupils prefer to talk to these older students than to go to a teacher.

 

This scheme will help children take responsibility for their own actions, foster a more cooperative atmosphere and ensure that children feel a sense of team work and togetherness.

 

Alan Johnson added:

 

“All forms of bullying are wrong; it’s as plain and simple as that. I do not subscribe to the view that it is simply part of growing up or just part of school life. It can ruin lives and rob children of a fulfilling childhood. Everyone must play their part in tackling bullying. This year’s Anti-Bullying Week focuses on the role of the bystander. This could be a parent, fellow pupils, shopkeepers, youth workers, teachers or anyone that witnesses bullying. I want bullying to be reported to the school as nothing will happen unless teachers are informed.”

 

To coincide with Anti-Bullying Week the Children’s Commissioner Al Aynsley-Green has today published proposals for a complaints procedure for parents where parents feel that adequate action against bullying has not been taken.

 

Alan Johnson said:

 

“While in the vast majority of cases of bullying schools do an excellent job, we want to ensure that every case is investigated thoroughly and that parents have an effective route of complaint if they feel that inadequate action has been taken.

 

“There is always scope to improve and we must never stop pushing for better ways of tackling bullying and ensuring that everyone is playing their part. I look forward to seeing the Children’s Commissioner’s full report following the consultation.”

 

The Children’s Commissioner will be consulting key stakeholders on his proposals for reforming the bullying complaints procedure before submitting them to the Secretary of State for a decision.

Related Tags :

• General
• Bullying
• Behaviour Management
• Secondary Schools

Last Edited Date : May 16 2008 1:41 pm