Puppet workshop tackles bullying

14 November 2008

 The misery of bullying will be tackled next week in National Anti-Bullying Week (17-21 November) when victims will be urged not to suffer in silence.
 

Bullying can affect how children behave and learn in school. In some cases it can affect the rest of the victim’s life. Bullying can include name-calling and isolating, as well as physical violence. More recently cyber-bullying, carried out through email and mobile phone text messaging, has become a new way in which victims can be targeted.
 
To help tackle the problem, the Safer Harlow Partnership and the Harlow Education Consortium have funded a series of puppet workshops for year 4 and 5 (8-10 year old) children. The puppets are used to act out ways in which bullying harms others and how children can cope if they become a victim. A facilitator then works through the scenes with the children and together they discuss solutions to the problems. The workshops are produced by Outloud Productions and Victim Support Young Victims of Crime Services.

Chairman of the Safer Harlow Partnership Malcolm Morley says:
“Bullying is not a normal part of growing up and it’s not harmless. It can lead to physical injury and harm self-confidence, affecting the victims for the rest of their lives. The workshops will help to explain the issues to children in a way that they understand.”
 
The workshops will be running in Harlow primary schools from now until January 2009. More information, for teachers, parents and children is available from the Government’s anti-bullying website Don’t Suffer in Silence.com at www.dfes.gov.uk/bullying

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