By Government pledges further £1m to tackle bullying
The government has announced that it is pledging a further £1 million towards specialist anti-bullying training for schools.
Coinciding with Anti-Bullying Week, the Department for Education have confirmed funding for five leading organisations worth over £1 million.
The funding will support schools and colleges in championing tolerance and respect as part of their responsibility to tackle all forms of bullying.
This is building on the funding of £3.5 million which has already been provided to charities and organisations to prevent bullying.
The boost willl help projects and programmes that specifically tackle ‘hate bullying’ which is bullying targeting LGBT, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) students.
A new support scheme backed by £760,000 is also being launched for school leaders to promote good wellbeing across pupils, teachers and school and college staff.
It will provide one-to-one counselling and peer support to those at deputy head level and above with their mental health.
The Minister for Children and Families, Will Quince has this to say on the new backing:
“Bullying in any form is unacceptable and can have a devastating effect on children, young people and their families.
“It’s crucial that our children and young people know how to treat one another with respect and celebrate one another’s differences.
“That’s why we are supporting organisations leading the way with providing schools with specialist support and training for thousands of teachers to help respond to any concerns and to make sure bullying never prevents any young person from fulfilling their potential.”
The Minister for Equalities, Mike Freer has supporting this funding, saying:
“Bullying, especially when it targets an innate characteristic like being LGBT, is particularly damaging and distressing to children.
“It is vital we stamp it out and equip our brilliant teachers to do so effectively.”
