This week people from Engaging Education have paid a visit to Malet Lambert in support of Anti-Bulling week. From Monday to Wednesday, Years 7, 8 and 9 took part in a series of events to raise awareness of all types of bullying.
The students had a number of tasks to do including creating original awareness banners in groups, filming scenes showing different kinds of bullying and making a short DVD, producing posters to have in schools and also to be educated on what anti-bullying actually means and how influential bullying can actually be on somebody. The students taking part may not have known the significance of anti-bullying and how beneficial it can be but after the few days of working in a group and creating posters and films, the students would have a better understanding of the cause that groups such as Engaging Education are trying to promote at a younger target audience.
When asked about why it's necessary for younger children to have this experience, Ross Bennett, director at Engaging Education said, 'Children can learn new skills such as teamwork and communication skills that will benefit them in the future. These skills are gained from working in a group with people that they may not have worked with before, also giving them confidence. They may also find out that they might want to do media further in the future, whether its design or filming. This experience not only good for teaching students about anti-bullying, they might also find out what they want to do in the future which is a really valuable thing to know at a younger age.'
'The students will be able to learn about support for people who are or have been bullied and how to deal with the bulling itself. Even though the students will be in groups, they will also be able to gain independence skills and how to have more confidence in themselves as they are in a comfortable environment. They will also have the opportunity to use technology like film and photography that they wouldn't have access to inside of a classroom.'
'We will be able to show the students the dangers of any types of bullying and show them how they can take responsibility for themselves if they are ever in that danger.'
Each group pitched their ideas to a panel of judges who will decide which is the best campaign. The winning ideas will be taken back to Engaging Education and will be made into a professional design and the posters and banners will be put up around the school on how to stay safe and how to protect yourself against bulling inside and outside of school too.