SOUTHALL students are raising awareness of the effects of bullying as part of national Anti-Bullying Week.
Hamborough Primary School pupils made anti-bullying posters to show their school is ‘better without bullying’.
They will launch a peer mentoring programme and a child-friendly anti-bullying charter.
Last week, they held an anti-bullying workshop for parents as part of their mini-mentors initiative.
The workshop introduced parents to the mini-mentor programme, in which children will help their peers form friendships and learn to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
A theatre performance, Power of One, will take place on Monday. Children will use coloured boxes and masks to portray what bullying is and to reinforce what they can do about it.
Head teacher Louise Singleton said: “This covers that element of not being a bystander, because watching it happen and not doing anything is almost just as bad.
“If you see it happening, how should you deal with it? It is one of the messages the mini mentors should get across.
“It’s about empowering children to take responsibility and making sure the school value of respect is put out there in the playground.”
In 2011, Ealing Council’s health survey showed 36% of primary school students and 16% of secondary school students were worried about going to school because of bullying ‘at least sometimes’.
Cllr Patricia Walker joined the children at Hamborough Primary School earlier this week.
She said: “Bullying is completely unacceptable. As our school survey found, it can make children afraid to go to school and can even lead to them failing exams and dropping out of sports and extra-curricular activities.”