29 June 2013
LSA has many close links with our local primary schools so recently an initiative for Sue Strother (Pyramid Club and Peer Mentor) and former 6th form student Jennie Richards and two peer mentors, to pay a visit to Year 6 classes has materialised.
The theme was to help the young pupils to understand that to take a stand against bullying behaviour is everyone's responsibility. Topics covered included showing respect for ourselves and others and identifying what is or is not bullying. Time was spent on cyber bullying, who to contact for help in 'big school' and what to do if other signs of bullying are identified and strategies which can be used. In a large community the LSA pastoral system is one of the school's strengths and it was felt that to assure pupils that any deviant behaviour is dealt with promptly and these proactive workshops benefit all who are moving up from primary education.
In a recent Ofsted in May 2013 the inspectors said "There is very little bullying at LSA".
Sue Strother said "Bullying can be a very serious problem and we stressed to the children that we all have a part to play in stopping it so we can all live in a safe and calm environment. The children responded positively and felt reassured that they would be safe at LSA when they start in September "
Thomas Battle, age 11, pupil at Heyhouses Endowed Primary School sad "I think the tips they gave us were really helpful. It has meant that the move up to secondary school is less scary."
Picture shows Regan Collier-Baker( Peer Mentor LSA) Thomas Battle, Emily Williams (both pupils at Heyhouses) and Nathan Price, (Peer Mentor LSA.)
