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This year, Anti-Bullying Week takes place from 11th to the 15th November

Anti-Bullying Week is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance which is based at the National Children's Bureau. The campaign was started in the early 2000s as a way of focussing the attention of schools on tackling bullying between children and young people.

Change Starts With Us

This year, Anti-Bullying Week has the theme ‘Change Starts With Us’, underlining how everyday acts like listening to young people, having a conversation, thinking about the impact of our words or stopping before hitting ‘like’ on a hurtful social media post, can help to reduce bullying.

Aims

The campaign objective is to emphasise that we all have a part to play: Change Starts With Us.

The aims of the week are to support schools and other settings to help children and young people, schools staff, parents and other professionals who work with children to understand:

bullying is still a serious issue

we are all responsible

a small change can make a bit difference

change starts now!

How to get involved

There are many ways you can get involved this year, with different events taking place throughout the week:

‘Change Starts With Us’ is the main overarching theme for this year’s Anti-Bullying Week and was developed with young people, so why not help promote the message on your social media channels.

With the focus on positive change and knowing that we are all part of the solution, the ABA is asking that everyone pledge to change something, no matter how small, and tell them about it. The simplest way of doing this is by sharing or pledging messages from you and your pupils. Your pledges should start with: ‘change starts with ……’ #ChangeStartsWithUs #AntiBullyingWeek. This could be a text-based post, a photo, a video, a GIF or something else!

You can also sign up as a supporter of Anti-Bullying Week where you will receive a certificate and be listed on the website.

E-safety Support and Safeguarding Essentials members can download a selection of bullying resources which include assembly plans, parent guidance and staff training - login or join now!

Can gaming in schools help with career development?

Earlier this month, the NHS announced a new treatment being offered to 13 to 25-year-olds who are suffering from gaming addiction, having identified the issue as an "emerging problem". This supports the recent classification of gaming disorder as a mental health condition.

There is no shortage of stories in the news about the problems which can arise from gaming, from lack of sleep, difficulties developing relationships and the potential to lead onto gambling habits - there is often lots of bad press surrounding the pastime of gaming.

However, there is an emerging career path being explored through gaming, or 'esports'.

For instance, Benjy Fish is a 15-year-old professional gamer, who has so far earned over £400,000 from gaming. There are also those who are developing careers as esports managers and coaches, as well as those who commentate through social media on gaming tournaments and championships.

Schools are now beginning to embrace gaming, with some including it into the curriculum. By doing so, they are encouraging pupils to develop programming, problem-solving, communication and networking skills amongst other career-boosting talents.

Have your say

Do you agree that gaming can help develop career skills? Do you have gaming in your school curriculum? What most concerns you about gaming? What has worked in your school? How can we ensure positive outcomes from gaming activity? Let us know your thoughts and suggestions using the comments section below.

View the BBC news story here and the BBC Newsround story here. To find out more about the NHS gaming addiction treatment, click here

Mental health promotion and suicide prevention

On October 10th, people around the world will be taking part in the annual World Mental Health Day, drawing attention to the importance of mental well-being.

Organised by the World Federation for Mental Health since 1992 and supported by many of the national and international charities, this year the theme will focus on suicide prevention.

According to the Mental Health Organization, "more than 800,000 people die by suicide a year, making it the principal cause of death among people fifteen to twenty-nine years old. The UK suicide rate is 10.1 suicides per 100,000 population with the highest rate in Scotland (13.9 suicides per 100,000 population) and the lowest in England (9.2 deaths per 100,000 population) (Office for National Statistics 2017)

WFMH President, Professor Alberto Trimboli adds: “Suicide is a global public health problem that deserves the attention of all the actors in the field of mental health, including scientific and professional organizations, organizations for mental health users and their families, and universities. It is particularly important to have the attention of national health authorities since it is their responsibility to craft policies and directives aimed at establishing strategies to prevent suicide and promote the public’s mental health. The role of both print and audiovisual communication media and of social media is no less important, since their participation can have positive as well as negative effects, depending on how they address this subject.

Join us this year as we focus on suicide prevention. We are partnering and collaborating with many groups around the world to make this an amazing year of positive change. We hope you will support our efforts and keep the spotlight on suicide prevention!”

The key topics being addressed in the activities supporting World Mental Health Day this year include:

prevention of mental illness

promotion of good health

reduction in the stigma associated with mental illness

improved access to mental health care

Ultimately the goal of WMHD is to reduce the rate of suicide throughout the world.

For more information about the campaign, visit the World Foundation for Mental Health website

For a range of mental well-being resources including teaching materials, parents guides and staff training, join our Safeguarding Essentials service. Members can login now to distribute staff training on this topic