This year, we marked Anti-Bullying Week (November 11–15) with a series of engaging sessions for our ESOL and On Track to Work (OTW) groups. We encouraged our students to reflect on the importance of standing up against bullying and promoting kindness and respect in their communities and workplaces.
ESOL group: exploring respect and peer influence
With our ESOL students, we focused on understanding similarities, differences, and how peers influence our behavior. Key terms like banter, peer influence, and bystander sparked discussions, and an engaging activity called the Attitude Continuum got everyone thinking.
For this exercise, students responded to statements by positioning themselves along an imaginary line, from "Agree Strongly" to "Disagree Strongly." They then shared their reasons for their choices to statements like ‘Banter is not bullying.’, ‘Online bullying can’t be prevented by bystanders’ and ‘Bullying will always happen in schools.’ - which encouraged meaningful conversations and highlighted shared values around equality and respect.
a creative collaboration with chichester festival theatre
Our ESOL group also partnered with Chichester Festival Theatre for an interactive session on tackling bullying through role-play. Students acted out scenarios involving online bullying, peer pressure, and exclusion, practicing ways to intervene safely and effectively. After each role-play, we discussed what worked, what could have been done differently, and how to be an upstander instead of a bystander.
OTW group: understanding workplace bullying
The OTW sessions turned the spotlight on bullying in professional settings. Students learned how to recognise workplace bullying, understand its impacts, and report it confidently and appropriately.
Key topics included:
Understanding your rights and the laws surrounding harassment and protected characteristics.
The long-term effects of bullying on mental health and professional relationships.
Using workplace policies and procedures to address and prevent bullying.
Through open discussions, students explored the importance of respecting protected characteristics and analysed how different responses to bullying could lead to better outcomes.
empowering our students to make a difference
Anti-Bullying Week was a chance for our students to reflect, learn, and build skills they can carry forward into all areas of life. Whether through understanding the power of peer influence, practicing intervention strategies, or learning how to uphold their rights in the workplace, everyone took away something valuable.
At the heart of these sessions was a shared message: we all have the power to make a difference by standing up for ourselves and others. Let’s continue to build on this, working together to create kinder, more inclusive spaces where everyone feels respected and supported.