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Tootoot CEO and Co-founder Michael Brennan writes to invite schools to join tootoot’s six-week Anti-Bullying Programme.

Bullying can have devastating effects on the victim and perpetrator, from mental health to physical health to academic attainment, and these effects can be felt well into adulthood. This I know only too well. I was bullied throughout primary and secondary school. The impact this had on my childhood is what drove me to create tootoot - so other children and young people, like myself, have another way to speak-up.

A recent study has found that the trauma stemming from chronic bullying can affect the structure of the brain, specifically parts involved with how the brain learns and the body moves. These changes were found to partly explain the relationship between high levels of bullying and higher levels of general anxiety at age 19*.

The whole team and I at tootoot, are passionate about anti-bullying and committed to helping pupils speak-up for themselves and others. Which is why we have created a free six-week Anti-Bullying Programme to help schools celebrate Anti-Bullying Week, and ultimately support bullying prevention and empower pupils to speak-up.

Your programme will include:

Access to tootoot – the pupil voice software that gives pupils a simple and trusted
way to talk about any concerns

Access to tootmood – the simple feedback app that makes it easy to track the
feelings and attitudes of your pupils

Click here to sign-up to the programme and we will be in contact shortly after. Act now, registration closed on 15th November 2019

*(Quinlan, et al, 2018)

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