BBMentoring - what's it all about?

Beatbullying really believes that children and young people should be consulted and encouraged to work together to create anti-bullying solutions. Peer Activism basically describes what you and your friends and fellow students can do together to help make bullying a thing of the past! The most important thing to remember is that any peer-to-peer (young person to young person) anti-bullying work is a good way to get everyone involved in tackling bullying within your school or youth club. The following is a list of things that can be started and that can make a real difference to your school or youth club:

• Is there an anti-bullying club, committee or group? Set one up!
• Is the student council involved in anti-bullying work?
• Have other organisations come to your school or youth club to talk about bullying? Invite them in. For instance, Beatbullying is always visiting schools and youth clubs to talk about bullying.
• Does your school or youth club hold special assemblies on bullying or passed out questionnaires on this subject?
• Awareness raising events, e.g. assemblies.
• Inviting guest speakers.
• Workshops on bullying. Get an expert in to deliver them!
• Creating an anti-bullying charter or agreement for classrooms, whole school or playgrounds.
• Setting up ‘bully boxes’ or sending questionnaires out all Year Groups.
• Friendship building activities help create a welcoming atmosphere. One of the really good ways to tackle bullying is to have a peer listening scheme in your school or youth group. If you’ve never heard of peer listening before, you may have heard of peer support. Peer support is a term that is generally used to describe the following different types of anti-bullying work and strategies that take place at school.

Peer Listening – Developing good listening skills that help you actually ‘hear’ what the problem is and assist in getting someone help. Training also involves a good deal of discussion around important issues such as ‘Child Protection’ and ‘Disclosure’

Peer Mediation – Utilising good listening and negotiation skills to assist in resolving conflict and dispute between individuals experiencing bullying.

Peer Mentoring – A broader type of approach that has elements of mediation as an intervention in bullying situations, but with more emphasis on ‘mentoring’ e.g. providing good peer-to-peer role models.

Peer Activism – Peer activism is a fantastic way for you and your friends, class or even your whole year group and school to help raise awareness of bullying and what can be done about by having special assemblies, organising anti-bullying days, conferences, creating campaigns, petitions and inviting special speakers into your school or youth groups. You can generate anti-bullying charters (like a policy but created by students, student councils or anti-bullying committees). The list of things you can do here is endless and pretty much up to your own imaginations!

Becoming BBMentor is a very responsible and at times, difficult job. Our mentoring training is designed to give you as much information about bullying, the causes and effects it has on individuals and also how being a good listener can help and really make a difference to your school or youth group.

Before we can go any further, we need to discuss bullying and its effects, so please read on and don’t forget to add your comments or any other examples of bullying and its effects when you are prompted! Adding this little bit more detail will really help you understand how to be a really good and responsible peer listener!