Pupils sign anti-bullying charter (From York Press)

York school pupils sign anti-bullying charter

10:14am Saturday 24th November 2012 in News

PUPILS in York have signed up to an anti-bullying charter.

As part of National Anti Bullying Week which drew to a close yesterday, youngsters in the west of York worked together to create the charter which will be shared across the schools.

The project has been co-ordinated by Rod Sims, associate head teacher at York High School, in partnership with the primary schools that feed pupils into York High after Year Six.

Mr Sims, who is responsible for pastoral care, said schools took bullying very seriously but it remained a concern for pupils and parents.

The project aimed to highlight the issue and help children and their parents feel it was something they could discuss with schools and know it would be taken seriously.

Tracey Ralph, Westfield Primary School’s head teacher, said the primary schools valued their close links with York High, and such projects helped pupils and parents understand that as children move on to secondary school there would be common approaches and expectations to tackle issues like bullying.

David Ellis, head teacher at York High, said: “Sadly, bullying is something which can have a very serious impact on young people and as a result of Facebook, texting and other social media it can easily be hidden from adults.

“It is vital that we provide young people with the confidence and skills to be able to come forward and share their concerns with their schools. We hope that our new charter will play a part in enabling that to happen.”