Swindon school pupils have learnt how to use dance to counter the threat of bullies, taking time out from lessons to learn about bullying through the medium of dance. Students at Holy Rood Junior School were given a talk by Pat O’Driscoll, who runs a local Matt Fiddes martial arts school, about bullying and how to counter it before his daughter Megan led a street dance session. Such a great initiative could be effective rolled out to other mainstream schools across the country.
As part of National Anti-bullying Week this week the students were given a fresh perspective on bullying, encouraging them to build on their teamwork through the street dance session. The dance class helped the students work together and get along with each other. In addition to raising their awareness of bullying and how to deal with it. The school has even introduced peer mentors as part of their anti-bullying campaign, having trained with Healthy Schools co-ordinators in order to spot the signs of bullying and help signpost peers in the right direction.
Other events at the school as part of Anti-bullying week included a visit from Sophie Thorne, from the charity Fixers, who showcased her short film about cyber-bullying, and the students’ performance of a rap composed by a teacher at another event. It is evident that bullying is an important issue to raise at any level of education, and using dance to help counter it looks to be highly successful. Bullying can affect students at any stage of their education, with the highlighting of the issue at primary school level making students aware ready for secondary school where bullying is usually more prevalent.