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UK's only bullying helpline for both adults and children - for workplace
bullying and playground bullying news.
2009 NEWS, EVENTS & DATES FOR YOUR DIARYCyber-bullying is 'any form of bullying that is carried out using technology', including bully-blogging and happy-slapping. Don't use your mobile or the internet to undermine or bully another person - it's not clever! It is a crime in fact! More and more cases are being reported to us at The National Bullying Helpline affecting both adults and children - in the workplace and in the community. The Power of a Helpline: During November a mother called the helpline regarding concerns relating to her 6 year old son. The call triggered a Police investigation, initiated by us. Subsequently, 4 young children were identified as being at risk of sexual abuse and those children are now receiving the support they need. They are now safe! That is the power of just one call to our helpline. Ultimately, we deal with cases of discrimination and harassment - but distrubing cases of physical bullying, such as assault or even sexual abuse are also being reported to us. In another recent case a 12 year old girl emailed us a 'suicide note' in which she alleged she had been raped. We triggered the emergency services and we are pleased to report that this girl is now safe! Sponsorship: Swindon Wildcats have adopted us as their charity for the 2009/2010 season. Swindon Wildcats (Ice Hockey) want to work closely with us to help us raise awareness. Together, Willie Wildcat (their mascot) and The National Bullying Helpline are partnerhing to visit in excess of 30 schools in Wiltshire. Recently we have visited Peatmore, Gorse Hill infants, Holy Rood Junior, Fynamore and St Bartholomews, Lainsmead Primary, Swindon New College, Eldene Primary and St Joseph’s Catholic School – where 11 schools gathered as part of an anti-bullying event to mark National Ban Bullying week. Well done St Joseph’s ! Other activities this week include projects that employers, nationally, have organised to celebrate this important anniversary; such as dress-down-days and fund-raising events for us. Swindon Borough Council launched an Anti Bullying Vision this month, chaired by myself, in consultation with organisations that work with young people and their families. Our new Vision sets out the 7 main principles considered essential when combating bullying amongst children. If you would like to know more please contact me. Last but by no means last, coinciding with this week, we are extremely proud to announce that The Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe MP and Cllr Mary O’Connor, Chair of the London Health Commission, have both accepted Patron roles at our Charity. Our new Patrons will play an important role in helping us to promote our cause at national level. Have a great week everyone. Thank you for your support and keep in touch. From all of us at The National Bullying Helpline. The only helpline in the UK that assists both adults and children. 7th November : NATIONAL BAN BULLYING AT WORK DAY. This year 7th November falls on a Saturday. Each year we have marked the day in memory of Andrea Adams and Tim Field and all those who have dedicated their lives to eliminating workplace bullying. Please consider organising an event at work on either Friday 6th November or Monday 9th. Thank you. 16th to 20th November : NATIONAL BAN BULLYING WEEK. We are organising a lot of events this week. Please contact us if you would like to get involved. More details to follow. 11th October 2009 : SWINDON HALF MARATHON : The date is 11.10.09 .... counting down. We are looking for runners for the Swindon Half Marathon 2009. To run the Half Marathon you need to book in advance. Download a booking form and nominate your charity. On the day you may run the 'Fun Run' or the 'Muti-terrain'., or the 'Wheelchair event'. The organisers will be establishing a website, details will follow, to enable you to go on line and download a Sponsorship form. Contact us today on 0845 22 55 787 if you would like to take part in the marathon and raise funds for us. We are one of the chosen charities supporting this event. 20th September : Lydia stood on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square. See Sponsorship page. 19 September 2009 : Lawyers and Charities call for radical changes in law to address bullying - particularly in schools. The National Bullying Helpline say; An Anti-Bullying Policy is not enough as often it is just a paperwork exercise. The burden of proof should not be on the parent alone to prove their child is a target of bullying - there needs to be a shared 'common sense' approach. A parent should not report individual cases to the class teacher - as, very often, the class teacher become defensive and this creates more conflict and distress!! A firm Government stance is now required. A Government Directive or Code of Practice is needed (similar to the ACAS Code of Conduct in the workplace). Anti bullying Codes of Conduct should be visible to parents and teachers. Regulators and proper registration processes should be in place and cases recorded, statistically, and analysed. There should be a team of collectively appointed mentors and harassment buddies in every school comprising of both teachers and parents. There needs to be regular reviews of cases, outcomes and lessons learnt. There should also be mandatory education in schools for children on coping mechanisms and independent arbitrators, investigators and mediators - funded by the Government. NB: It would be good also if we stopped calling targets of bullying 'victims'. A child should not be encouraged to think of himself/herself as 'a victim'. 26 August : Sarah Cawood, Celebrity TV Presenter, becomes Patron of The National Bullying Helpline. Sarah has worked in the broadcasting industry for over a decade. She has just finished filming Ultimate Girls Night In for 4Music and is working closely with Sky One. Recently Sarah has been presenting Eurovision for BBC3, The National Lottery EuroMillions Draw for BBC1, Love is Blind, The Real Ugly Betty for Wedding TV, Terminator : Behind the Scenes for Virgin 1 and Essential..and Travel 2008 for the Travel Channel. Sarah is also the narrator of ITV1's popular daytime show Daily Cooks Challenge and she is the sponsor voice for Trouble TV. "Sarah is a popular TV presenter and we are delighted to have her as our Patron. We need to get some very important messages across to children right now, given the increase in cyber bullying and anti-social behavior. We know Sarah will help us to keep children and young people safe, nationally". Christine Pratt. 25 August : Swindon Wildcats (Ice Hockey Team) Adopt The National Bullying Helpline Charity for the 2009/10 season. Fixtures details below/right. The Swindon Wildcats (Ice Hockey team) are a truly community orientated sports club and they are working with schools and kids across Swindon; through roadshows and in respect of their 'learn to skate' programme. They are also supporting The National Bullying Helpline Charity as part of their school visits programme and through a fund-raising initiative for the Charity. Anyone struggling with bullying issues should eat well and exercise regularly. These are two important messages The Swindon Wildcats and The National Bullying Helpline Charity want to promote across Wiltshire schools in tech run up to National Ban Bullying week : 16 -20 November 2009. For more information contact us or see www.swindonwildcats.com ANNOUNCEMENT: The Directors of The National Bullying Helpline are extremely sorry to hear that The Andrea Adams Trust has gone out of business due to lack of funding. The Andrea Adams Trust has done some very good work in this arena over the last decade, fiercely striving to combat unacceptable workplace malpractice. We want to acknowledge and thank The Andrea Adams Trust for their very good work. The Trust say they are 'ready to pass on the baton to other organisations to fight against workplace bullying'. If you have had a close association with that Trust, (Partners or those seeking support) and would like to speak to us, we would be pleased to hear from you and we will do all we can to help those in distress right now. Call us today. PAST EVENTS 7th March 2009 : THE TV SHOW CHANNEL 4. Christine Pratt, CEO of The National Bullying Helpline appeared on The TV Show, Channel 4, 7th March 2009. A panel debated complaints submitted to Channel 4 following the 4 part 'Boys & Girls Alone' documentary. We say these children in this documentary were NOT placed at risk at all, that they were very well supervised and that the experience is unlikely to cause the children to suffer long-term psychological damage. Expert Child Psychologists disagree and allege that these children have been exploited. If anyone believes that the children appearing in the Boys & Girls series were bullied, or that the spats that occurred were not appropriately 'nipped in the bud' and addressed - we would invite you to come and spend just half a day at our call centre in Wiltshire. Consider the experience at our call centre as part of your CPD (personal development training). You will find the experience truly enlightening. We welcome your comments: Email info@nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk April 2009 : THE ANNE FRANK STORY. In April 2009 Swindon Borough Council promoted the Anne Frank Story across Schools and Colleges in Wiltshire to educate children about the importance of anti-bullying and discrimination issues. The National Bullying Helpline played a major role in this initiative. 2008 EVENTS IDS CONFERENCE : 13th November 2008 Christine Pratt, CEO of The National Bullying Helpline, was the Keynote speaker on 13th November 2008 at the IDS Annual Bullying & Harassment at Work Conference. Christine spoke about:
Contact us today if you would like to know more about the effects and the cost of bullying to your organisation. NATIONAL BAN BULLYING WEEK : 17 - 21 November 2008 During National Ban Bullying week, 2008, we launched our ‘KIDS' section. A number of exciting initiatives took place both locally within Wiltshire and Nationally. See below for details. |
BULLYING AT WORK AFFECTS 8 out of 10 PEOPLEFrom November 2008 The National Bullying Helpline, based in Dorcan, Swindon , will be Nationally recognised as the only UK Charity to address bullying both at work and play – both in the playground and in the workplace! WOULD YOU LIKE A POSTER FOR YOUR OFFICES? Order your Poster today and be one of the first to receive a poster which is being designed by Children and Students across Hampshire. Wiltshire and Somerset during Anti Bullying Week. See below for details. SWINDON WILDCATS Home Fixtures Sat 12 Sep. Guildford. 5.45pm Wed 16/9. Slough. 7.30pm Sat 19/9. Romford. 5.45pm Sat 26/9. Bracknell. 5.45pm Sat 3/10. Manchester. 5.45pm Sat 10/10. Peterborough. 5.45pm Sat 17/10. Romford. 5.45pm Sat 24/10. Basingstoke. 5.45pm More to follow |
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2007 the National Bullying Helpline Charity number 1117852 |
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