Tuesday 21 November 2017 Twins Sophie and James Poole, Year 10 pupils at The Grammar School at Leeds, saw the culmination of a year’s hard work come to fruition at the launch of a national anti-cyberbullying campaign. The Royal Foundation is coordinating a taskforce for the prevention of cyberbullying across the UK. The taskforce, comprising some big brands in media and tech as well as charities and parents, has taken the views of a panel of young people on board in finding ways to tackle cyberbullying. Sophie and James got involved through their roles as ambassadors for the National Children’s Bureau Since January they have attended regular workshops in London to help develop a code of conduct to guide online behaviour, which led to the creation of the “Stop, Speak, Support” action plan. “Stop, Speak, Support” was launched by Prince William at a special event hosted by YouTube in London, to which the members of the young people’s panel were invited. The launch took place during Anti Bullying Week 13-17 November. Sophie said: “The whole point of the campaign is targeting bystanders because we think the people watching aren’t necessarily bullies or being bullied, so the core message is be an upstander not a bystander. Children are at the heart of the campaign and should be empowered to stop, speak, support if they see something. “The launch celebrated the culmination of all our hard work for over a year, it’s been a long time coming but it’s fantastic to see the end result.” James said: “The highlight of the day was meeting Prince William, he’s very humble and easy to talk to. You look up to him but he’s very approachable.” ‘What to do in the event of a banter escalation scenario’ is the campaign video explaining in a fun animation the three pillars of the Stop, Speak, Support Code, which include: STOP Action 1: Take time out before getting involved, and don’t share or like negative comments. Action 2: Try and get an overview of what’s really going on. Action 3: Check the community guidelines for the site you’re on. SPEAK Action 1: Ask an adult or friend that you can trust for advice. Action 2: Use the report button for the social media it’s happening on. Action 3: Speak to one of the charities set up to help with situations like this, such as Childline. SUPPORT Action 1: Give the person being bullied a supportive message to let them know they’re not alone. Action 2: Encourage the person being bullied to talk to someone they can trust. Action 3: Give the person being bullied a positive distraction from the situation. General Senior School News
