Hewett Academy Achieves Bronze Antibullying Alliance Award

Hewett Academy is delighted to have been awarded bronze by the United Against Bullying (UAB) programme. 

The secondary school is committed to ensuring that all pupils feel safe, supported and included. The students and staff work hard to ensure all pupils feel a part of their school communities and that these communities are welcoming, supportive and free of bullying.

To achieve the award, Hewett Academy took steps to improve a number of strands of their approach to anti-bullying.

• The school ensured that a Governor and member of Senior Leadership were involved in their anti-bullying programme, supporting staff within the CPD programme, and ensuring the school's anti-bullying policy was clear and understandable.
• The school surveyed the student's views on bullying in the school both at the start and end of the year to incorporate their viewpoints and identify changes that they would like to see over the school year. One of these changes included students who volunteered to be anti-bullying ambassadors, to whom others could go to for advice or to report bullying. This helped make reporting bullying easier for students worried about talking to a member of staff.
• The school also provided evidence that they were taking a proactive stance in preventing bullying by educating students about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour, and how they respond to and deal with reported instances of bullying, supporting all involved.

The school then had to provide evidence for each of these points, and case studies of some of the steps that they have taken through the past year.

Principal of Hewett Academy, Antony Little said: 

"All schools will experience bullying at some point, but the key is how they tackle it.  At Hewett Academy we believe in being upfront about bullying, challenging it and taking action quickly.  Bullying can ruin lives, and we won't let it happen here. This award is a great way of recognising the incredible work of the whole school, but especially the pastoral team led by Mrs Sturgeon and Dr Taylor."

Hewett Academy now has high aspirations of achieving the Silver Award and continues to work hard to review and improve its anti-bullying programme. 

To find out more, please read Hewett Academy's Anti-bullying Policy.