Norfolk Youth Against Bullying

Despite the odds, NYAB20 went ahead online and was a phenomenal success!

With over 250 participants including 10 schools with 30+ young people in each session! This year’s conference was especially designed to fit into busy school and workdays.

Designed by young people for young people and professionals, the conference shared the best practice around anti-bullying work both in schools and in communities.  There was a range of expert guest speakers, interactive workshops, QA sessions and space to share ideas, the aim? to enhance and improve Norfolk’s knowledge and everyone’s approach to anti-bullying work.

Where shall we send your goodie bags? We have created a short survey to gather your information & feedback. Do take a minute to complete if you can…its really helpful. Thank you! 👉🏽CLICK HERE

The day was co-presented by young people who did an amazing job of keeping the audience informed and leading them into the next agenda item.

“ Even if we only helped one person we did well! It’s amazing to see that whilst helping others we are also helping ourselves. Many of us have experienced bullying, we may not be able to change the past but we can change the future for others and ourselves and I think today we did that” Aimee. Age 16, Breckland YAB

Here is are a short summary of the panelists along with the slides for the conference which you are able to download.

Dr Nathalie Noret – Senior lecturer in psychology, York St John University.

Explored the subject of Cyber Bullying and Staying Safe.  Dr Noret’s research explores the relationship between bullying and mental health for those who experience and witness bullying.

Download the presentation slides here:

Megan Cletheroe is a Senior Youth Mental Health Worker at MAP and gave a presentation exploring Bullying and Mental Health along with some Self-Help Strategies & coping strategies.  

Paul Hanmore is the Anti-Bullying Training Manager at The Diana Award and gave a presentation around understanding bullying and how to tackle it. The Diana Award’s mission is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people.

Lizzy Olley is a Youth Worker for Norwich YAB and also works on the Loudspeaker project. They delivered a training session around Bystander Intervention, illustrating that we all have the ability and duty to stop negative behaviours when we see them.

Broadland YAB also directed us to their podcast tackling casual discrimination in schools.  👉🏽 CLICK HERE

The podcast can be listened to anytime and here are some class discussion points if you’d like to reflect on the podcast:

➡️ Can you think of any examples where you see discriminative slurs happening?

 ➡️ Think about what you could do as a bystander? How could you help?

 ➡️ Why is it important to tackle casual discrimination whenever we see it?

➡️ Could your class make a pledge to challenge discriminatory language?

Next up we heard from Joe Henson who is the LGBT+ Awareness Trainer atNorfolk LGBT+ Project. A community based service run by & for the LGBT+ community.  Joe talked about to preventing LGBT+ bullying.

We also heard some great advice from the Norfolk Police Safer Schools on Bullying and the Law. Victoria Rush covered the different roles of the school and the police in dealing with bullying and the laws around this. The main message: Report it!

South Norfolk Youth Commissioner,  Plamena presented a workshop on bullying and Resilience – looking at ways of building resilience delivering a session for other young people to help them develop personal strength to be able to bounce back during tough times.

Great Yarmouth YAB focused on the radical ways that schools’ responses to bullying could be transformed, researching two whole-school anti-bullying programs: the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and the KiVa Anti-bullying Program. Using their own ideas about how bullying should be dealt with in schools and testimonies from schools that have actually implemented the programs.

In the afternoon CPD Sessions for Adult Professionals Only: These included Breckland and West Youth Advisory Boards leading Assertiveness Training Developed by National charity Kidscape.

Here are some website that we would recommend to try.

The Mix Who: 11-25yr olds What: Support service for young people. Includes blogs, info pages, text, online chat and phone support.	Childline   Who: Under 19s What: A free, private and confidential service where you can talk about anything.
Anna Freud – On My Mind   Who: 10-25yr olds What: Contains information, advice and resources to help young people support their own mental health.	Doc Ready   Who: 11-25yr olds What: Tools that will help you and a parent/carer prepare for when you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health.
PAPYRUS Who: Under 35s What: Confidential support and advice service for anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts.	Young Minds Who: 11-25yrs What: “Get Help” information and guides mental health conditions & what support is available to you.
Kooth Who: 11-25yr olds What: An anonymous mental health platform for young people. Includes, forums, live chat and articles & advice.	selfharm UK Who: 11-19yr olds What: Information on self-harm and a free online support service for 14-19yr olds.

Calm Harm Who: 13yrs + What: An app designed to help people resist or manage the urge to self-harm.	Catch It Who: Any age What: Catch It uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help you change the way you think and feel about things.
eQuoo Who: 12yrs + What: Adventure game that increases your emotional fitness and teaches you new psychological skills.	Mee Two Who: 13yrs + What: Asafe and secure forum for teenagers wanting to discuss any issue affecting their lives.
ThinkNinja Who: 10-18yr olds What: Helps young people to learn about mental health and emotional wellbeing, and develop skills they can use to build resilience and stay well.	All of these apps are free to download from Google Play or the App store. More information on these apps can be found on the NHS Apps Library.

ChatHealth   Who: 11-19yr olds What: Text messaging service running from 9am to 5pm Mon- Fri. Clinicians are on hand to answer your messages.	Health Passport App Who: 16-19yr olds What: Provides general health information and advice on a variety of topics to support transition into adulthood.
MAP Who: 11-25yr olds What: Provides Advice, Youth Work and Counselling. Please go to the website or call 0800 0744454 to find out more.	Norfolk LGBT+ Project   Who: Varied What: Runs BLAH LGBT+ Youth Groups across Norfolk. Please look at Twitter or Facebook for updates on what is available.
Carers Matter Norfolk Who: Under 19s What: Support for Young Carers across Norfolk. Get support via a free Advice Line: 0800 083 1148 or via Live Chat on their website.	Autism Anglia Who: Any age What: An independent charity which provides care and support to autistic children, adults and their families in East Anglia.
ADHD Norfolk Who: Any age What: Provides support and advice for anyone affected by ADHD/ADD in Norfolk. Go to their website to find out more.	Norfolk County Council   Who: Any age What: If you are a child or young person and feel unsafe you can call 0344 800 8029 or text 07480 635060.
Nelsons Journey Who: 0-17yrs What: Adults can call 01603 431788 to speak to someone about how to support you if you are bereaved. Young people 13yrs+ can use the Smiles and Tears app.	Matthew Project   Who: Varied ages What: Their work focuses on reducing drug and/or alcohol misuse, providing employment support, and improving individuals’ mental wellbeing.
ICaSH Who: All ages What: Provides  contraception and sexual health services across Norfolk. Call them on 0300 300 3030.	Please go to Norfolk County Council’sNorfolk Community Directory to find out more about services that are local to you.