Information on Loughborough

City & County Councils work together to stop bullying

Posted on 10/11/2009

Leicestershire Councty Council

10 November 2009

City & County Councils work together to stop bullying

Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council are running an anti-bullying video competition over the next couple of months, to coincide with anti-bullying week (16th – 20th November).

The competition involves schools making their own music video to a song written by Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke called ‘Caught in the Crowd’.

Kate wrote the song based on her own experiences of bullying when she was at school. Her single is “written from the perspective of the passive observer who then feels guilty,” Miller-Heidke says.

Cllr Vi Dempster, City Council cabinet member for children and young people, said: “In the 21st century bullying can take many forms, including cyber-bullying on the internet or by text. Anti-bullying week highlights the ways young peoplecan report bullying and contact people who can help them. By working together with the County Council we can make sure that every young person knows how to report and combat bullying.”

Students at Redmoor High School in Hinckley have already made a DVD and were the inspiration for this competition.

The closing date for the competition is 1st December 2009 and the winners will be announced in the last week of the Autumn term with an official presentation taking place early in the New Year. Winning entries will be posted on the Anti-Bullying Website as well as the county and city council websites.

This year’s national campaign, ‘Stay safe in cyberspace’, focuses on cyberbullying – bullying that takes place via mobile phones and the internet.

Ivan Ould, County Council Cabinet Member for the Children and Young People’s Service, said: “We need to understand the significance of technology in the lives of children and young people and support them to use it in a safe and responsible way.

“I am delighted that together with Leicester City Council, we are finding innovative ways of providing information on preventing and responding to cyberbullying.”

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For media enquiries only, contact Debra Reynolds at Leicester City Council, on 0116 252 6398 or by e-mail: debra.reynolds@leicester.gov.uk , or Katie Green at Leicestershire County Council, on 0116 305 6274 or email: pressoffice@leics.gov.uk .