Choose Respect
We are all unique and children should be entitled to be themselves and free from bullying. Such is the message from the Anti-bullying Alliance, with our individuality celebrated every year on Odd Socks Day. I was delighted on Tuesday to see so many pupils wearing odd socks in support of that message, and also very pleased to listen to our anti-bullying ambassadors as they delivered a very clear assembly to fellow pupils.
The theme of Anti-bullying Week this year has been ‘Respect’. As noted by the pupils leading assembly, this is also one of our school values, expanded on thus: for self, others and our environment; kindness, courtesy, humility, tolerance, care, encouragement. I was asked by some Year 7 pupils yesterday what I thought the most important school rule was and I referred the question back to them. I am very glad that, without hesitation, they chose kindness.
The materials provided by the Anti-bullying Alliance emphasise the message: Choose respect! And it is indeed often an active choice for our pupils as they grow up, subjected to peer pressure, to be kind and respectful to others. It is also all too easy to be a bystander rather than having the courage to be an upstander.
No child should be miserable as a result of the unkindness of others, and many of us as adults will recall what it felt like to be at the receiving end of repeated unkindness, often exacerbated by an imbalance of power. We will not tolerate bullying at LGS, and we will always address it with due care and sensitivity. Pupils know to whom they can turn and by what means they can convey their concerns (including the anonymous Whisper). They also know that we expect them to stand up for others, even at possible personal cost to themselves.
In a similar vein, every child has the right to feel safe. We have no doubt all been very saddened this week by reports of the horrific child abuse perpetrated by one individual who won the trust of children and young adults, and which has led to the resignation of Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. I know that former Archbishop Justin is a good and very caring man, full of integrity, but he stood down due to apparent lack of curiosity.
We train our staff to be vigilant and curious about the wellbeing of our pupils, for little things noticed by different individuals can soon form a pattern or build towards a picture. Similarly, if you observe changes in your child’s behaviour or mood, or if they voice concerns to you, please get in touch. Above all else, we want our pupils daily to come happily into school, feeling they belong to a caring, kind and safe community where they can be confident to be themselves.
Best wishes,
John Watson
Headmaster and Principal