BBMentoring

Over the last six years Beatbullying has developed a series of innovative, evidence-based and highly successful bullying prevention programmes which are designed to embed bullying prevention strategies across whole communities, empowering often highly vulnerable and isolated children and young people and those identified as bullying their peers. Our flag ship, most sought after and comprehensive programme is the “BB Inter-agency” response to bullying. It is here that we graduate young Peer Mentors from across the community. It is within this programme that we empower and educate children and young people to become positive mentors and role models for their peers.

So what’s it all about?

BB Peer Mentors go through an eight month programme of intense creative and intellectual workshops formulating anti-bullying policy, practice, responses, toolkits and solutions in new media and print, authored by young people for young people. The process is simple, and defines the very essence of participation and opportunity.

Facilitated by the skilled Beatbullying Development Team, peer mentors work up creative activities including art, drama and creative writing are used to develop an agreed borough-wide campaign.  The process is reflective, based on an evidence based empowerment model and melded with behaviour diversion strategies and also engages with the young people around issues such as anger management, conflict resolution and bullying diversion mechanisms, peer listening, peer mediation, campaigning and activism. 

The programme is informative, empowering and beneficial to not just the peer activist, but their wider community. This is where this inter-agency model has accumulative effect and reach; anti-bullying strategies and tactics are cascaded peer to peer in a variety of very successful ways. The strength of the work is, in the end, borne out of collective action.   

Peer Mentors who agree to be spokespersons for their groups also have the opportunities to participate in extensive media work, taking on spokesperson's role at launches and conferences, attend events as young campaigners, offer evidence to education scrutiny and take on wider ambassadorial roles for Beatbullying and for their school or local community.

The opportunities are numerous, the outcomes always empowering! Beatbullying sees it as a priority to locate and offer our Peer Mentors as broad a platform from which to broadcast their formidable messages and responses to bullying and preventing it as possible. We will work tirelessly with our media and corporate partners, along with local, regional, national government, other charities and the many initiatives out there, to facilitate this.

Above all else, BBMentors is about instilling a sense and purpose to life long bullying prevention; through learning to the workplace.

BBMentors outcomes

• Youth authored response to bullying, information campaign, a web site and other awareness raising materials are designed and produced (from scratch) by the young mentors
• Peer BBMentors will facilitate an increase in the reporting of bullying achieved through heightened awareness
• Peer BBMentors will assist in effecting a reduction in the incidence of bullying
• Dissemination through follow up workshops, assemblies, sub regional events and other activities taking place in schools and the local communities
• Peer Mentors take responsibility, developing other leadership skills and capabilities alongside intervention skills
• The listening and mentoring skills developed by the Peer Mentors contribute towards building cohesive and inclusive school communities, particularly by building good relationships between older and younger pupils
• Peer BBMentors in the community will harness wider support and opportunities for the dissemination of learning through active participation in local events, fundraisers and communication channels
• Peer BBMentors creates opportunities for schools and communities to engage with one another and effectively raise awareness, by including the local business community, families and carers and unite schools and communities where there is conflict or territorial issues.

Want to know more about our Peer BBMentors work or any other aspect of delivery? All you need to do is get in touch with the Beatbullying Development Team on 020 8771 3377 or email us at info@beatbullying.org.