Smithy Street School

At Smithy Street be believe in looking after each other. We encourage all children to invite others to play with them, and to keep a look out for younger, new or lonely children.

We will soon be taking part in the ‘Playground Friends’ initiative. One child from every class will be trained to lead playground games and will receive a special ‘playground friend’ badge and cap.We will also have a friendship stop, where sad or lonely children can get some advice and company. There will also be opportunities to take part in ‘conflict resolution’ talks.

Every class has been teamed up with a buddy class, and meets up throughout the year for special occasions, such as celebrating Eid, and world book day

Year 6A and Year 3C are buddy classes. Here they are making masks for World Book Day

You think you’re a good person and you don’t make anyone mad, at least not on purpose. So what do you do if you are bullied? Should you let it happen? Here are tips on what you can do if you are being bullied:

• Tell an adult. Many young women fear telling an adult because they don’t want to look like a snitch or seem weak. However, adults can help end the bullying. Also, it may make you feel better to tell an adult.
• Stand up for yourself. Believe it or not, this will help you gain respect from others. Practice what you might say to a bully with a friend, your mirror, or an adult. Practice saying it in a firm, confident voice. You may even encourage others to protect themselves from bullying, too.
• Tell the Bully to stop. Calmly walk away. Believe in yourself and tell others how you feel and what you think. You will gain respect from others. Also, by leading the way and showing others that you can’t be bullied, you can help prevent bullying in the future. You can also encourage others to protect themselves from bullying.
• Do not fight back! It’s hard to do, but walk away from a bully and ignore them. If you give in to a bully and fight back, you could end up getting in trouble instead of the bully! If someone is hurting you physically, try to call for help or get away fast and get help from an adult.
• Lighten the air! Make a joke to lighten up the mood. Say something funny to distract the people involved.
• Make new friends and get involved. Making friends, and having interests and extracurricular activities, will make you feel better about yourself and the bullying situation. It will introduce you to people who share similar interests. When making friends, make sure you have positive friendships that are fun and free of bullying.
• Don’t blame yourself. It’s important for you to know that it’s not your fault. No one deserves to be treated this way. If you’re being bullied, try to stop it either by yourself or with help from an adult.
• Be strong! Bullies like to upset people, particularly those who can’t stand up for themselves. Be in control so that the bully won’t feel in control. It’s important to feel confident and have good self-esteem. Even if you don’t feel it at the moment, acting like you do will help. You may find that you are pretty good at handling a bully after all, and the next time you won’t have to fake the confidence.

Friendships can be tough sometimes. You may be making new friends while still trying to keep old friends. It can also be hard to know what to do when you don’t agree with a friend. Keep in mind, you can have a good friendship and still fight sometimes.

• In a healthy friendship, you should not be afraid of losing a friend because you say "no." Good friends should respect your right to say no and not give you a hard time. You should show your friends the same respect when they say no to you.
• If you and your friend fight about something, it does not mean that you have an unhealthy relationship. You will not always agree with what your friend has to say. But you should always respect one another’s ideas. As long as you and your friend listen to what the other has to say, you should be able to work through a fight.
• The relationships you have will help you learn a lot about yourself. You will learn about the kind of friends you want to have and the kind of friend you want to be

Are you worried about a friend who isn’t eating? A friend who is smoking or drinking? Or maybe a friend who is having trouble at home? You can listen and give advice, but your friend’s problems may be more than you can handle alone.

Don’t be afraid to tell a trusted adult, such as a parent/guardian, teacher, or school nurse. Even though your friend may get mad at you for telling an adult, it is the only way to protect your friend’s health.

Peer pressure is when people try to pressure you to do something you usually wouldn't do, or stop doing something that you normally would do. People give in to peer pressure for many reasons. They may worry about what their friends will think, not know how to say no, or fear being left out.

Some friends may pressure you to do something because "everyone else does it," such as making fun of someone, using alcohol or drugs, or smoking. The best thing to do is say, “No, thanks.” or “I don’t want to.”

Keep in mind, you are always in charge of what you do and don’t do. And it can help to talk with your parents/guardians about how to handle pressures that may come up

There are lots of things that you and your friends may do to fit in. It may be having the right clothes or being friends with the cool kids.

It is normal to want to be liked by others, but it is more important to focus on what matters to YOU. Having lots of friends and dressing like everyone else may seem important right now, but try to focus on being yourself and having real friends who care about you.

A clique is a small group of friends that is very picky about who can and cannot join the group. While it’s nice to have a close group of friends, being on the outside of a clique may not be fun! Girls/ boys in cliques/ gangs often leave out others on purpose.

They may bully girls/ boys who are not “cool enough.” If you are being picked on, try to make friends with new people who care about YOU. Keep in mind, it is the quality or value of the friendship that counts, not how many friends you have. And, if you are leaving someone else out, think about how you would feel if you were the one being left out.

There can be a lot of peer pressure in cliques. You may feel like you need to do things like smoke or fight to be part of the clique/gang. Keep in mind, you always have the right to say no! Real friends will respect that. You also have the right to make new friends.

It can be really tough when you are meeting a whole group of new people at once if you are new at school. You may feel shy or embarrassed. You may feel like you don’t have anything to say. But, the other person likely feels the same way. Half the battle is feeling strong enough to talk to new people. And, it will help to just be yourself!

Sometimes, you may just want to branch out and meet new people. This is totally okay and you can still keep your old friends. It’s easy to hang out with people you’ve known a long time or have a lot in common with. But, it can also be fun to spend time with new people.

1. Decide who you want to be friends with and why you like these people.
2. Take part in after-school activities such as sports, clubs, or other activities that interest you.
3. Introduce yourself and repeat the name of the person you’re meeting (this will help you remember his or her name).
4. Work on your listening skills and think before you talk.
5. Be sensitive to other people.
6. When people say nice things about you, say thank you without being cocky. Say nice things to others.
7. Take your time making friends.
8. Be willing to risk having someone say no–some people may not be open to making new friends. But it’s important to try anyway!
9. Be positive and upbeat.

Here are some useful websites :

• http://www.childline.org.uk/extra/bullyingindex.asp
• http://www.beatbullying.org
• http://www.kidspeace.org/bully.ht
• http://www.bullyfreekids.com
• http://www.bullying.co.uk/pupils/tips.ph
• http://www.nspcc.org.uk/under18/bullying/