Cyber Awareness show works

12th Nov                                                                                                                                                     

PUPILS SAY SCHOOL CYBER BULLYING AWARENESS PROGRAMME WORKS

A survey of school pupils from around Kent, reveals they think a programme designed to reduce online bullying, has helped. 

The Amelix “Is It Worth It?” tour visited 18 schools in September and is visiting more this November.  They’ve already reached about 6,900 youngsters, mainly in Years 7 and 8.

They teach children about online safety, cyber bullying and trolling, grooming and what to do if it happens to you.

Before they saw the show only 66% of students said they would tell anyone if they were bullied, but afterwards 85% said they would report it.

Most, 87% said they would tell a parent or guardian, 50% said they would inform a teacher and 47% said they would tell a friend. 45% said they would report online bullying to the app on which they’d been a victim.

Years 7 and 8 were the dominant age groups seeing the show (93%), but other secondary aged children also experienced it. Of the younger children, 33% said they would tell the police if they were bullied online, but this rose to more than 60% by the time pupils were in Year 11.

Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott, who funds the Amelix School tours programme said,

“This is important work and I’m delighted its yielding positive results.  We’ve seen a growth in online abuse and bullying, which can often go unnoticed by the victim’s family and friends.  We have to encourage young people to speak out and stop this cowardly behaviour.”

Louis Hurst, Founder of Amelix Group, said,

“We are proud to have reached so many young people during these tours with ways in which they can stay safe online. The digital landscape is constantly changing and new dangers continually present themselves. Our roadshows are based on subliminal learning where students learn about the current dangers and risks in an informal, credible and interactive way.”

Notes to Editors:

Amelix, “Is it Worth It?” Tours are given £50,000 in funding the by OPCC.