National Anti-Bullying Week 2025 takes place from 10 to 16 November and this year’s theme is ‘Power for Good’. The theme is all about empowering young peop...
National Anti-Bullying Week 2025 takes place from 10 to 16 November and this year’s theme is ‘Power for Good’. The theme is all about empowering young people to speak out, offer support, and take action to combat bullying.
The annual awareness week is coordinated by the UK’s Anti-Bullying Alliance, a coalition or organisations and individuals united against bullying. The theme for 2025 was chosen following feedback to the group from teachers and pupils who wanted a theme that empowered them to do something positive to counter the harm and hurt that bullying causes.
Warwickshire County Council supports the campaign call to action using ‘Power for Good’, which aligns with key outcomes of its Child Friendly Warwickshire initiative to help children and young people be heard as well as safe, skilled, happy and healthy. Children and young people can break the cycle of bullying when they are supported to speak out, stand up together and value each other.
The week kicks off with Odd Socks Day 2025 on Monday, 11 November, encouraging everyone in schools and workplaces to wear odd socks to celebrate their uniqueness. This fun reminder shows that we are all different, and those differences should be embraced, sending a message that everyone deserves to feel safe and be respected.
Additionally, Friendship Friday takes place on the Friday of Anti-Bullying Week each year and is an opportunity to celebrate friendship and promote positive relationships. This year, theme is #KindnessWins it’s a chance for everyone – in school, at home, in the community or online – to show kindness to others.
Kidscape, a friend of Child Friendly Warwickshire, has worked with the Anti-Bullying Alliance to develop a tool for parents and carers to help them support their children. To download the pack, visit https://www.kidscape.org.uk/resources/campaigns/friendship-friday-and-anti-bullying-week
Bullying doesn’t just affect children at school, it happens online too, and cyberbullying can be hard to identify and tough to escape. Social media can open new ways to connect with friends and likeminded others but can also be a doorway to inappropriate online content, unkind comments, extreme views and threats. Parents and young people are encouraged to find out more about the signs, the dangers and how to get support. More information is available at www.internetmatters.org/issues/cyberbullying/
Warwickshire Libraries support families and young people with reading collections that help navigate challenging topics. The Reading Well collections provide books recommended by health experts and individuals with lived experience, addressing mental health and resilience.
Councillor George Finch, Leader and Portfolio Holder for Children and Families at Warwickshire County Council, said: “In Warwickshire we believe that every child deserves to grow up in an environment that is safe, nurturing and free from the fear of bullying. Standing up and standing together to address bullying encourages everyone to be respectful and tolerant and most importantly kind.
“We challenge bullying by reaching out and we can all help children to feel empowered to do so - in school, at home, in the community, or online. Helping children be heard, happy and safe is what Child Friendly Warwickshire is all about and we all have a part to play.”
Advice and support about how to deal with bullying can be found on the council website, along with lots of other information about keeping you and your children safe: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/keeping-child-safe
The Warwickshire Hate Crime Partnership operates an informative and resourceful website, offering to individuals resources that facilitate an understanding of hate crime, along with guidance on how to report effectively.