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Schools lining up for anti-bullying classes from former Cheshire Jets

AN ANTI-BULLYING programme launched by two former Cheshire Jets players is going from strength to strength.

Shawn Myers and James Hamilton have devised a programme to give pupils control of school bullying policy in an effort to get them to police and monitor bullying themselves.

Athletes Against Bullying (AAB) made its full launch in the summer following some successful trials and has now been delivered to more than 40 schools.

“It has gone better than we could have imagined,” said Shawn.

“We have received a lot of positive feedback and a lot of the enquiries we are receiving from schools is now on recommendations from other headteachers.”

The duo go into schools for a day or more and treat the year group as one team, working together with the aim of leaving no-one behind in any task.

They also get the pupils to write up their own list of unacceptable bullying behaviour and a process by which it should be dealt with.

AAB then turns the ideas of the children into a booklet which the school can use as part of its anti-bullying strategy.

Tattenhall Park Primary School headteacher Laura Noble said the course was excellent.

“A lot of schools are afraid to set up anti-bullying sessions as they feel they are admitting a problem,” she said. “But no school can boast a 100% no bullying record and the great thing about Shawn and James coming in is the children write it themselves so it means more to them.

“They love interacting with these huge, imposing, friendly guys and they do seem to take on board what is said.”

AAB is looking to expand, having already started taking requests for sessions in Ellesmere Port, Flintshire and Wrexham as well as Chester.

“We would like to find a corporate sponsor, someone to help with funding in order to take the programme to the next level and reach out to more schools,” added Shawn. “We are always improving, responding to the feedback from headteachers, but we are also getting feedback that what we are doing really works and we want to help as many schools as possible benefit from that.”

If you are able to help sponsor Athletes Against Bullying, contact Shawn Myers by emailing samm969@gmail.com or James via Jham2121@ hotmail.com.

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