BIG AWARD Val McFarlane, Adrienne Katz & Vicki Cheetham Directors, Bullying Intervention Group Ltd This is a not for profit social enterprise, any profits go back into bullying intervention work. Company Registration No /10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

About the award Bullying Intervention Group (BIG) was set up in 2011 in response to requests from schools and other organisations for a national bullying intervention award scheme. Schools and organisations can apply for both local and national accreditation if their LA offers a local scheme. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

Who are we? BIG is run by three very experienced anti- bullying consultants, Val McFarlane, Adrienne Katz and Vicki Oliver. They have each worked for over 10 years in bullying intervention work, and have successfully managed thousands of cases of bullying and friendship issues. BIG has a team of consultants who work on local award panels and deliver training. 6/10/2015 (c) Bullying Intervention Group 3

Why do we need it? Your school/organisation will be rewarded for its achievements. Parents will have confidence in the way bullying is dealt with, leading to fewer complaints and less risk of legal action. In addition, this programme helps schools and services comply with the Equality Act 2010 and provide evidence for inspections. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What will it mean for us? Gaining the BIG Award will demonstrate that : You are working to an externally agreed standard You employ consistent and updated good practice You actively include children and young people You work to ensure that every child can fulfil their potential and enjoy community activities, without fear of being bullied. You are using evidence based approaches that work 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What else do members have access to? All areas of the BIG website with resources Regular news and research updates, lesson plans, assemblies, case studies and book/film lists. ‘Trendwatch' - keep up with changing behaviour! Share practice with others and showcase your work. Free online surveys to use with your pupils. Support on how to complete your portfolio of evidence Advice on serious or intractable cases. Training events and bespoke training to suit your needs. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What are the criteria for the BIG Award? Criteria Summary The criteria necessary to become a BIG AWARD organisation include having: 1) A Bullying Intervention Focus Group 2) A Bullying Intervention Policy that complies with our standards 3) Regular Staff Training 4) Involving parents and carers in bullying intervention work 5) A Peer Support/Peer Mentoring system 6) Regular bullying awareness raising activities 7) Recording and monitoring We also ask for a short, written testimonial from a young person. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What does it cost? Annual Fees Primary School (under 500 pupils) £150 Primary School (over 500 pupils) £250 Junior or Middle school £200 Secondary School/Academy below 1200 pupils £250 Secondary with over 1200 students £350 FE College £350 Local Authority £350 Children’s Homes (by agreement please contact us) Community Groups (by agreement please contact us) 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

How do we apply? You can apply online. Any school or organisation attended by children and young people may apply for the BIG AWARD. You may already have excellent bullying intervention practice and have achieved the criteria necessary to gain the BIG Award. If not, we can help. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What happens next? You will receive an acknowledgement and when payment is received your account will be activated with access to all areas of this website, packed with members' resources! You will complete an electronic portfolio template as you meet each of the criteria. Submit the portfolio when all criteria are met. It will be assessed, there will be a pre-arranged visit to your school/organisation. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

What do we receive? If you are successful, you will receive a logo and certificate to display. The certificate is valid for 12 months after which you will need to re-apply. If you continue to embed and improve your good practice, this should be easy to achieve and you can add to your electronic portfolio and save it at any time. 6/10/ (c) Bullying Intervention Group

Esther Rantzen CBE President of ChildLine NSPCC ‘Bullying Intervention Group BIG AWARD is a really brilliant scheme because it allows organisations to work towards excellent anti-bullying intervention practices, and to show parents and children that the school or organisation cares about this crucial issue. Bullying is one of the most serious and wide-spread problems children ring ChildLine about. The scheme has already been used in some schools and I know of children and young people who have personally benefited. I recommend the national BIG AWARD to all schools and organisations.’ 6/10/2015 (c) Bullying Intervention Group 12

Maggie Turner OBE CEO Diana Award ‘The Diana Award fully supports the work of Bullying Intervention Group BIG AWARD. It is so important that young people play a major role in reducing bullying in their schools and organisations and are trained and supported to achieve this. The staff at BIG have huge expertise and experience in both training, supporting and enabling young people to take on this role and youth participation plays a major role in the criteria of the BIG AWARD. Diana Anti-Bullying Award has worked with the BIG team and look forward to continuing to do so in the future.’ 6/10/2015 (c) Bullying Intervention Group 13

Jonathan Charlesworth, Director, Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) ‘ EACH fully supports and endorses the Bullying Intervention Group Accreditation scheme. We are confident that prejudice driven victimisation, especially homophobic bullying, will be markedly reduced by the implementation of this award scheme. Both parents and pupils will be able to choose schools with the added advantage of being able to know whether a school has achieved this recognised standard.’ 6/10/2015 (c) Bullying Intervention Group 14

Local Authorities Sarah Callaghan, Lead Officer for Anti Bullying 'Keeping children safe is a key priority for Salford and that is why we have found the support from BIG so invaluable. With BIG's support, many schools are now actively involved in a peer to peer programme enabling them to drive the LA's approach to tackling bullying. BIG have directly delivered training at our Keeping it Safe in Salford Anti Bullying Conference to over 130 delegates and have led workshops to review the LA's Anti Bullying Strategy. The response from all participating schools has been extremely positive, particularly in light of the revised Ofsted inspection framework for schools.'

Schools Paul Roddy, Head of Year 9, Venerable Bede School, Sunderland "An incredible resource in the fight against bullying- every school should use this service. The level of help in improving our school's anti bullying policy was superb and led to a great Ofsted report as well as an award winning anti bullying initiative. Highly recommended."

Contact details & website: Val McFarlane – Vicki Oliver – Adrienne Katz – /10/2015 (c) Bullying Intervention Group 17