FRIENDS AGAINST BULLYING

Community Facilitators take their skills to a range of settings. The Resolving Differences project at Caldecote Primary School, Braunstone kicked off when teachers and learning mentors attended a workshop. A 10-week programme with Year 6 followed to reduce bullying and increase young people's self esteem. Young people were so excited they could not wait each week for the NCBI team to return. They were invited to put a sticker on each other with a positive word on. Brenda Lee-Brown recounted 'One boy told us that normally he was really naughty in class. We told him that we couldn't believe it because he had been coming up with so many good answers and he was very intelligent. He said no one had ever called him intelligent in his life and he checked if we were sure it was true. We assured him that it was. He left the building a changed person beaming as he wore the sticker Very Intelligent.'

When Derby Race Equality Council and LEA called NCBI in to set up FAB teams in Derby schools the training team comprised Community Facilitators and adult volunteers and staff. One of the lead trainers, Ashleigh said 'It was so exciting to see young people train others to lead their own FAB teams.'

Connexions funded a UProject Residential enabling NCBI Leicester to work with 16 year olds unsure of what they wanted to do when they left school. The young people's primary interest was to increase self-esteem and confidence, though they were soon hooked by the prejudice reduction work as many had first-hand experience of being bullied.

For the first time we were able to include a 16 year old woman on the staff team. With her experience as a FAB team member and a Community Facilitator, Ashleigh Sherriff helped design, deliver, and evaluate the programme. Ashleigh found she was a good role model for the participants, particularly since young people are usually told what to do and how to do it by adults. It was good for the young people to see their peer taking a lead. There were also valuable spin-offs for Ashleigh and the rest of the team 'It was good to be taking a lead and trusting my own thinking, and I got to teach the adults on the team about young people's oppression.' The programme included a buddy system, home base discussion groups and a creative drama session on making interventions to prejudicial comments which was presented at the UProject Celebration and the NCBI Annual Celebration. One young person said 'I learnt more about myself and other people. Their thoughts count as well as your own.'

The work of the young people within NCBI is ground-breaking and inspirational. They often arrive as quiet, and unconfident individuals – often the victims of bullying, homophobia and racism. Once they have learned the necessary skills to bolster their own confidence, expanded their communication skills, recovered their sense of significance and developed emotional literacy, they use their skills within their FAB teams. Following this experience they are ready to take their skills to a variety of settings, including other aspects of NCBI work on training events, at conferences and external projects and contracts. They are currently in the middle of training young people in Derby schools to set up their own FAB teams.

NCBI is a leadership training organisation dedicated to ending prejudice and discrimination, whether because of nationality, race, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, occupation or life circumstance. We have been working for over 18 years to eliminate prejudice and inter-group conflicting within communities throughout the world, using our unique award-winning programmes.

NCBI's proactive approach begins with the recruitment of a team of people who are taught bridge-building skills so they can effectively combat intergroup conflicts. The teams reflect all sectors of the community working together as resource intervening when community conflicts arise, using NCBI tools to work through tough, polarised issues. Our models develop principles leaders who examine their own leadership, initiate diversity programmes and enter the heat of emotional group conflict to build bridges across difference.

For more information contact us at: The Learning Exchange, Wygston's House, Applegate, Leicester LE1 5LD. Phone: 0116-222-9977. info@ncbileic.org.uk.