Greenwood House School, a dynamic nursery and primary school in Lagos has launched a weeklong zero-tolerance anti-bullying campaign.
The campaign engages students, parents and teachers to change the attitudes, behaviour and culture of bullying by building skills and confidence to address different situations.
The prevalence of societal bullying has affected every sphere of society and schools have not escaped these trends. A study conducted in Nigerian schools reported that almost four in every five participants (78%) reported being bullied and 85% of the children admitted to bullying others at least once.
Greenwood House School has adopted a zero-tolerance policy promoting an anti-bullying culture while building a community of kindness amongst students and staff of the school.
The campaign, which started on March 7 to end on 11, 2022 in the school premises at Parkview, Ikoyi, takes a holistic approach, ensuring buy-in from all stakeholders; the administration, staff, parents and students to eradicate bullying and enhance school culture, creating a safe space for every child.
A key element of the week-long campaign is to instil in every member of the school, the value of respect, acceptance and tolerance towards everyone, irrespective of race, colour, creed, religion or gender.
Commenting on the campaign, Dr. Ekua Abudu, Founder of Greenwood House School, said “We are delighted to launch the zero-tolerance anti-bullying campaign. The awareness of the effects of bullying is not an inherent attitude we are born with but an attitude we develop through the observation and actions of those that influence others, especially those that are young. The actions and reactions of others are what fuels or douses the flames of bullying.”
“At Greenwood House School, we believe that awareness and knowledge of bullying are crucial amongst the students and teachers. Parents and guardians also need to know what to look out for to identify signs of bullying, whether their children are being bullied or are the bullies and whether they are invertedly encouraging their children to be bullies. Beyond identifying bullying, we also need to equip these stakeholders on how to prevent bullying and what appropriate action to take if they encounter it” she continued.
The week-long activities will culminate with a parents’ forum and rally on Friday 11th March 2022. Greenwood House School’s commitment to addressing bullying and hate and foster inclusion, equality, and kindness is commendable.