Anti-Bullying Week 2023: Make A Noise About Bullying
As a core member of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, we support Anti-Bullying Week 2023 which is coordinated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.
This year it has the theme 'Make A Noise About Bullying' and will take place from Monday 13th to Friday 17th November.
This page has some ideas and activities to help support your children celebrate their differences. Lots of these activities use Rob Biddulph’s book, ‘Odd dog out’ as a starting point. It's a great book to celebrate Anti-Bullying Week and individuality.
We've grouped the activities by age, but feel free to use them flexibly, to meet your children's needs.
If you don't have a copy of the book in school then click on the Youtube version on this page. Please note: this film may have adverts at the start. Before the lesson, we suggest you cue the film, pausing after the advert, until you're ready to show it.
3-5-year-olds
Sparkly sand, sparkly water!
Provide sand, water and salt dough, each with glitter added, for children to explore.
Design a dog
Using the template of sausage dog (click here to open link to this) children design their own ‘Odd Dog Out’.
Dough dogs
Create salt dough sausage dogs, each wearing a scarf. Here's a great recipe for DIY salt dough.
5-7-year-olds
How we shine!
First create the letters of the word ‘shine’. Then using star-shaped pieces of paper or card, children draw themselves or write words connected to how they sparkle, glue these stars to the letters so they create the shape of each letter, then join the letters together to make bunting spelling SHINE. This could be done with every class to then connect the stars from each class together.
Design and Shine!
SCARF schools – design an ‘Odd Dog Out’ coat for Harold our giraffe or a favourite teddy. Display these around school.
Class Talents
Hold a class talent show ‘What makes our class shine?’ Ask for volunteers to show their ‘acts’. Children can do this individually or in groups - showing their talents for working cooperatively!
Special objects
Each child brings in a special object which tells everyone something about themselves. This could lead to a writing activity where they explain their object and why it's special to them. Or try it this way...
Make this a 'Guess who?' activity, where they try to match the object with the person.
Shining Circles
Have a circle time activity to let them express little acts of kindness that they have experienced – how did they shine for you?
Designer for a day
Be a fashion designer for a day (or an hour!) and design an ‘Odd Dog Out’ sausage dog outfit. This could be done as a drawing activity, or a craft activity, using bits of cloth and other materials.
Sparkly Me!
Create a glitter snow globe using a glass jar, water, glitter, and laminated picture of themselves.
Shoebox Shine!
Using a shoebox or other small box, children fill it with their own items from home or objects/pictures that represent them and then decorate the box with all things shiny and sparkly. Or try it this way…
Children make their own Sparkle Box and write a list of the items they will find and keep in it when they take it home. Encourage them to think of small things that make them feel happy about themselves. Remember to explain to children that they should ask a grown-up at home before taking an object to put into their box.
7-11-year-olds
Nominate a Sparkler
Children nominate other children (or adults) in school who “sparkle” for something they’ve done. Could make that person a special Sparkle Badge, maybe a star, with the person’s name on the front and what they’ve done on the back.
Oscar Sparkles
Children produce not a Hollywood but ‘Doggywood’ scene - create characters expressing talents and personalities, not just different appearances. Use the dog template to draw representatives of people in society who sparkle, e.g. nurses, carers etc.
Write to Odd Dog Out!
Share the first part of the story with the children, then pause. Ask the children to write a letter to ‘Odd Dog Out’, what should he do? Should he have to leave? Then watch the end of the story and discuss. What happened? Were there any surprises? What did he learn?
How do you SHINE?
Using the letters of SHINE, ask children to write what each letter could represent for them and how they sparkle e.g. sympathetic, helpful, inquisitive, etc.
Lights, camera, SHINE!
Record a short film clip of each child describing their own talents and likes, or in pairs they describe each other’s talents, what they like about them, what makes them special.
Your Anti-Bullying Week Whole-school Assembly
Adapt the Odd Dog Out story for both younger and older pupils so that the children themselves can present it during an assembly, which could include excerpts from the CBeebies version.
SCARF Free Trial
Not yet a SCARF school? Find out more about how SCARF can help your school deliver a whole-school approach to children's health and wellbeing, as well as covering statutory requirements and Ofsted expectations for Personal Development. Sign up for our free 6-week trial here – open to all primary schools across England and Scotland.
