Going for Gold! Little Bowden Primary Achieves Prestigious Beyond Bullying Gold Award

Little Bowden Primary School is proud to announce that it has been awarded the Leicestershire County Council Beyond Bullying Gold Award, recognising the school's outstanding commitment to creating a safe, inclusive and respectful environment where every child feels valued and supported.

The Gold Award is the highest level of recognition within the Beyond Bullying programme and reflects months of dedication, collaboration and whole-school commitment to promoting positive relationships and ensuring bullying has no place at Little Bowden Primary.

Throughout the year, the school worked closely with Leicestershire County Council, attending specialist training and development sessions, taking part in review meetings, and providing extensive evidence to demonstrate that the school's anti-bullying practice met the programme's rigorous standards.

The school's journey included attendance at the Beyond Bullying Award briefing webinar, specialist training for the Anti-Bullying Lead and Anti-Bullying Lead Governor, regular support meetings and an in-school visit, alongside a thorough review of the school's Anti-Bullying Policy.

In their feedback, Leicestershire County Council praised Little Bowden Primary's whole-school approach, highlighting the school's inspiring anti-bullying pledge, the involvement of pupils in shaping its anti-bullying work, the creative superhero character competition that brought key messages to life, and the child-friendly Anti-Bullying Policy developed from pupils' ideas. They also recognised the school's commitment to celebrating diversity through its growing No Outsiders work.

A special acknowledgement goes to Jane Jones, Assistant Headteacher, who led the school's successful application. Over the past year, Jane meticulously gathered evidence, coordinated activities across the school and ensured every one of the award's demanding criteria was fully met.

Jane said: "Receiving the Beyond Bullying Gold Award is something our whole school community should be incredibly proud of. I'd like to say a huge thank you to our fantastic Student Council, whose ideas, enthusiasm and determination have helped shape the decisions we make to prevent bullying and ensure every child feels safe and respected at Little Bowden

"I'm also incredibly grateful to our Chair of Governors, Chris Pollard, and our Anti-Bullying Lead Governor, Laura Brown, for their encouragement and support throughout the award process. Thank you to all of our wonderful staff for creating the beautiful anti-bullying display in our corridor and producing our child-friendly anti-bullying leaflet, which helps ensure our message reaches every pupil.

“Finally, thank you to every child in our school for embracing our values, looking after one another and taking responsibility for making Little Bowden a kind, welcoming and inclusive place where everyone belongs."

Headteacher Brendan Brannigan praised the dedication of the entire school community, particularly Jane's leadership throughout the process.

Mr Brannigan said:"This Gold Award is a tremendous achievement and one that reflects the values we live by every day at Little Bowden Primary. Jane has worked tirelessly over the past year to lead this project, gathering evidence, coordinating initiatives and ensuring we met the exceptionally high standards required. Her commitment has been outstanding.

"I'd also like to thank our staff, governors and, most importantly, our children, who have embraced our anti-bullying message with such maturity and compassion. We are determined that this award is not the end of our journey but another important step towards ensuring Little Bowden Primary is a bully-free zone where every child feels safe, respected and valued. We want our pupils to have the confidence to stand up to bullying whenever they see it and to know they have the support of the entire school community in doing so."