Member News
The government has unveiled a £3m mentoring scheme to tackle bullying in schools.
Announced by schools secretary Ed Balls on Thursday, the move will see peer mentoring programmes rolled out across England.
Speaking at the start of 'national anti-bullying week', Balls said many children were more comfortable turning to their peers for support, rather than parents or teachers.
Under the scheme, children will be trained in "conflict resolution".
However, Balls said that teachers would oversee the projects and that mentoring would "never be a substitute for disciplinary sanctions".
"Bullying is totally unacceptable in whatever form it takes," he said. "It is not an issue we can sweep under the carpet - it's something we must all stand up to.
"Peer mentoring - young people supporting each other to stamp out bullying - is an exciting scheme that is already having great success in many schools."
The projects will see older pupils taught how to resolve playground rows through "mediation".
As well as passing information about bullying to teachers, they will receive advice from experts on managing conflicts and on how to help pupils make friends.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd