In honour of this year’s Anti-Bullying Week, homes builder Miller Homes East Midlands has supplied a Smalley primary school with a buddy bench to foster friendship in the playground.

 

The housebuilder, which is preparing to open its latest development Smalley Chase in Smalley, Derbyshire, next year, donated the bench to students at Richardson Endowed Primary School in the hopes of promoting friendships and kindness.

 

The new bench will be stationed in the main playground for all year groups to use to help reduce feelings of isolation. The news comes off the back of recent research that revealed that 1.9million UK children who returned to school following the last national lockdown, were concerned about forming friendships again.

 

Having taken place between 15 – 19 November, the annual Anti-Bullying Week event aims to raise awareness of bullying, while highlighting ways of preventing and responding to it in the school environment. This year’s theme is ‘one kind word’ with a focus on how little acts of kindness and consideration can make a big difference and brighten someone’s day.

 

Commenting on the donation, area sales director at Miller Homes Midlands, Alastair Parsons, said:

“The pandemic has been challenging for the whole nation, but especially school children. After a series of lockdowns, coupled with months of home schooling, it’s no wonder many children feel worried about rebuilding friendships.

 

“Anti-Bullying Week is vital for raising awareness of the key hurdles many children may be facing during their school day, and, given the difficulties of the past year and a half, it has never been more important for children and teachers to come together to tackle feelings of isolation. A little bit of kindness can impact someone’s day greatly so we want to do anything we can to encourage that.

 

“We know that the pupils at Richardson Endowed Primary School are well-supported by their teachers, but we hope the new buddy bench serves as an extra tool for encouraging care and consideration for others.”

 

Kate Mason, headteacher and designated safeguarding lead at Richardson Endowed Primary School, added:

 

“The wellbeing and happiness of our pupils is, and always has been, a priority for the school. As well as providing them with a great foundation for education, we want to teach them skills they can take on into the future while giving them the confidence and know-how to enable them to build close friendships.

 

“Bullying is something that any school should face head-on and a subject we take very seriously here. Our new buddy bench, thanks to the team at Miller Homes, will not only allow the children to interact confidently with each other, but it will help us educate them on the impact bullying can have on wellbeing and the surrounding school community.

 

“I’d like to thank Miller Homes for donating the new buddy bench and I look forward to seeing it bring our pupils closer together after what has been a very challenging time for many.”

 

Information about this year’s anti-bullying week can be found here.

 

For more information on Miller Homes’ Smalley Chase development, visit https://www.millerhomes.co.uk/new-homes/east-midlands/smalley-chase-smalley.aspx

Or, for further details on Miller Homes’ other East Midlands development, click here.