A group of Bomaderry High School students were commended for their recent efforts to confront bullying.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The students recently produced a confronting anti-bullying video with the aim of encouraging people not to stand-by and do nothing when they see bullying.
The showing of the video was part of a week-long series of programs at the school, which finished with Sam Kettlewell and Joel Lahene from headspace Nowra running workshops with the students.
Both Sam and Joel said targeting bystanders was a strong and important theme.
Sam was impressed with the way the students approached the topic.
"The kids were consulted about their experiences that they had witnessed on the impacts of bullying and so the things presented in the video were relevant," she said.
Sam said as a bystander people should speak up about bullying.
"They say standing by is just as bad as doing the bullying yourself and so just speak up," Sam said.
"You are part of the problem if you don't actually prevent it."
Joel agreed with his headspace colleague.
"Stand up and talk to people. People can't help themselves sometimes and so they need someone to step in and help them out," Joel said.
Read more: See the videos for yourself
Joel said if someone was getting bullied they should reach out for support.
"Schools are very good these days in terms of the amount of support that is around like teachers and year advisers - things like that," he said.
He said it was important to educate people on the effects bullying can have on someone.
"The more that we know about it and the more we know the effects about it the better the situation is going to be," he said.
He added headspace and other external services were always available to help if a student did feel comfortable talking to someone at the school
Headspace offers a counselling space for people not wanting to talk to any at their school.
The assistance headspace can offer includes drug and alcohol support, physical/mental health support and vocational assistance.
Headspace mainly offers a mental health service.
Numbers to call for help
headspace Nowra 4421 5388
Lifeline 13 11 14 (24/7)
beyondblue 1300 224 636 (24/7 seven days a week)
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800