Schoolpupil tells councillors how school helped her to beat the bullies

A 10-year-old girl from Shrewsbury has told Shropshire Councillors how support from “amazing people” at her school has helped her cope with being bullied and to lead a happier life.

Shereece Williams, a pupil at Grange Primary, told members of the council’s children’s services scrutiny committee about her experience of being bullied, how she has learnt to ignore the bullies, and how she has now launched her own campaign to help other children.

She gave particular thanks and praise to teacher Beverly Williams who runs a programme at the school that aims to ensure the emotional well-being of the school’s pupils.

Shropshire Council’s Targeting Mental Health Support (TaMHS) programme, is delivered through primary and secondary schools across the county. The core aim of the programme is to develop a whole school approach on emotional health and well-being through the delivery of an evidence-based training programme.

Shereece told the committee:

“I got bullied at school and the school helped me.

“I have got a lot of help from people who are amazing. They make me feel happier. The school’s made me much happier and I now want to live a happier life.

“In school there is a teacher – Miss Williams – who is always there to talk to.

“I used to not want to go to school. Now I love school. Everything has made me much happier and I’m thankful that Miss Williams is in this school.

“Miss Williams said to ignore them and be a bigger person and I’ve learnt to ignore them. She said if you’re upset you should always tell.”

Shereece has now started her own campaign called ‘jump the hurdles’ to help other children who are being bullied.

She said:

“I read a book about a boy who was trying to jump hurdles but couldn’t and got more and more angry. But eventually he jumped the hurdles.

“I support other children now. I tell them to walk away.”

Shereece was invited to attend the scrutiny committee meeting to share her experiences after chairman Councillor Joyce Barrow visited Grange Primary to see for herself the work being carried out to support the emotional health and well-being of their pupils.

Joyce Barrow said:

“Sheerece was brilliant and I can’t thank her enough for coming to our meeting and sharing her experiences with us. Everyone was really touched and impressed with what she told us.

“What Shereece has been through and how she has turned the corner is incredible. Her story shows that the programme of support provided by the school has made a huge, life-changing difference to her, as well as to other children.”

Shropshire Council is committed to improving the mental health and well-being of its 68,000 children and young people and is working closely with partners including the Clinical Commissioning Group, the Shropshire Community NHS Trust, and local schools.

Further information

The TaMHS objective is to ensuring that professionals and schools working with children and young people have the necessary skills and knowledge to support and nurture mental wellbeing and resilience within their settings

All of the training programmes that are delivered through the TaMHS programme are evidence-based, either nationally or internationally.

The training increases the confidence and knowledge base of staff enabling them to recognise early signs and symptoms of need, provides practical examples of how to respond to the emotional needs of young people, as well as tips and strategies on what to do and say following identification of need.

Sheerece attended the meeting of Shropshire Council’s children’s services scrutiny committee at Shirehall in Shrewsbury on Wednesday 24 June 2015.