Yesterday, the Anti Bullying Alliance (of which Schools OUT is a member) celebrated the launch of Anti-Bullying Week for 2007. Ed Balls MP, the Secretary of State announced to have found £3million for the next three years to help schools and local authorities create peer mentoring programs.

In his official statement, he said, "Today, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, will announce plans to help children who are being bullied. The  proposals include assigning an older child mentor who has been trained in  conflict resolution to look after victims, and for cybermentors to look  after children online. He will stress that the scheme is not to replace  'disciplinary sanctions'. One in three children is being bullied on the  way to and from school, according to a survey of 1,078 children aged between seven and 18 by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA). The survey found  that the most common forms of bullying outside school were name-calling,  intimidation and 'barging'. Of the children questioned, 33 per cent said  bullying occurred on the way to and from school, 16 per cent said it was on the street and 12 per cent in the park. Chris Cloke, chair of ABA, called on head teachers to use powers in the Education and Inspections Act  to discipline children who are caught misbehaving when they are off the  school site."

The launch brought together several representatives from the Anti Bullying Alliance, including Schools OUT, Stonewall, EACH, Womankind, School Councils UK, Education for All and many more. We were honored not only with the endorsement from Ed Balls, but also with the cast of Wicked who performed "For Good" a song about how friendship can overcome isolation and bullying.

The evening also saw the recognition of the Diana Award winners, for pupils who had shown excellence in standing up for others and stopping bullying. The awardees participated in activities from setting up a peer-to-peer network at their school to creating a network for disabled students.

Attached is an image from inside the Apollo theatre with the press and cast on stage.