A school in South West Birmingham is one of the latest in the UK to sign up to an anti-bullying app to help their students speak out about issues in their school community.
Over 250,000 pupils from over 650 schools across the country are currently using the tootoot education app.
Now, pupils at Lordswood Girl’s School in Harborne will be able to report incidents of bullying or any other concerns they may have anonymously, using their mobile phone, computer or tablet.
Tootoot education is an anti-bullying and pupil voice app that allows pupils to confidentially and anonymously speak directly to their school about issues such as bullying, cyberbullying, sexism and harassment.
More than half of young people in the UK have experienced bullying and, according to a 2017 survey of more than 1,000 young people for Plan International UK, almost half of all girls have experienced some form of harassment or abuse on social media. Appearance-based bullying is a particular problem among girls.
Tootoot allows pupils to report incidents and concerns, along with evidence such as screen grabs, to school staff without giving their name. Staff can then respond to and deal with their concerns.
Assistant Headteacher, Mrs Millward said: “We think the app will be a great addition to the school, strengthening the anti-bullying and safeguarding practices we already have in place.
“The vast majority of our pupils go online and use social media sites, this will allow them to report any bullying or cyberbullying incidents to us in confidence in school, or on their own devices at home.”
CEO of tootoot Michael Brennan created the app after his experiences of bullying and cyberbullying, he found there was no effective way to report his concerns anonymously to teachers.
He said: “A lot of students never speak up about bullying or harassment because they’re afraid the bullies will find out, or aren’t confident that their place of learning can help with online cases.”
“Tootoot lets pupils safely and anonymously tell their school about bullying incidents, so they can be resolved quickly and effectively.”
Tootoot apps – tootoot education and tootoot sport – provide individuals with a safe and anonymous way to speak about concerns such as bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, mental health and racism. Tootoot education currently provides over 250,000 school pupils access to a safe way to speak about their concerns, with over 650 schools signed-up to tootoot education across the UK.
Find out more about tootoot and their Make A Noise campaign:
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