PUPILS of Hoole Church of England Primary School in Chester have been busy with projects arranged in conjunction with national Anti-Bullying Week.

Children from every class in the school are being compassion detectives, looking for pupils or staff who are showing kindness towards other people in school.

Acts of kindness spotted are being recorded and added to a whole school display in the main hall, which will be celebrated at the end of the project.

The School Council, the House of Hoole, is working on a review of the school Anti-Bullying Policy and developing a Friendship Charter to be agreed by all members of the school family.

The school is also running a poetry competition with a prize from a winning entry from every year group. The competition has been sponsored by Christine Darwen, a governor at the school.

Children have been invited to write a poem on the theme of friendship linked to the theme of the fortnight.

Headteacher Ros Flanders said: “Our recent Ofsted inspection highlighted that children in our school feel safe and well supported.

"In line with our school vision and values, we are keen to continue to promote kindness, tolerance and friendship to ensure the well-being of every child in our school.”

The Ofsted inspection report for the school, following inspection in October this year, stated “Hoole School is a happy place… pupils said that they feel safe in school. They know that their teachers would help them if there was a problem.

"Pupils are confident that bullying does not happen. This view is also shared by parents. Pupils know how to respond if bullying occurs.”

Natalie Carter, who co-ordinated the event at Hoole, added: “We have exciting plans for the poetry which will be produced for the competition.

"The children’s response has been tremendous so far and we are already having lots of acts of kindness reported.”

The school is planning a celebratory event in January to share and celebrate the work produced from the project with parents/carers, school governors and the wider community.