More than 450 young people from across Dudley borough will become anti-bullying ambassadors when they are trained by national charity the Diana Award.

Dudley’s community safety partnership, safe & sound and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, have joined together to provide match funding to help schools enrol pupils on the nationally acclaimed ambassador programme.

63 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and seven special schools from across the borough are taking part. One hundred members of staff will also be trained when the Diana Awards visit the borough in February and April.

Since the ambassador programme was set up in 2011, more than 24,000 young people from across the UK have been trained.

Anti-bullying ambassadors help educate their peers on bullying, lead on anti-bullying campaigns, promote a culture which celebrates and tolerates differences and help to keep their peers safe both on and offline.

Councillor Laura Taylor, cabinet member responsible for community safety, said:

“The ambassador scheme gives schools the chance to be proactive in their fight against bullying.

”We have provided match funding for this programme as we fully appreciate the benefits to pupils of investing in anti-bullying initiatives, particularly where young people themselves can become involved in preventing bullying and supporting their peers.

“All of our schools work really hard to prevent and tackle bullying in school. They have measures in place to respond to all forms of bullying and this scheme gives additional support.”

Young people, parents and practitioners can find out more the Diana Award’s anti-bullying campaign by visiting https://diana-award.org.uk/home/