Bedales Prep School supports 'You Are Awesome'

Pupils and staff at Bedales Prep School, Dunhurst have backed a movement supporting ‘everyday heroes’ working in the emergency services.

Head of Dunhurst Colin Baty first talked to pupils at the school about the ‘You Are Awesome’ movement in January, when he reminded them returning from the festive break that people in frontline services worked throughout the Christmas period to keep the public safe through heroic efforts – yet, staggeringly, they are often the victims of verbal, written and physical abuse.

Figures published by the Ministry of Justice revealed more than 26,000 assaults on police officers in 2017/2018, as well as over 17,000 assaults on NHS staff and 1,500 on paramedics.

Colin’s decision to highlight the issue was inspired by a Dunhurst parent, Michael Howard, who recently launched the ‘You Are Awesome’ movement to show appreciation for people working in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. The parent created the movement after reading about members of the public who left hostile and insensitive notes on ambulances called out to emergencies. The notes, which were discovered by paramedics when returning to their vehicles, included messages such as “You may be saving lives, but don’t park your van in a stupid place and block my drive” and “Warning, this is a private parking space. Next time it will be smashed”.

The movement implores people to show their support for everyday heroes by buying them a coffee; wearing an ‘I love the emergency services’ badge; spreading the word on social media; writing a letter of support; and even doing something as simple as making the effort to say “thank you”.

Earlier this week, Colin joined pupils to be the first school to pledge their support for those working in the emergency services in a video for the You Are Awesome website. He said: “As an educator, I am always looking for opportunities to encourage our pupils - the next generation - to grow and be upstanding citizens. Enabling pupils to acquire the knowledge gives them the power to change attitudes. We proudly support the emergency services at Dunhurst. They do an amazing job and have impacted a lot of our staff and pupils’ lives by helping them, their families and people they know. We really hope that people reach out to the emergency services because they are 'awesome'!”

You Are Awesome | Bedales Prep School, Dunhurst | Colin Baty