A two-year anti-bullying programme has been launched in Swale.

Bully Beat is being led by the Songwriting Charity in 30 primary and special schools, as well as pupil referral units.

Children who take part in the workshops are taught the process of lyric writing, singing, music arranging and production while expressing their thoughts on bullying and its effects.

Recorded material is then available free for children to download.

The aim is that by listening to one another, respecting their friends and working together as a team, the youngsters create something that has an immediate and lasting impact on their peers, the school and the community.

St Peter’s Catholic Primary School, West Ridge, Sittingbourne, was used to launch the scheme on September 13.

Funding has been provided by the Angus Lawson Memorial Trust (ALMT).

Songwriting Charity chief executive Nathan Timothy said: “The idea is to get children across the country talking through a regional and national network of song, promoting positive anti-bullying intervention.

“The more we talk, the stronger the anti-bullying message becomes.

“And when you transform those messages into song, they are amplified all the more.”