Sarah Brown supports Red Balloon

The full transcript of the speech Sarah Brown made at the Red Balloon Anti-Bullying Week Gala Dinner

Thank you so much for inviting me to be with you this evening, and thank you for the generosity you show in supporting red balloon. People from all political backgrounds and none, people with kids and people who just love kids, people who have been bullied and those who haven't but can seen the damage it can do - all of us can unite in wanting to beat bullying for good.

A few weeks ago i had a mum tell me her anxiety in waiting for their second baby. She felt what so many mums experience, that she already loved her first child so much she didn't know how she would possibly find the extra reserves of love for another. And then her little girl came and she realised that when a new little one comes that miracle happens - your existing love does not have to diminish nor be divided up.Your heart just expands to accommodate a new love. She realised what every parent knows - that when it comes to your children, the reserves of love are endless.

And if seeing your children happy is among the greatest pleasures, then seeing them alone or afraid or in danger is surely among the greatest pain. Every single parent prays we will never hear those words "dad, i'm being bullied" or "mum, the group has cut me out". All of us dread the idea of anything happening to our children and i feel so much for the parents who've been through this nightmare.

For the vast majority of children, tough action by the school can resolve the problem before too much damage is done. The government's work with national strategies and the anti-bullying alliance has meant great progress in preventing and tackling bullying. And i know that the department for children schools and families is looking to introduce a new legal duty on all schools to record all incidents of bullying properly, so that every child can be protected and that all schools can be brought up to the standards of the very best when it comes to tackling bullying.

But there are some children whose lives in mainstream school become so hard to bear that loving mums and dads have no choice but to take them out. And there are some kids who simply refuse to go, because they aren't prepared to endure the pain or the cruelty any more. And that's where red balloon centres can be a life-saver.

Every single child is born endowed with a contribution only they can make. Each is special and each deserves a safe space place to develop and grow, to try new things and to make new friends. So for those children who have been very badly bullied, red balloon centres can give them back their childhood.

And the rate of success is astounding. I know that after our last gathering ed balls has become a huge enthusiast for the work that you do. Because he, like me, has seen what a difference it can make.With such a strong record of getting children back into education and so often achieving at the highest level, everybody in red balloon can be incredibly proud of the difference you make.

And carrie, if any one person can truly take the credit for turning so many lives around, it's you.

How many other people would be faced with suffering and do something so immediate to help? How many other people would sit opposite strangers - two distraught parents and a suicidal teen - and decide the only thing to be done was turning your own home into a school? And from that first act of such kindness, you have nurtured red balloon into something truly amazing.

Carrie you have turned desperation into inspiration for one child, then another, then another, and now you have a network of red balloon centres - and others who can share in the precious work you do.

I am so proud to have met you, and so pleased to be able to support you at this dinner this evening.

From all of us here tonight, and from all the people who can't be with us but whose lives have been saved or changed by you and by red balloon - an enormous thank you. Two years ago i presented you with the award for inspirational woman of the year. For those who need protection from bullying and the confidence to defeat bullies, you are that inspiration every year, and all of us will do whatever we can to help in your world changing work.

-- Posted by Red Balloon - on 18th November 2009 --