Son being bullied/assulted at high school

mrs_sparrow

First of all, it does not matter that it is various kids doing this - they are over the age of criminal responsibility so your call would not be wasted. If your son has been assualted by one child, that is the one you call the police on. if it is 3 then you will call the police about all 3 of them. Seriously, do not hesitate in doing that - do it tomorrow. The school would have got back to you had they been that bothered, I think it is time to say no more. And if they are visited by the police at school on Monday morning then the school will have to deal with it then, won't they.

If you call a school and ask if they have space and then explain to him that you need to move your child as he has been physically assaulted that school might find room for him right away.

Do you not have anyone he can stay with during the day? It really does not matter he has been learning for now, show your pictures to the truancy officer and tell them your son will not be going to that school - and if they persue you for it then you will be suing the school and the LEA for damages for failing to protect your child when he was in their care.

Have a look at this link, you might find it useful: http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/

As for your head - talk about them all covering their own a$$es - they all know each other in teaching circles so he might well be covering for someone he knows - it'll be down to the head of the school whether he is accepted there, call and see if they have spaces.

mrs_sparrow

The thing, if the school can brush it under the carpet, they will - you call the police there will be no denying it and it will have to be dealt with. Maybe they will then have to consider their anti-bullying policy for the future as well.

ginger_tony

l would like to say that i'm so very sorry for your son my own son was having bother a couple of weeks ago which knocked me ill with worry. Firstly If this is happening outside of school I don't think the school can do anything , but if this is taking part in school you bet your !!! they will have to do something about this your child is protected by laws and make it clear that you will be going to a lawyer and the education board and will be putting in a complaint about the school. If this is happening outside of school I would contact the police because if your son is coming home with bruises and bit marks that's assault and in an adult world these little animals would be arrested and taken to court. Don't tolerate this any further its a damn disgrace and if parents would just stop pretending their kid are little innocents and give them into to trouble when they are wrong our society would be a much better place. l just hope your wee boy is ok and this stops. My boys bullies were told that they were gonna be expelled if their behaviour would continue and they stopped it. l hope your boys school have a similar attitude.

Bennifred

NewKittenHelp wrote: »

If my child were assaulted by anyone during school time, the police would be called that day and the Head and governors made aware of just how serious assault is.

There's this idea in some schools that assaults on school children are not as serious as assaults on adults, but they are. The school is being negligent by allowing this to happen.

During your meeting with the head of house, take notes of what is said and follow it up with a letter/email confirming what was discussed and the action that will be taken with the head of house, the Head and the Board of Governors. And please, please, please contact the police and have these bullies dealt with. It is your son's right to be protected and the police must play a part in this. Don't let the school fob you off by saying that they'll deal with it in house.

Agree. Make it perfectly clear to the headteacher that you hold them personally responsible for any harm your boy comes to. And do involve the police - it is assault, and will certainly concentrate the school's mind. It does sound as though the school does not have good measures in place for handling these issues, and they need to get it sorted. Good luck!

Mojisola

ANNIEHAHA wrote: »

I have taken 3 photos, one of a bite on his side torso, a bruise on his leg and a red mark on his chest. I fear the damage has been done psychologically, he does not feel safe in school.

I don't understand why people don't treat assaults like this at school the same way as they would if it happened in another area of life.

If your OH came back from work with these injuries, would you want to talk to the management at work or the police?

funnythings

Hope this helps

http://www.bullying.co.uk/

xx

faerie~spangles

I would like to think that the OP has been in contact with the police re the assault on her son.

No point in doing it when the bite mark bruising has healed.

thriftychap_2

As a secondary school teacher I can assure parents that in most schools bullying is taken incredibly seriously.

It appears you have made the decision to remove your son from that school already so my initial advice is no longer applicable.

Unfortunately the effectiveness of any intervention is down to the quality and strength of the teacher you reported this to. I HATE bullies, when one of my tutor group have reported to me a concern regarding their happiness in school as the result of other pupils actions I literally drop everything and seek the accused out and deal with it, if it turns out to be an accurate accusation the bully gets a rocket! Unfortunately or maybe fortunately....... I am know as a bit of a force at school so this is usually enough. I follow up regularly and communicate with home what I have been doing. I give my email address so parents can communicate with me regularly.

My advice is to always report it to a strong teacher, the pupils know who they are, bypass a weak and wet tutor or head of year if necessary.

If the bullying is physical and there are marks inform the police, this usually kick starts slow to act schools.

Ask your son daughter to always make sure they are with someone else, make statements and keep a record. DO NOT LET YOUR SON/DAUGHTER BECOME A VICTIM! by this I mean become emotional at the slightest thing in school and over exaggerate or embellish minor acts. Other pupils see it stamped on their foreheads a mile away and will have a field day. You and they need to be able to tell the difference between playground banter and bullying.

The ultimate action if you are not happy is to write to the chair of governors (write to all the governors, that will get noticed) The head is accountable to them remember and will have to show a record of what has been done to resolve the situation. In turn they will lean on heads of year etc, this will help a lot. If you are not happy with how the school has dealt with it there will more than likely be no paper trail supporting what they say they have done. This will open up a whole big can of worms!

I hope it works out for you.

funnythings

http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice-about-education-for-parents

again thought it might help

i have a son the same age my heart goes out to you and your ds

xx

daska

I have been in the position of having to call the police for an incident involving my older son - at the behest of the schools who's pupils were involved. According to DSD the perpetrators were bricking themselves when the police actually turned up.

The important thing here is that this is not a one off or an unexpected event, it is an existing situation that the school has previously been made aware of and has not only failed to deal with but has allowed to escalate.

My advice would be to call the police and keep your son out of school until he has a place somewhere else or his current school provide evidence of what steps they have taken to ensure his safety. Write to the Head and cc your letter to the Governors and the Local Authority. Give them a deadline to respond with details of the practical measures they are taking to prevent any recurrence.

And big hugs to your son, it's a horrible position to be in but a new school should give him the chance to start again. If you think he might be responding to the bullies inappropriately it might be worth pursuing some help for him in that regard.