Saturday 19 September 2009

The school said what?!

The Children's Legal Centre, among others, are calling for stricter legislation against bullying in schools. BBC News has an article on this. The article describes a particular case of bullying, which is horrific enough in itself - but the school's response just makes things worse.

[trigger warning]

In a BBC Breakfast News report Debbie (name changed to protect her children) said she had no choice but to consider legal action against the school her two teenage children used to attend.

She claims teachers stood by and watched as her son was attacked - in front of her - by about 40 other pupils.

"They had these temporary metal road signs the triangular ones and they just attacked him with it, beating him.

What would a failure to address serious violent attacks be without some victim-blaming.

The school says Debbie's child's special needs were behind many of the problems, and any bullying took place outside the school.

This doesn't appear to be a direct quote, but if it is a reasonable summary of the school's stance, it's extremely clear what's actually behind the "problems".