Parents with children at St Benedict's School in Wellington say they don't feel their complaints about bullying have been taken seriously. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Parents with children at St Benedict's School in Wellington say they don't feel their complaints about bullying have been taken seriously. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Exasperated parents of children at St Benedict’s primary school in Wellington have taken their complaints about alleged “severe” bullying by students to the Education Minister’s office in their battle to be heard.
The school board says it is taking its responsibilities around wellbeing andsafety seriously and senior leaders and staff work hard to set and maintain a culture that is welcoming and safe.
The board acknowledged some people might think there are limited consequences because many matters needed to be kept confidential. With the full knowledge of what went on behind the scenes, the board was confident the school took appropriate, strong and fair actions in response to bullying.
Parents the Herald spoke to wanted to remain anonymous to protect their children.
One mother said her daughter was hit over the head in after-school care and her head hit a desk. She said she had raised concerns with the principal about the child responsible for the incident a year before it happened.
She felt there was a lack of ownership and follow-through by the school’s senior leadership over physical and mental bullying by students.
“The principal sets the culture for the school, if offences are not dealt with, the bully knows that their behaviour can continue with little to no consequences.
She said the process had been somewhat “smoke and mirrors at school with parents told not to discuss their issues with other parents”.
She complained to the principal and the board before escalating her concerns to the Ministry of Education, the Education Review Office and then the Teaching Council.
“While waiting for these government bodies to reply weeks later, other children have suffered more abuse when they could have been pointing concerned parents in the right direction sooner.”
The process has been like hitting her head against a brick wall, she said.
The Teaching Council confirmed it is reviewing her complaint.
St Benedict's School in Khandallah, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Another parent, whose child attended St Benedict’s last year and was allegedly “severely” bullied, took her concerns to Education Minister Erica Stanford.
In a complaint to the school, the mother listed extensive examples of bullying, including abusive comments made about her son’s dead grandfather and consistently being told he was “crap” at sport.
The mum felt this complaint was not taken seriously.
Stanford wrote back this week and said she had asked the Ministry of Education for further information about the situation at St Benedict’s and for assurance the school and students were being appropriately supported.
“As a parent myself, my heart goes out to your child, and I can understand your anguish at not having your complaints adequately responded to. Every child has the right to feel safe, included and valued while at school, and I am sorry this has not been your family’s experience.”
The ministry was aware of and is closely monitoring the situation at the school, Stanford said.
Stanford understood the school’s board was also concerned about bullying, has made it a key strategic focus and was actively working to address the problems.
“I understand that the school board will also soon be sending a survey out to all parents and expects more involvement from the school community in the school’s policies and processes going forward as an outcome of the survey.”
In a letter responding to this parent’s complaint, school board presiding chairwoman Lucy Woollaston apologised for the “hurtful events”.
“We are sorry that these events took place and over a prolonged period of time. We are sorry your child suffered and that no proper resolution was provided. We have identified that policies were not aligned to enable steps to solve the issues of bullying your children experienced.”
In response to both complaints from parents, the board summarised the concerns raised as increased bullying, an absence of discipline, a lack of policy and procedure being followed by staff, and families leaving the school without feeling they could share the real reasons why.
Education Minister Erica Stanford says every child has the right to feel safe, included and valued while at school. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Woollaston said these concerns had been heard and investigated with the assistance of the New Zealand School Boards Association and the matters were now closed.
KiVa included a reporting programme, meaning all negative and hurtful behaviour was now recorded, Woollaston said.
“Perpetrators of hurtful behaviour will be given the chance to change their behaviour and if they choose not to there will be consequences and families will be involved.”
The Ministry of Education-supported Positive Behaviour 4 Learning framework was also introduced last year.
The board was drafting an online survey for families leaving the school as well as the invitation to an exit interview, she said.
The parents the Herald spoke to felt like the board was “hiding behind” the introduction of these policies while violence and bullying allegedly continued at the school.
They do not consider their matters to be closed.
Woollaston told the Herald on behalf of the board and school principal Tania Savage that when a student’s behaviour fell short, they did not hesitate to act.
“This could be disciplinary/corrective and/or may involve meetings with students and their parents. As we are dealing with children, we have a responsibility to be firm, fair and considered.
“We are also mindful that as a school we are tasked with equipping our young people with the skills and tools to help them develop positive relationships and have constructive interactions with others – this is important from both an individual and long-term societal perspective.”
For privacy reasons, Woollaston said many actions in response to incidents needed to be confidential.
“We acknowledge that this lack of visibility may lead some to think there are limited consequences.
“With my full knowledge of what happens ‘behind-the-scenes’, I am very confident that our school takes appropriate, strong and fair actions. I am also confident that the principal and her team work very hard to address concerns and issues at an early level before behaviours escalate.”
Woollaston said the school remained committed to discussing parent concerns to achieve a positive outcome for their child and family.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
