Parents of bullied kids could sue schools: adviser

Schools act in loco parentis - in place of the parents. Photo / Getty Images

Parents may be able to sue schools that fail to act when their children are bullied, a top public official says.

Dr Janis Carroll-Lind, principal adviser to Children's Commissioner John Angus, told a forum on bullying in Auckland yesterday that schools had both a "duty of care" to their children and a "fiduciary obligation" similar to a doctor-patient relationship.

"It is possible that when schools have been found to breach their duty of care there is the potential to go through the courts with this," she said.

A recent case in Australia awarded compensation to parents whose daughter was tormented by bullies from the age of 8, forcing the parents to move her into an expensive private school.

"So we can, if doctors, school counsellors, psychologists or people working with young people can prove that a student's mental health is being impacted on because of bullying, there is the potential to maybe take that to court," she said.

A report posted on the Children's Commissioner's website last week, Responsive Schools, said the "duty of care" arose because schools acted in loco parentis - in place of the parents.

"The court could find that a teacher, in addition to the board of trustees, owes a duty of care to students who are bullied; the consequence being that a student could have a claim against three parties - the board of trustees, the teacher and the Ministry of Education," the report said.

"Key questions would be: Was the school aware of the bullying? If so, were the appropriate steps taken to mitigate the effects and protect the bullied student from future bullying?"

Dr Carroll-Lind said schools needed much more consistent responses to bullying.

She quoted a 10-year-old boy's grandparents who complained to her office this year after their grandson was repeatedly harassed and assaulted but the school principal refused to do anything about it, saying she didn't know what to do.

"It's no use principals saying we don't have bullying in our school. Bullying we know happens in every school, despite schools' best efforts to reduce it," Dr Carroll-Lind said.

Responsive Schools suggests writing incident reports that can be used in court, then meeting the victim's parents, involving both victim and bullies with classmates in solving the problem.

"Students and families have an absolute right to be heard, and to be heard seriously, to know that those incidents will be investigated and that there will be a response," Dr Carroll-Lind said.

Schools also needed a "whole school approach" involving all students, teachers and parents.

She said schools needed a culture of "safe storytelling" using anonymous surveys, "bully boxes" where students could post stories anonymously, and numbers for students to text when bullying occurred.

Schools' Responsibilities

* National Administration Guidelines:

"Provide a safe physical and emotional environment for students."

* Health and Safety in Employment Act

Prevent hazards that may cause physical, emotional or psychological harm.

* Education (Hostels) Regulations:

Policies must protect boarders from ill treatment.

* Duty of care:

A duty of care in loco parentis "not to cause injury to students".

* Fiduciary obligation:

Duty to act "in good faith, trust and confidence".