Watchdog: Bullied kids' parents left in dark

Rosslyn Noonan of the Human Rights Commission. Photo / Supplied

Schools do not have to tell parents if their child has been a victim of bullying - something the Human Rights Commission wants changed.

Chief Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan has criticised the idea that Ministry of Education guidelines indicate schools are not required to pass such information on to parents.

But a school is required to notify the parents of the bullies.

In an article by Ms Noonan in today's Herald, she says the commission has received many complaints from parents of bullying victims.

In several cases parents said the situation was even more disheartening given that their child's school had failed to let them know of the situation.

"The commission's analysis of school bullying revealed a fundamental gap in natural justice," she said.

"Schools are required to inform the parents of a student who is suspended or stood down; but there is no equivalent guidance to say that the victim's parents should be notified or even heard when a board of trustees is considering how to discipline a student who has been a bully.

"Without the right to be heard, the students who have faced harassment, violence and abuse are victimised again, this time by the process."

The commission made several recommendations to the ministry that the rights of victims and their parents be included in guidelines for schools.

But those recommendations were not included in the revised guidelines, released in February last year.

Jeremy Wood of the ministry put the issue down to the principal, saying the Education Act required principals to take all reasonable steps to ensure a student's parents were told of matters believed to be harming a student's relationship with others.

"The ministry would expect principals to notify the parents of students who have been bullied by another student - particularly where the incident was serious enough to result in the suspension of the [bully]."