Bullying and mediation

[impty]

Ok, I'll try and be brief.

Dd2 is in yr 7 at school and being bullied by girls in her tutor group. They were at primary together. One has form for this - the others are mostly just backing her up. Dd2 has bottled this up for weeks and weeks. She's been shouted at, sworn at laughed at ridiculed etc etc. mostly because she's tried to make new friends at Secondary.

She faked an illness and got the school to send her home last week. It took a whole day for me to wrangle out of her the problem. I contacted her head of Year who said she would deal with it today.

Today I get a reply saying its just friends falling out and she wants them to have a mediation ASAP and sort it out.

Dd2 isn't really friends with them, and never has been! She just wants them to leave her alone. I have refused a mediation session, I would like them to treat it as bullying, which has a different process.

Bearing in mind I know these girls better than the new school. AIBU?

No, you are not being unreasonable. They are not friends of you dd, ergo it's not friends falling out but bullying. Send a letter detailing how you feel, how your dd feels and how long this has gone on for, including at Primary School. Explain that you wish for it to be treated as bullying.
Good Luck.

Yes I think YABU in a way.

As much as you've no reason to doubt your DD's version of events, you have to remember you've only heard one side of the story.

I would have gone for mediation first and then if it got her nowhere, make sure the school did something else until it stops.

yanbu but you do need to work with the school to get this sorted out. I think you need to make an appointment to see the head teacher to hear their side.

I have my version from dd2 + a knowledge of the girls past behaviour.

Mediation for them all to have a chat about it when my dd is terrified seems like a very odd idea to me!

am working with the school...just feel like the first response was to play it down...

But past behaviour with kids is quite often just that - 'past'.

I'm not saying it is in this case because no-one here witnessed it but what I do think is you should ask to go along with her to the meeting...and hear both sides.