Bullying and Violence in Schools

[whataboutnowery]

What can we do about it? Is there a petition we can start that the Scottish Government will have to review? So sick and tired of the endless bullying at my sons High School in Edinburgh.

Nothing until the SNP are out. They keep flaunting their zero exclusion policies.

Even staff in early years are being assaulted by preschoolers. There's high sickness levels in my colleagues now as we're so worn down with feeling unsupported and attacked daily.

This is terrifying.Staff at my sons school don't do anything, and I know now it's because they can't. Another afternoon yesterday with a sobbing child.

That's terrible.

Contact the person in charge of education for Edinburgh. Say you'll go to the papers also. I am a teacher and that's what we've had to suggest to parents as it's the only way anything will be done.

Depending on the age of the teen, go to the police. And tell the school you're going to do so.
But if your DC is being hurt and bullied consistently, I'd consider moving them.If a school is ineffective at dealing with bullies, sometimes you're better just finding a new school.

Also, you say the schools can't do anything. They can. There are lots of schools with a zero tolerance policy towards bullying.

As long as the gentle/ zero parenting lasts, this will be the outcome.

Parents afraid to discipline their children, children who know 'their rights,' no need to respect adults just because they are older, no need to say please and thank you unless they feel like it, no need to say thank you for a gift, no need to give up a seat on a bus for an adult, parents who complain to the school at the slightest thing they perceive as wrong

I have seen all this on here. Until it changes, children will continue to behave as entitled little brats and bullying will go on.

Not all children or all parents are like this, but they make up a sizeable majority.

What have you tried with the school this far?

In my experience everything has to be recorded and all communication with the school has to be via email. Even if you have a face to face meeting tell the school staff member that you are minuting it and will ask them to sign off any actions that they have agreed to take. That way you can hold them accountable.

They really can’t.

Permanent exclusions are banned. They cannot give repeated temporary exclusions because this looks like a permanent exclusion so this is also banned. They cannot remove the bully from the victims school or class without the express permission of the bully’s parent or guardian. This is all because it is deemed best for the bully not to be removed from the school environment.

My advice is to ensure the school is formally recording these incidents as bullying. They often try to avoid doing this as it makes their stats look bad, but if you ask them to do it it gives them an incentive to ensure the bullying is not repeated. Then ask to see the formal safeguarding assessment that they have prepared to ensure your child’s welfare has been considered going forward. Demand to meet the head teacher, the head of year and the community policing link officer an ask what they are prepared to do about it.

You have to go in all guns blazing and demand action. Make them take you seriously. Contact your local MSP too - Lib Dem’s have been vocal on violence in schools prevention I think. It should not be acceptable for bullies to get away with assaulting your child on a daily basis, but what can I say? The SNP have written exclusion policies which remove all alternatives. We sadly were forced to move schools. The education department gave us pick of the councils high schools and our child is much happier now.

We have teens (and family) in schools across Scotland. And lots of teachers and HTs in our family too. Bullies are regularly suspended. There are schools with zero tolerance policies towards violence and those policies are followed. If your school doesn't address bullying and violence then move your DC. Some of us have had to do that, if a school is ineffective.
A school having poor behaviour management is on the school.

I completely agree my child is 5 and the level of bullying and violence at school is unreal. Children are regularly evacuated from classroom as the environment gets unsafe. I really don’t know what can be done

All schools have a zero tolerance policy towards bullying. The policies aren't worth the paper they are written on because schools are restricted from taking any meaningful action..

Hard agree! I’d really - REALLY- like to hear from anyone who has found any state school willing to do anything other than ‘restorative’ conversations and short term exclusion. Because a LOT of kids couldn’t care less about restorative conversations. Nothing changes. They keep beating other kids up and with the Scottish government celebrating their ‘zero permanent exclusions’ policy I can’t see that schools have any tools to use in these sorts of situations. They have to just let the child go on assaulting others. That’s my understanding. Is that right? Cause if so it’s state sponsored child abuse.

Schools for violent pupils need opened up again. Lots of these were shut down in Glasgow and other places and this has been celebrated as a good step.

Inspections must stop praising schools who have had no exclusions for X number of years.

It's sad, it really is. It depends on the HT but a lot of new Hats accept the violence and keep children in class as it looks better on them. It's quite perverse.

*HTs

from Talking to teachers, they are under pressure to down play incidents too. If they complain about violence/ disruption they are told that they have poor behaviour management skills. If a school complains they are told they have poor behaviour management processes. Rather than everyone accepting the obvious fact that for a number of kids cosy chats do not change behaviour.

Being someone who works in a professional role in a private multinational, such inability to admit such truths is bizarre.