Cyberbullying - school won't take action

[Epwell]

My dd was subjected to a vicious torrent of bullying on instagram by children who attend her school over half term. They referred to things that had happened at school. The school is refusing to take any action because the instagram exchange didn't occur during term time. Is this reasonable? It's a private school, does this make any difference?

No, it's not reasonable. A cyber-bullying incident at the private school my child attends has been taken very seriously despite occurring at the weekend. Cyberbullying is rarely going to be during school time as that isn't when people are online. If it's between pupils at the school, I think it's 100% reasonable for you to expect the school to act. Private schools are still responsible for children's welfare and for safeguarding.

What could the school have done to prevent this? Nothing - it didn't happen under their watch. It happened under their parents' watch.

Get the police involved.

Should they be addressing the issue after the fact? Probably, possibly. Can they sanction kids for things that happen outside school? Grey area and depends on what exactly happened (did it bring the school into disrepute? Is it a criminal/civil offence?) Is the issue continuing?