Bullying at local school Post Reply

[mummy101]

Dear all,

I am a frequent user on this lovely forum, but because of the nature of this topic decided to set up a new account.

Anyway, I really wanted to see if there are any other parents out there that have children at Honeywell school experiencing any form of bullying. It has been going on for a while, at first we decided not to take any action in the hope that it is not an ongoing issue, but seeing our child feeling like that and hoping we move them to a new school is just heart breaking ..

I just wanted to find out if any one else has experienced this and if so, was it taken seriously by the school?

Many thanks for your help.

[SW12Pops]

How horrible for you.

Not at Honeywell but I've been through it elsewhere.

It's taken REALLY seriously by the school - they'll be very very sensitive to any bullying issues.

Face it head on and get them involved - really needs fixing asap.

 

[Alchemy]

Haven’t experienced any bullying at Honeywell (Infants), although my children are relatively young.

Which year is this happening in? What kind of bullying is it, physical or verbal?

And yes, the school will take it very seriously, so address it ASAP. Good luck!

[Star]

Definitely talk to the school. It is serious and damaging to a young child's confidence and they will take it seriously
Don't do what I did and speak to the parents because some just refuse to accept their child can be horrible ( it was happening ing in my daughter's friendship circle), will try and even blame your child and then gossip about you.
My child is doing really well now has a wider range of friends, excelling at school and looks forward to it every day and I'm glad I acknowledged and did something about it. This time last year she was very sad and her confidence needlessly shattered.
Best wishes X

[mum_1980]

Best thing to do is talk to the teacher and the head. Honeywell will take this very seriously and I am positive will take action to stop it. It is a lovely school and bullying won't be tolerated. It is heartbreaking and your child should not feel like the only option is leaving. Sorry to hear you are going through this.

[abfab]

I'm so sorry to hear this.  The school has great pastoral care, so they will act, but in you absolutely must bring it to their attention.  In my experience, because of the size of the school you may well hear about it at home some time before the teachers notice it, e.g. if it is happening in the busy playground at break time or out of sight.  But if it is brought to their attention they will take action.  Good luck!

[Honeywell Schools]

We are concerned to hear that your child is unhappy at Honeywell.The school takes all reports of bullying very seriously and we will act immediately to ensure that any child is safe and happy at school. Please contact the school as soon as possible so we can discuss this matter and take action to support your child.

[Balance]

Wow, so good to see Honeywell step in like that.  My daughter has endured two very prolonged episodes of bullying at primary schools in Streatham, the first where she was sexually assaulted aged 6 in a series of gender based attacks that both staff and kids took part in.  Despite talking to staff, headteacher and governors they all victim blamed til we moved school.  One year later at the new school we ended up being the focus of a Muslim family whos child consistently bullied our child and became worse when we approached the parents.  The school consistently backed the bullying family's 'perceptions' over witness testimony and CCTV evidence.  My experience is that a child that bullies normally comes from parents/culture that bullies and often the school will side with the bullies as it is less work for the school or risky for them if they simply get the victim to leave.  This is what has made bullying such an epidemic in schools at the moment.  My daughter moved to her secondary school and two days into the new term, one of her friends was deliberately knocked off their bicycle by the father of another child who had had a playground tussle with the first child.  Bullying parents and headteachers unwillingness to take them on is a massive problem.  Currently 1 in 3 girls endures sexual assault on school property and 2 in 3 subject to misogynist hate speech.  I suspect the issues with disability, homophobia and all the usual suspects are possibly the same.   

[janee]

Balance: if you are quoting from "Sexual harassment and sexual violence in school", please make it clear that your figures to a You Gov poll of 16-18 year olds.  https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/c ... 1/9104.htm

This is not to condone sexual assaults of any form but also not to exaggerate the size of the problem.  

As has been said, schools will act if they have the information to be able to deal with the problem.  I should add that I also had the misfortune of having to deal with a false accusation - but that was at secondary level, not primary.

[DOMESTICGODDESS]

Sadly I didn't get as good a response from Honeywell when my kids were there.  And in the end I got sent to coventry myself for having said anything to the school.  Moved my kids out in the end.

[Needcoffeenow]

You definitely need to start with the teacher and also ask straight away for the school to clarify their policy re bullying so you know what is supposed to happen.