We have been prompted to post by a series of texts with a parent from the school, who has obviously, now that some time has gone by, time in which we were not visible, have not posted etc., accepted that it was necessary to throw out our children and that we brought that situation upon ourselves.  

As this individual is the best qualified person in the whole school to understand the realities of bullying, institutional or otherwise, we can safely assume that the propaganda job inside the school has done its work well.

Unfortunately the discipline at school does not seem to be working so well, with a certain person smashing another boy in the face with a hockey bat the other week, but hey, that’s just boisterousness right?

It is really hard to understand the reality that the school was able to throw out our kids (and yours too possibly one day) because it is a private, non-integrated (PNI) school, and for no other reason.  For a explanation of what that means please look here.

We have conducted a lot of research into this subject and are now in a position to expand the enquiry not just to how the school behaved but into what loopholes in which laws are allowing such a serious breach of child protection to occur, here in New Zealand.

Given the collective offence taken by the parent ‘community’ at the suggestion that it was due to parental consensus that the school was able to visit this awful ‘punishment’ on our daughter for having the temerity to object to being thumped, kicked, pushed etc., all day everyday, we now believe that many of the parents simply do not know that these things have effectively been done in their names, simply because they did not stand up firmly and say ‘no’.

These problems have arisen entirely due to the private, non-integrated status of the school which basically means that it is not obliged to conform to standards accepted as normal in any other school, but operates on a loose idea of consensus, which is the justification for any actions, no matter how immoral, that the parents allow them to get away with.  But if the parents don’t know that, they will not stand up, so it’s basically carte blanche, and a win win situation for those who like bullying.

Even Desmond Burdon, a trustee, told us that the school is a Mickey Mouse operation.  But that makes it sound cuddly whereas in reality it is a far more menacing entity.

Consequently, we understand that the loophole in the law that allows an institution to call itself a ‘school’ without adhering to any of the normal protections for children that prospective parents would ordinarily assume to be inherent in that word is a massive part of the problem.  We are turning our attention to this now, because in the long run it is the best and really the only way to solve the problem for good.

The first thing that is necessary is that all parents at PNI “schools” should be informed verbally and in writing about the legal status of the school and their children’s lack of rights there, rights that are enjoyed universally outside this small enclave of PNI operations.

Parents need to be asked to sign a disclaimer upon enrolling so that there is absolute clarity.  Then, should such a situation arise where the school takes violent action against a family, the parent community will understand that should they fail to stand up for that family, they are agreeing with the treatment, and the family concerned will understand too that this is the natural consequence of disagreeing with something in an institution which is, in some very real ways, above the law.

People must understand that normal democratic principles do not necessarily operate in a PNI ‘school’, and they can adjust their behaviour accordingly.

That is the first thing.  Ultimately, we do not believe that an organisation for children between the ages of 5 and 16 should be able to call itself a ‘school’ unless it does willingly opt in to all the mechanisms for the protection of children that have been evolving in this complex and often violent world we all live in.

We will be following up these discoveries, with further action in the near future.  Please contact us for more information, or to become involved.