Letters
26th of May 2009, 4:09pm
From: Angel Garden
Subject: meeting
Date: 26 May 2009 4:09:05 pm GMT+12:00
To: Mark Thornton
Dear Mark
I got your email this morning, and was about to send you this, so here it is.
.............................................................
Monday 24th May
Dear Mark
I'm writing to update you on the long list of infringements of personal safety that i know of in the class 3/4 group.
Since our meeting with Susanne and Mrs Cunningham the week before last, where we were again reassured that the matter is in hand, I was asked to come and see Susanne as first point of call in all cases of concern. Since then there was an incident where [...] tried to pull [R] from the monkey bars by both feet, which he had also done to [...] the week before, resulting in [...] hitting her head on a post as she fell flat on her back, having no way to support herself. This incident resulted in him having to 'apologise without smirking'. And although the day he did it to [R], his movements about the school were curtailed, he did not apparently stay within the allotted area. When I rang Susanne, she was not keen to discuss it, and suggested that I should bring it up in the class meeting which was the next day, because it should "all come out in the open", an invitation which, on reflection, I declined.
I have last week received answer to my email from [an ex-parent] regarding my disappointment and sadness at her having to take [...] out of school. To my utter horror and astonishment, she has sent me many links and resources which, although they will be helpful in my research into the subject, also highlight what she has herself told me, for example in this sentence
"Whilst my decision has been to remove [...] I wish you the very best with this. It is not something that can be easily dealt with, as I know from the months and years I have put into this issue."
A very disturbing picture is emerging of parents having been trying in isolation to address this issue, obviously for a very long time. And yet you told Steve in effect that no-one else has ever complained like this. Certainly we have never been informed, during any discussion that others were having the same struggle. This may account for the long-running reputation of the school as being a place of bullying, as we hear over and over again. It does also make us wonder what other information or facts are being withheld.
A cursory glance through the links [the ex-parent] sent, brought me to this from the Worksafe at Schools programme on the Ministry web-site:-
Action Guide 7: Injury and Incident Reporting
Introduction
An injury can be defined as a situation where harm has occurred. An incident can be defined as a situation where harm might have occurred (a near miss). The school is required to have a system to record, report, notify and investigate when an injury/incident occurs. This system enables schools to identify injury/incident trends and develop injury prevention strategies.
Schools also need to:
Ensure that each staff member has responsibility for injuries and incident reporting
Ensure that there is appropriate training for staff on the legal responsibilities concerning injury/incident reporting and training for appropriate staff on injury/incident investigation/reporting
Today on the school outing, apparently the children were made to sit alternating boy/girl in one of the vehicles, and on the way back [R] was next to [...] who had thrown a stone at her during the trip! She did tell about this and so adults were aware of the situation. Also on the trip, [...] was whipping her with a piece of flax, which was taken off him. He then was thrashing about with an old branch, narrowly missing [...]'s head. [...], meanwhile, was poking people with a really sharp object. [...]’s netball trophy got broken in her bag and her distress at this was mocked by [...] who was singing a song about her crying sounding like choking. Apparently also [...] is teased about being too thin, whereas [...] has in the past been teased about being too fat. No wonder [R] told me, before the outing last week to Aratake, that it didn't feel safe to be a girl at school as [...] had ridiculed any and every suggestion as to how she could do her hair up.
Obviously whatever procedures have been being put in place are not accomplishing much.
It is also doubtful whether any of this has been recorded. That is why I am recording these incidents here and will continue to do so until this matter is properly addressed.
I am sure by now that you are aware that we have written to the Trustees about this situation. As you are also probably aware, this is a formality required as the last step before handing the problem over the the Ministry of Education. Indeed it was the Ministry itself who informed us that this was the proper way to proceed.
We have not disclosed the identity of the school yet, but feel that it is the only proper way to proceed in a situation where it appears that there is a belief that somehow boys naturally exhibit tendencies which can result in others getting hurt, and that if they get hurt less, then that is good enough, but that it would be unreasonable to expect it to actually stop.
I refer you to the following report by the Human Rights Commission which was published about New Zealand schools in March of this year after an investigation.
http://www.hrc.co.nz/home/hrc/newsandissues/humanrightsapproachessentialforsaferschools.php
This report endorses the view we hold that such biases towards unruly, bullying and harassing behaviour is a countrywide problem and that the victims of it are not being properly represented. Also that parents who complain about it also get bullied by schools unwilling to put proper transparent procedures into place.
We received a letter today from the Trust, who have asked for a further delay, to enable them to mediate between us as parents who are highly concerned and the College, who appear to be against a Zero Tolerance approach. So far, any involvement, or the offer of skills sharing from qualified members of the school community, has been dismissed by the College, who appear to feel that they really do know better than everyone else, in spite of the many successful programmes that have been tested in other school communities.
Although we appreciate that Heather is away this week, to ask for a delay does present a dilemma. There is no evidence that Management or the College are prepared to re-think their position both on zero tolerance and on transparency and indeed the tenor of response always seems to be that both are undesirable. Meanwhile certain children continue to harass and bully others, with relative impunity.
So while we appreciate the import and implications of the action of informing the Ministry and the necessity to safeguard the Anthroposophical base of school life, which they may very well not understand...we cannot see how any further delay will benefit the children who are being harassed and bullied, and feel that it is a moral duty to take actions which will result in their protection. We are incredulous that no-one appears to have done this before.
Therefore, although we are of course prepared to meet and talk with any and all members of Management and College, unless you can present us immediately with compelling reasons not to take this further step, we sadly feel that it is the only sensible way forward.
Meanwhile I will continue to keep a record of incidents at the school on a daily basis., and submit it to management regularly.
sincerely
angel and steve