A MORNINGTON Peninsula father who says his 13-year-old daughter was “physically and verbally” bullied at school is encouraging parents with concerns about schools to make a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into Victoria’s state education system.
The man alleges most of the bullying incidents occurred last year at Rosebud Secondary College, and that the school’s “poor” response showed there was a culture of not taking bullying seriously and “victim blaming”.
“As a parent I don’t believe the school has fulfilled its legal responsibility to provide a safe learning environment,” he said.
The parent claims his daughter had been physically and verbally bullied at the school by male students since 2021, but after a particularly “aggressive” incident last year, a meeting with school officials had almost solely focused on his daughter’s behaviour, with “no obvious” consequences for the other students.
The man’s daughter is now being home schooled and suffers anxiety as a result of the bullying, he said.
“My daughter now has massive trauma issues and can’t be in a group situation, her social confidence has been destroyed because of the bullying and the lack of intervention from the school,” he said.
“All that money given to them for their flash wellness centre is a waste if they are not going to take bullying seriously.”
The $900,000 Rosebud Wellness Centre was completed at the school last year to much fanfare and touted as “a place of calm” for students and the community. It was developed following the suicides of two Rosebud students in 2013.
The Education Department had recently concluded its investigation into his daughter’s bullying, with findings that the school had made “multiple” efforts to support the student and provided “timely” responses to complaints and incidents.
Allegations of bullying at another Mornington Peninsula school made national headlines last week when footage emerged of racial taunts being made on school grounds.
The Education Department is investigating the incident, which shows a small group of students using the word ‘n*****’ around a student while laughing.
The footage was captured by a student witness who said they were “fed up” with bullying and racism at the school.
The student said it “isn’t the first time” racism had occurred at the school.
“Yet, the school has no consequences to those students involved,” the witness said.
A department spokesperson said racism and bullying “have no place in Victorian schools” and that schools do have strict policies in place to deal with racism and bullying.
“Where isolated incidents do occur, schools work closely with students, families and teachers to resolve issues and take strong responsive action,” the spokesperson said.
“Mornington Secondary College responds to and investigates all reported incidents of poor student behaviour promptly and with appropriate disciplinary action.”
In relation to the bullying claims at Rosebud Secondary College, a department spokesperson said Rosebud Secondary College treated incidents of bullying “very seriously” and had in place a range of strategies and resources to support the health and wellbeing of all students. Because of privacy laws, the department was unable to comment further.
The parliamentary inquiry into the state education system will look at student learning, the teaching profession, and student wellbeing.
Details of the inquiry can be found at new.parliament.vic.gov.au/stateeducationinquiry
First published in the Mornington News – 6th June 2023
