A parent of a pupil at John Cabot Academy in Kingswood claims that the school is turning a blind eye to an 18-month campaign of physical bullying that he alleges recently resulted in him having to take his son to A&E with a concussion after his “head was smashed into a steel column”.
This is the second time this year that a parent has come forward to Bristol Live to complain about the school's lack of safeguarding after violent bullying incidents, but JCA maintains that it has “a strong anti-bullying culture”. Prior to publication, we put these new allegations to the School who said, "The safety and welfare of all students is our highest priority."
James Digweed-Brown told Bristol Live that bullies initially began targeting his son because he’s smaller than most of those in his year group and has visible scars and hearing loss as a result of being diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma when he was two years old. Mr Digweed-Brown said that the physical abuse and bullying began around the time his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He claims, “A group of boys in his year would target him and say unpleasant things about his medical history. They would say unpleasant things about his mum.
Read More: Autistic boy 'attacked with plastic knife' in horrific bullying ordeal at Bristol school
“It’s been pretty intensely violent. He’s been held down on the ground and repeatedly punched in the face. He’s had his head slammed into pillars. It’s fundamentally changed him as a person. We tried to go through all the school's procedures and channels, but because it was a group of boys who had cottoned on to the way the school deals with these issues, they would rotate who it was that would attack him so that no one individual was caught repeatedly.”
Mr Digweed-Brown believes that because the abuse against his son has been perpetrated by a group of pupils, those responsible can evade JCA's restorative anti-bullying policy, which focuses on the number of incidents committed by an individual before any escalation to disciplinary proceedings. He claims that the school has offered little in the way of protection or support to his son and has refused to grant him and his wife a meeting with the Academy Council.
John Cabot Academy's anti-bullying policy states that the school will always respond initially to bullying incidents through a “restorative approach”. It says that research shows this can encourage the reporting of incidents by reducing the victims’ anxieties about repercussions and educating the perpetrators.
In its policy, JCA states that “in cases of repeat bullying incidences, the response is escalated accordingly”, with individuals proceeding through four stages of increasing sanctions depending on the number of incidents that have been recorded. After the fourth incident, a perpetrator will be at risk of losing their place at the school.
Mr Digweed-Brown believes these measures are “not fit for purpose” and claims that the attacks against his son were initially not appropriately flagged. The headteacher of John Cabot Academy disputes Mr Digweed-Brown's criticism of the school's policy and said in a statement: "Where incidents do occur, they are thoroughly investigated and sanctioned appropriately within our behaviour and anti-bullying policies.
"Where bullying occurs, either by individuals or groups, we understand the need to both educate and address those involved, as well as support the other students; we always listen to and proactively communicate with all the families involved."
For a time, Mr Digweed-Brown says that he took his son out of school and alleges that measures taken to protect him by the school were limited to removing him from certain classes and having him leave early to avoid the boys who were targeting him. He said: “They didn’t suggest anything to actually deal with the problem, just changing my son’s schedule. Marking him out even more as being different was their way of dealing with it.”
Mr Digweed-Brown explained that he’s reluctant to permanently take his son out of the school as he’s preparing for exams. He said, “I think the school knows we don’t have the option of taking him out because we don’t want his education to suffer."
After making a formal complaint, Mr Digweed-Brown says that he requested a formal meeting with the school board of governors, which he claims was declined.
Instead, Mr Digweed-Brown said that the school set up an independent review, chaired by a staff member at JCA, which found that the school was not at fault in its handling of the matter. Mr Digweed-Brown said that he was very keen to be included but claims that, despite being asked about it initially, was not contacted to take part.
Mr Digweed-Brown said that after the incident that led to him taking his son to the hospital, the child responsible was eventually excluded. However, he alleges that shortly after that, that decision was overturned by the Academy Council.
The family has launched a second formal complaint procedure against the school, but Mr Digweed-Brown says he is still being refused a meeting with the Academy Council, leaving them unsure of where to turn. “It’s a nightmare," he added.
Mr Digweed-Brown hopes that coming forward may help other parents in the same situation who maybe also feel similarly alone. He said, “It’s a real strain on the family - we’re trying to hold ourselves together. This [speaking to Bristol Live] is very much a last resort; we don’t feel we have any choice left. It’s really had such an effect on his personality. It’s horrible what he’s been through. You just feel so powerless as a parent.
"We never ever wanted to end up where we are now, but we [feel] forced into this situation by a lack of action of any kind. We wanted to work with the school from the beginning, but they just put up as many roadblocks as possible in the hope that parents give up and hopefully everything will just fix itself."
“It’s become really difficult to fight it. I’ve got to the point where I’ve used so many holiday days now that I don’t even have any left to attend any meetings. Everything seems stacked against the victim in these instances.”
In May 2022, another parent told Bristol Live that her 12-year-old autistic son faced horrific bullying at JCA, which saw his "head kicked in" and body bruised. Sarah* claimed that the school had "done nothing" to help her son. However, JCA again argued that it has a "strong anti-bullying culture" and supports its students.
Sarah alleged that her son, who has ADHD, was bullied within days of starting at the school in Year 7, coming to a head when he was attacked with a plastic knife at lunchtime before being pushed into a metal fence.
The bullying severely affected her son's mental health to the point where he "won't be in a room without the curtains closed." Similar to Mr Digweed-Brown's claims, Sarah also claimed that the school advised her son to come to school late and leave early to avoid the bullying but that the perpetrators were allowed back into school as normal.
In response to Mr Digweed-Brown's allegations, JCA claimed, “The safety and welfare of all students is our highest priority. JCA strives to meet the needs of all our students within a supportive and compassionate culture. We have respectful and trusting relationships. Where incidents do occur, they are thoroughly investigated and sanctioned appropriately within our behaviour and anti-bullying policies.
"Where bullying occurs, either by individuals or groups, we understand the need to both educate and address those involved, as well as support the other students; we always listen to and proactively communicate with all the families involved. In all cases, including this case, we act promptly and work closely with all families involved to ensure they are fully informed. Most importantly, students feel safe and well-supported at our Academy. We have achieved the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s United Against Bullying award. "
*Sarah: Not her real name
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