A mum has told how multiple instances of bullying at an Altrincham school - now singled out by inspectors as ‘requiring improvement’ - have resulted in her teenage daughter suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The pupil suffered from physical, mental and cyber bullying, but, says the mother, all the school wanted to do was ‘sweep it under the carpet’.
She has spoken out following Ofsted’s report which highlighted instances at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College where pupils call each other ‘inappropriate names’ and are too afraid to report bullying. The mother, who wants to remain anonymous to protect her daughter - now aged 15 - and who now goes to a different school, came forward after the Local Democracy Reporting Service published details of the latest Ofsted report on the college.
It was the result of the first inspection at the school since 2013, when it was deemed to be 'outstanding'. For the purposes of this report, we have named the mother Mrs Smith.
She said that the Ofsted report shows that the college had ‘failed to learn lessons’ after 19 complaints concerning the alleged bullying of her daughter were upheld by the Department of Education’s School Complaints Unit (SCU) in May 2021. In all 19 instances the SCU issued a directive for action under Section 496 of the Education Act.
In the report, seen by the LDRS, there is condemnation of the school’s behaviour policy and how it is applied. The school’s policy states: “Whilst we do not feel that bullying is a particular problem at Blessed Thomas Holford College we feel that even one case of bullying is one too many”
However, the SCU responded to that clause in its report on Mrs Smith’s complaints by saying: “While we acknowledge that the governing body may have intended the passage to reassure parents and pupils that the school represents a safe environment in which to learn, the department is concerned that is reveals an underlying, culturally-embedded skepticism towards - and rejection of - the premise that bullying takes place at the school.”
The SCU says the DfE guidance ‘Mental Health and Behaviour’ sets out that schools should be a ‘safe and affirming place for children where they can develop a sense of belonging and trust and talk openly with adults about their problems’. It goes on: “Immediately saying ‘we do not feel that bullying is a particular problem’ does little to encourage that sense that children, as was reflected in this instance, by [Mrs Smith’s daughter’s] reluctance to involve staff.”
In the report, the then headteacher who has since retired, consistently tells the SCU that Mrs Smith did not want the bullying issue to be addressed with her daughter, but she says this is not true. “I never wanted what happened to her to be concealed or covered up. What my daughter experienced was awful,” said Mrs Smith. “I wouldn’t any other child to go through what she suffered.
“But reading the findings of that Ofsted report shows they have learned nothing from what the SCU said, and I know other parents whose children are being bullied. In the case of my daughter, they just wanted to sweep it under the carpet."
Mrs Smith said her daughter was not just bullied by other pupils. “She was isolated - instead of the bullies - and shouted at by members of staff and put in the bottom set for all her subjects,” she said. Instances of bullying involved Mrs Smith’s daughter being tripped by a fellow pupil while exiting a toilet cubicle.
In another, she was pushed forcefully against a wall while leaving a classroom and was in pain for the rest of the day. The cyberbullying included images of Mrs Smith's daughter being altered in an insulting way and shared with other pupils.
Blessed Thomas was also criticised for failing to adequately investigate cyberbullying. The SCU said: “The executive headteacher told pastoral staff not to deal with any further incidents of external social media due to unreasonable expectations placed on staff.
“The department does not accept that investigating reported instances of cyberbullying via social media is an unreasonable expectation on staff. The department considers the executive headteacher’s instruction to staff, to ignore any further reported instances of cyberbullying as unreasonable.”
The SCU said that all staff have ‘a legal duty’ to act in line with statutory policies that the governing body publicises ‘including the executive headteacher’. Blessed Thomas’ Behaviour for Learning policy states: “Bullying in any form is unacceptable. Ours is a TELLING college. If bullying does occur, all pupils should be able to tell and know that incidents will be dealt with promptly and effectively.”
But the SCU said: “No evidence has been provided to suggest that staff investigated or took any action in response to [Mrs Smith’s] complaint.” The report also highlighted failures by the school to record instances of bullying or complaints of bullying on the Child Protection Online Management System (CPOMS).
A spokesperson for Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College said: “A former parent sent a complaint about bullying to the DFE in July 2019. The DFE asked us to respond to the complaint.
“While we had taken extensive actions to resolve the issue at the time, the DfE concluded in May 2021 that more could have been done, and despite our efforts to deal with the situation, our actions as a school had not been adequate.
“We accepted the findings in full and addressed each of the issues in the DFE letter. The DFE then wrote to the school in June 2021 accepting that all shortcomings had been addressed and informed us the complaint was closed.
“We continue to take all issues around bullying very seriously and have robust policies and measures in place to deal with any incidents of this nature, which was recognised in our recent Ofsted report.”
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