New anti-bullying policy as one family left region after ‘horrifying’ experience

Councillor David Barratt (SNP for Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay) made the shock statement as Fife Council signed off on a new anti-bullying policy which sparked concerns from some about victim support and protection in schools.

Another councillor also revealed one case in his ward where a student with two charges of assault is still in school, and, he claimed, bullying on a daily basis.

“What do kids have to do to get expelled?” asked Councillor Peter Gulline (Conservative for Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch).

The comments came at the council’s cabinet committee meeting which was given the most recent bullying figures.

According to the latest Young People’s Health and Wellbeing Survey, 30% of students in Fife said they have been bullied at school. Education and children’s services received more than 21,600 responses from students across P5-S3 in March. Some 6480 children reported that they had been bullied at school. Indications were higher amongst primary school pupils

Cllr Barratt revealed that a family in his ward had left Fife entirely after a violent bullying attack.

“In a recent case from a school in the area I represent, someone was very violently assaulted. The parents didn’t feel like they had the support they should have had from the school leadership team or from the council,” he told the committee.

“They found shortly after the assault, the perpetrator was still right in front of them walking freely in front of the class and teachers. The system wasn’t working for them. Their choice, unfortunately, was to leave that school and to leave Fife because they didn’t see themselves as having any other option.”

After much scrutiny and debate, councillors agreed to allow the nascent anti-bullying policy to be rolled out across all schools. It will provide overarching guidelines and structure to help individual schools develop their own local policy. In the first instance of bullying, the policy states that schools should consider how to give victims back a sense of control. The next stage involves targeted intervention and the involvement of parents and carers. At the third and fisal stage, schools should provide multi-agency planning and support.

During the discussion, some Cabinet members raised concerns about victim support and protection in schools.

Councillor Peter Gulline (Conservative for Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch) discussed one case in his ward where a student with two charges of assault is still in school carrying out bullying on a daily basis.

“What do kids have to do to get expelled?” he asked. “This student is still roaming corridors after two charges of assault and still lashing out at other children.”

Shelagh McLean, head of education and children’s Services assured councillors that Fife provides wrap around support for both victims and bullies.

But she explained that education services are not allowed to expel students from school for any reason - including bullying.

“We always need to ensure that every bit of work we're doing is always leading to young people being back in school and being supported within education - both from the point of view of the perpetrators and the person suffering from bullying activity,” she said.

“We have exclusion, but we can only use that for 10 days. In that particular case, there should be a package of support around that young person. But in general, we are limited by legislation in terms of moving a young person out of a school setting.”

Cllr. Barratt believes the policy needs more work to find the right balance between support for victims and bullies.

“The perpetrators do have this ability to roam school corridors - that’s probably the wrong phrase - but the system is not working in the experience of parents who contact me,” he said. “I don’t know if the balance is right yet and I don’t know if the people and their voices are coming through in this policy. I think a bit more work is needed.”

Councillor Cara Hilton, spokesperson for education, said the policy won’t be the end-all-be-all of bullying in Fife, but she believes it is a step in the right direction.

“Getting this right is key to ending bullying and violence in our schools and ensuring all young people and teachers feel safe and supported,” she said. “We’re not going to see results overnight but this policy is a welcome step forward.”

Councillors agreed to implement the anti-bullying policy while working in the background to continue to improve it. It will be reviewed in a years’ time and the Cabinet Committee will see a progress report in six months' time.