The family of an Auckland girl tormented by bullies,
including one who threatened her with an axe, have received a
payout and an admission the school failed her.
The girl, who was aged 8 at the time, was bullied by boys at
the Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School.
She was kicked, punched, poked, hit and threatened.
Her parents, Steve Paris and Angel Garden, say that despite
their efforts, the school did little to protect her.
After a three-and-a-half year battle, during which the couple
took their complaint to the Human Rights Commission, they
have reached an agreement with the school including a $9000
payment and an admission of failure from management.
The couple are relieved the ordeal is over and say the
outcome sends a strong message.
Ms Garden says they felt the school needed to be held to
account for what happened, and she urges parents whose
children say they are being bullied to "stick to your guns".
"It's my legal duty to protect my children. Why have I had to
spend three and a half years just to do that?"
She said her daughter, now at another school, was still
emotionally affected.
In a statement to the family, school manager Mark Thornton
acknowledged some children in the class had displayed
bullying behaviour.
He said that the girl's claims at the time "were honest and
that her actions in reporting bullying were fully
commensurate with the school policy, which emphasises the
importance of telling both teachers and parents".
The parents said their daughter started at the Titirangi
Rudolf Steiner School in November 2008.
A younger sibling was already at the kindergarten attached to
the school and was happy.
However, their eldest daughter described being harassed by a
group of boys in her class.
She was in a mixed-aged class of 17 boys and five girls; some
of the boys were nearly two years older.
In one instance, she described being pushed from behind and
held under water by two boys, and in another she said she was
pushed down a bank.
Mr Paris said that during an outdoor activity, when pupils
were using tools to make huts, his daughter was left alone
with one of the bullies who threatened her with an axe.
"If your child's been threatened by a child with an axe,
that's when you go to the school and ask what the hell is
going on."
He and Ms Garden said that when they approached the school,
their concerns fell on deaf ears.
A scheduled meeting with staff was cancelled, and a week
after the axe incident, the couple received a letter telling
them their three daughters - the 8-year-old, the girl in the
kindergarten and another due to begin the following year -
were no longer welcome at the school.
Mr Thornton said the school regretted not going through with
the meeting to address the bullying.
The couple's continued attempts to address the bullying
"arose out of their natural and dutiful concern as parents
for the safety of their child and concern for the wellbeing
of other children in the class," he told the couple in a
statement.
The school was pleased the matter was closed,"particularly so
for the children concerned", he said.
Rudolf Steiner schools
* Schools which follow the Rudolf Steiner approach follow a
curriculum with an equal focus on art, science, nature and
morality.
* New Zealand has 10 Steiner schools and 24 kindergartens.
More than 3000 children attend them.
* Teaching in the schools follows the philosophy of its
founder, the Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner, and looks at
the "whole child".
- Abby Gillies
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