Discussion Board: General Issues

My 9yr old daughter and her friend were playing together at lunchtime when their ball went out of school bounds. They left the school grounds down an alleyway to retrieve the ball and were approached by two older boys not from their school. My daughter has described that they were tripped up, their shorts pulled down and then had sticks thrown at them as they ran away. My daughter and her friend did not report the incident to a teacher (and she was nervous about telling me) as she was very embarrased at having her clothes pulled off and thought she would get in a lot of trouble for leaving the school grounds. I appreciate she should stay within school grounds at all times but am pretty horrified to hear what she experienced. I believe she is telling the truth and now am trying to think of the best way to handle this. I plan to phone the school tomorrow and let them know what happened, but as she does not know who the boys are and only a vague idea of their age I don't know that there is anything else I can do. She is pretty shaken up and I'd like to do what is best for her. Has anyone got any words of wisdom?

If that happened to my daughter, Id be seriously considering calling the police and/or truancy services. It worries me that older boys (Im assuming still school age) are hanging around the school - and should they not be in school themselves? And what you have described, sounds more like assault than bullying! Definately get your school to review its lunchtime monitor policy, consider having a teacher patrol near or outside of the gate for a few days to try to catch or scare off these boys. And perhaps they could talk to the kids at assembly about not leaving school grounds. Id be sitting in my car down the road from that alleyway tomorrow lunchtime too (I know that may not be possible if you work or have other commitments) just to have a look at these boys, and maybe a word with them.

That sound horrific! I'd make an appointment to see someone from the school, I'm sure they'd be concerned about that - the shorts being pulled down makes my stomach churn! Once the school knows they'll be able to run awareness campigns to keep all the kids safe and heighten their own vigilance. Well done to your daughter for telling you, though it would freak me out hearin that that had happend. Good luck with it and let us know the outcomes :o)

I talked to the school and was really impressed with how they dealt with this problem. The school obviously took my concerns seriously and are keeping a check on areas around the school where older children may loiter. A head teacher spoke to each of the girls to get an understanding of what happened and although I don't know what she said to them, my daughter has got the message that it's much more important to tell the truth than try and hide what they did wrong. She seems to understand that staying inside the school grounds is a way for the school to try and keep her safe and not some sort of punishment, and therefore I believe will stick to the rules better now. I had some advice from a friend to contact the Youth section of our local police to let them know what happened just in case their were other complaints and they can be linked together. Although she was worried when I told her I would be contacting the school etc, my daughter did get a chance to learn that there are a lot of people who care about her wellbeing.

Im so glad to hear this! I have been thinking about this all weekend, and really hoping you'd had a good response from the school. Do contact the police as well (if you havent already). Im glad that your daughter knows that so many people care for her :)

Im glad too! Kids will be kids and yes they will break the odd rule or so, but that is really serious and next time a kiddy might not be so lucky, i seriously think that if it happens again they need to have a teacher monitoring that area.

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