The Otago Daily Times has been contacted by four parents of Cromwell College pupils in the last week about alleged bullying and assaults by fellow pupils.
The fourth parent contacted the Otago Daily Times yesterday, about alleged ongoing bullying and assaults of her child on school grounds.
One of the other incidents of alleged bullying of a pupil was allegedly on school grounds, and the other two incidents, of alleged assaults, happened off school grounds.
Mr Stretch said he was unable to share information about individual pupils because of privacy issues, but said the school took "every incident of bullying behaviour that is reported to staff very seriously" and the school’s discipline and restorative processes were used to address concerns.
Mr Stretch and school board of trustees chairman Greg Wilkinson provided a joint statement yesterday that said they believed the public was being misled by factually incorrect statements about alleged assaults in Cromwell.
Two of the alleged assaults happened outside school time and not on school grounds, "yet the inference is that bullying is a major issue at our school. We are very concerned and disappointed that these events have happened in our community.
Both incidents have been followed up by local police and we support the stance they have taken".
Mr Stretch had previously said he had consulted the New Zealand Schools Trustees Association but had been informed the school had no authority to use school disciplinary procedures when incidents happened outside school hours and off school grounds.
Mr Stretch and Mr Wilkinson said bullying was "an understandably emotive issue for parents" but the college wanted to "reassure everyone" that statements regarding the college having a culture of bullying were "simply not true. Furthermore, the comments are upsetting for staff and students.
There are clear processes in place to support students when they experience bullying-type behaviour and our staff take these sorts of issues very seriously".
"The community should know we have over 430 fantastic students striving to achieve their goals and are supported by hard working staff determined to see those students succeed.
However, like all schools, sometimes young people make poor decisions that can cause significant harm.
When that happens our school uses all the resources available to address the issue and works hard to try and put things right and repair the harm for all concerned."
The fourth parent to contact the ODT about alleged assaults and bullying said her daughter was repeatedly bullied and allegedly assaulted twice on school grounds this year, once allegedly being pushed from a seat on to the ground where she hit her head, and another time when she was punched in the head about 10 times, initially from behind and then while on the ground.
Both assaults were allegedly committed by the same pupil, who had now left Cromwell College, the parent said.
Both incidents were reported to police.
The parent said she took her daughter out of Cromwell College because of the incidents as she felt the school did not handle bullying incidents well and parents felt fobbed off.
The other parents that have contacted the ODT have also said they were concerned Cromwell College was not handling bullying incidents well.
The two alleged assaults off school grounds were both filmed by other pupils and shared online, and both reported to police.
Those parents also thought that police had not handled the incidents well and that things had been "left hanging".
The other incident that was alleged to have happened on school grounds was ongoing harassment and bullying of a pupil.
The mother said she removed her son from the school because of the issue. She did not report her concerns to police.
A police spokesman said "in order to protect the identities of the young people involved, it is not appropriate to comment on specific individuals. They have a right to privacy".
Police worked with all schools to prevent bullying, and said any reports of bullying should be shared and reported.
Where necessary and following an investigation, those involved would be referred to youth aid, and police would continue to work with other agencies, the school and the families of those affected.
pam.jones@odt.co.nz
