Members of Concerned Parents and Community (CPC), an organisation founded by parents of children at Alpine Primary in Beacon Valley, have raised concerns over alleged ongoing bullying at the school.
Ismail Kamaldien of CPC said the organisation has made several attempts to have the issue resolved, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“We have a problem with the leadership of Alpine Primary over bullying that happens at the school every day. We have been struggling for almost four months to have this issue resolved. Grade 7 learners are bullying children in Grades 2 to 4.
“We have approached the principal on several occasions. There was an incident on September 13 in which a child was bullied and the principal said it was ‘petty’.
“When we approach the principal and her leadership, they always intimidate the parents by meeting with only one parent, without the other spouse, and no other representatives,” Mr Kamaldien said.
He said the organisation also escalated the matter to the Metro South education district office.
“Earlier this month, we met with Mr Boonzaaier, a director and Ms Isaacs, the new circuit manager, they listened to us. We were advised by Ms Isaacs, that if we report it (bullying) to the principal, she does not need to give us feedback,“ Mr Kamaldien said.
Bernadette Williams, founder of CPC, said the organisation and its members have lost all confidence in the school’s leadership.
“We don’t want to run the school, all we want is for the management of Alpine Primary to be removed because they don’t care about what’s happening to our children,” she said.
Joy Hendricks is the primary caregiver of her grandson who is in Grade 6 at Alpine Primary. She said her grandson was bullied by other pupils at the school when he was in a previous grade. The family removed him from the school and enrolled him in Beacon View Primary.
“He was bullied previously at Alpine Primary but I wasn’t his primary caregiver then. I tried to get him out of the school and he went to Beacon View. I got custody of him last year July and transferred him back to Alpine Primary in February this year.
“The bullying started just before the end of the previous school term. They apparently knocked his head against a wall, and kicked him off the stairs. Nothing has been done about it. On Wednesday October 16, he was bullied again. Apparently, it is a whole gang of Grade 7 learners who say that they are Americans,” she said.
Ms Hendricks, who was visibly stressed over the matter during the interview, said her grandson is continuously feeling miserable due to the ongoing bullying.
The Plainsman also interviewed three other parents who all raised concerns of ongoing bullying suffered by their children.
Bronagh Hammond, spokesperson for the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), said the department has launched an investigation into incidents of bullying at Alpine Primary, following an email from a parent on Friday October 18.
“On the individual case, contact was made with the parent and counselling interventions arranged. The WCED is engaging with the school on this specific case.
“The WCED had also engaged with a separate group of parents on 11 October at the Metro South education district offices. They raised issues relating to the management of bullying at the school.
“The district officials met with the principal on 16 October to address the issues and requested that the school submit a management plan for bullying.
“The WCED psychologist visited the school on October 17 to counsel on bullying matters. The social worker is scheduled to revisit on October 28 for counselling on bullying matters.
“There is an Abuse no More protocol workshop arranged for the staff on October 28 to 29,” Ms Hammond said.
Asked about what actions the Alpine Primary principal took to resolve the bullying incidents at school and communicate the outcomes of interventions to parents, Ms Hammond added these matters are also being investigated.
Meanwhile, Ms Hammond has advised parents of children who are being bullied at school to report such incidents.
“They should take the matter to the school management. If not satisfied with how the matter is being handled, they must contact the district office. Bullying is first managed by the school in terms of their code of conduct. The WCED will provide additional counselling and psychological support when required.
“Schools must follow the procedures as outlined in the Abuse no More protocol. There are different scenarios for different levels of violence, bullying and abuse,“ Ms Hammond said.
The WCED said from January to September, WCED Safe Schools received 28 cases of alleged bullying at schools in the Metro South education districts.
