A mother has claimed that her autistic son was attacked by school bullies and needs surgery to mend his injuries. Kate Dale says that her 12-year-old son needs and operation or will be left with a dislocated and fractured shoulder after the "horrendous" attack.
A pupil was allegedly suspended for two days after the incident at Ysgol Botwnnog in Gwynedd. Ms Dale's son has given a statement to the police about the incident which resulted in the injuries. The mother says she has since been contacted by other concerned parents after allegations of bullying at the school.
Ms Dale is calling for extra safety measures - including installing CCTV cameras - to be implemented at the school. She told North Wales Live: “I’m hoping other parents will come forward about their concerns so we can get this sorted before something really bad happens there. I strongly feel the school has handled this very poorly, and has not been taking it seriously. I won’t stop until improvements are put in place.”
A local councillor has written to a school governor pressing for action amid concerns the boy’s injuries were “more like physical abuse than bullying”.
It is alleged that the incident occurred at lunchtime on September 21. Ms Dale says that her son, who has now turned 13, has been subjected to regular taunts by a pupil because of his autism. “The bully had been calling him a weirdo and other awful names, spreading rumors about him and invading his personal space constantly,” she said.
Matters came to a head when, tired of telling the bully to go away, the boy pushed him into a hedge. According to Kate, the bully then kicked him and ran away to fetch another, older pupil.
She alleges the older pupil pushed her son to the ground, headbutted him and repeatedly punched him in the face. It is claimed the boy’s shoulder was dislocated when his alleged assailant climbed on top of him.
The full extent of his injuries wasn’t identified following a trip to the school nurse, Kate claimed. His arm was put in a sling and his father collected him from school. His arm was still in a sling when he returned to school two weeks later.
“My son has been in agony, it's horrendous,” said Kate. “We’ve had many visits to hospital and we need to decide whether to operate or not. If he has surgery, the end of a bone needs cutting off and tied around another bone to put it back in place.
“The operation is not without risk. But if we don’t operate he will always have a deformity of the shoulder and this could cause problems in the future. We still have many visits to the hospital left.”
Ms Dale says she is unhappy with the way the school handled disciplinary proceedings, and with its pastoral care after her son’s return. Now her case has been taken up by John Brynmor Hughes, a Gwynedd councillor who represents the Abersoch and Llanengan ward. He approached a fellow councillor and governor asking for bullying claims to be addressed by the school’s board of governors.
“It seems as if the school is in denial about the level of bullying going on,” he said. “It’s been happening since my daughter was there and she’s now aged 32.
“When this incident happened, I was very distressed to see the extent of the boy’s injuries. It was more than just bullying, it was like physical abuse.”
When approached by North Wales Live the school deferred inquiries to Gwynedd Council. A council spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, we would note that the happiness and well-being of every pupil is of primary importance to all Gwynedd schools and to the Local Education Authority.
“All allegations of bullying, harassment and violence are taken very seriously. With this in mind, we follow clear guidelines if reports of unacceptable behaviour are made. In such circumstances, the following steps will be taken:
- The school will engage in discussions with the young people involved and their families;
- If needed, the police, school governors, and social services will be made aware of such incidents;
- If necessary, an independent investigation will be undertaken to check that matters were dealt with appropriately.
“We would urge any pupil who is the victim of bullying, or their parents, to let their school know. Equally, we would urge other young people who witness unacceptable behaviour to report the matter to their teachers or another member of school staff.”
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