Ministry of Education supports Coromandel school after toilet block assault
The Ministry of Education is backing a Coromandel school after a bullying incident left a student in a leg cast. Photo / Google Maps
The Ministry of Education has backed a Coromandel school’s handling of a violent incident that left a teen student with a broken leg.
On April 30, a student at Mercury Bay Area School was allegedly assaulted by two boys in a toilet block at lunchtime as other students watched.
The unprovoked attack left the 14-year-old boy with a spiral fracture in his leg, forcing him to take five weeks off school to recover.
Director of education for Waikato, Marcus Freke, told the Herald the ministry was aware of the incident and had been in contact with the school.
“Based on our engagement, we understand the school acted promptly in line with its established policies and procedures to address the situation.”
Freke said disciplinary decisions related to the incident were the “responsibility” of Mercury Bay Area and its board.
“The ministry expects all schools to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of students and to respond appropriately to incidents. We remain available to support the school if needed.”
Police confirmed they made inquiries into the attack and referred the file to Youth Aid, with a youth process to be undertaken in relation to two boys.
The victim’s mother told Stuff on Thursday she was “absolutely furious” about the incident, which she said had left the teenager “very anxious and nervous and worried”.
She said one of the boys had admitted to targeting her son’s leg as they punched, kicked and stomped on him.
“Another boy who was involved said, ‘You get him and I’ll video it’, but we haven’t found any video evidence.”
The mother said her older child had also been assaulted during their time at the local school.
“I’ve got a 19-year-old who was beaten outside the Māori room when she was 15. There’s definitely a history.”
She was concerned to have not been involved in the school’s disciplinary process against the bullies, with one of the boys briefly attending school again after the attack.
School principal Ross Dunn told the Herald the implication it is doing nothing about the incident is “simply not correct”.
“Following the incident in the toilet block, we took immediate steps to increase supervision in that area and have been reviewing both our procedures and physical environments to see where improvements can be made,” he said.
“Whenever there are allegations of assault, bullying or intimidation, they are immediately and thoroughly investigated and addressed through our school processes.”
He said schools were barred from discussing individual students, disciplinary action or support plans by the Privacy Act.
“That can sometimes create the impression that no action has been taken when, in fact, significant work is happening behind the scenes.”
Dunn said the school’s focus would continue to be on providing a safe environment forrangatahi.
“We will continue to work closely with students, staff and whānau to address concerns and support the wellbeing of everyone in our school community.”