Bullies’ attack on girl’s walker

A TOWNSVILLE mum has revealed she pulled her disabled daughter out of an embattled high school after just one term when bullies undid the bolts from her walking frame and the school allegedly did nothing to stop it.

“My daughter uses a walking frame to get around with and teachers (did) nothing to stop students taking it from her or undoing bolts on it, which could cause her major injury,” the mum said.

“The entire action I got was ‘oh well kids will be kids’ – not good enough.”

She was just one of the many parents speaking out after the Townsville Bulletin’s front page story yesterday highlighting the safety concerns of students at Thuringowa State High School.

Mum Suzanne Murphy said her son Bailey feared for his safety after being bullied, pulling him out of the school after a term.

Their stories come after a video surfaced of a student brawl, in which a teacher was injured after heroically throwing herself on top of a student to protect him from the attack.

Since then, it’s been revealed just 67 per cent of students felt safe at their school in a survey last year, a drop from 80 per cent the year before.

Another local mother, Jodie-anne Bryant, said she too removed her son from Thuringowa High after one term.

“The school has a bad reputation with bullies, my son was in the special education unit on recommendation of his primary school as it was smaller in size compared to my first choice of Kirwan High,” Ms Bryant said.

“He had a whole group wanting to bash him (and) the school’s suggestion was for him to stay in a classroom at breaks. (It’s) not good enough. I transferred him to Kirwan High and he thrived there.”

Some parents told the Townsville Bulletin that discipline was sorely needed back in the classroom.

“I look back at when I was at school and we respected our teachers,” one mum said.

“There’s hardly any more and it’s sad.

“Respect begins at home and is taught by the parents who also need to demonstrate respect through their own actions. Kids are not born this way, they are socialised to be bullies.”

The Department of Education told the Bulletin this week Thuringowa State High School would “continue to work diligently to promote safe and respectful interactions and maintain a safe learning environment for everyone in the school community”. any