Four boys attacked my son and rubbed fox mess all over his jacket
Father tells of son’s bullying ordeal at Renfrew school
A dad claims he has been forced to pull his son out of school after teachers failed to tackle bullying.
The man, 33, revealed his lad, 10, has missed a fortnight of lessons after he was smeared in fox mess, locked in a toilet and attacked by four youngsters.
He insists staff have done nothing to stop the torment – despite regular meetings at St James’ Primary.
The boy revealed he has been targeted by bullies in and out of school.
He said: “It started off as name calling – but it’s got worse.
“I used to like school. “I’m good at maths and wanted to be a doctor. Now I’m too scared to go in. I don’t want to go back to class.”
The family say the bullying began in primary five.
It escalated when the victim – who we have chosen not to name – moved into his final year at the Renfrew school in August.
A gang has been bombarding him with abusive text messages and violent attacks in the playground and in class.
Teachers were warned he had been punched during lessons.
But the boy says nothing has been done to stop the torment .
He tried to hide the abuse from his parents.
They only found out when he came home from lessons with his jacket soaking.
The pupil admitted he had been washing mud off his jacket.
His dad told how he was shocked when the truth came out.
He said: “It all came to a head when four boys attacked my son and rubbed fox mess all over his jacket.
“He went to the bathroom to clean it when they locked him in.
“They stole his shoes and started hitting him. He’s too upset to go back to class.
“They’ve been texting him that ‘snitches get stitches’ and calling him names.
“I threatened to pull him out and send him to another school.
“The headteacher’s attitude shocked me.
“She just wished us good luck wherever we send him.”
The boy’s mum found three pairs of torn underwear hidden in his room.
He told her they had ripped when bullies grabbed him and pulled them up until they snapped.
The P7 pupil has been kept away from the school since the start of the month.
His parents say they will not send him back until guarantees for his safety are put in place.
His dad added: “We’ve asked about moving him class.
“That would keep them away during lessons. But we were told that absolutely wasn’t an option.
“We were told the school would call the parents.
“We only found out they didn’t when I phoned to ask how it went.
“We’re at our wits end and all they’ve done is threaten the boys with being banned from a cinema trip to see Mamma Mia.
“We’ve always tried to support the school and have volunteered for all sorts of events.
“But they’ve let us down and it seems they just aren’t interested until somebody is seriously hurt.”
The boy’s mum took to social media to reveal the problem to other school parents.
Others told how their children had experienced problems with bullying at St James’ Primary.
A woman told how her young daughter was repeatedly “stabbed” with a pencil by a classmate and another told how she wanted to move her son because he was being targeted.
The family say they have been forced to speak to the parents of the bullies themselves after little was done to stop the violence.
Administrators of the Facebook St James’ Parents Group page have since deleted the post.
Renfrewshire Council confirmed it launched an investigation into bullying at the school.
A spokesman said: “We take all instances and allegations of bullying in schools extremely seriously and are committed to the social, emotional and mental wellbeing of all of our children and young people.
“Bullying is never acceptable but when it does happen we work with pupils, parents and staff to tackle it.
“Our anti- bullying policy, which was updated this year in line with national guidance, outlines how we have a range of robust measures in place.
“It includes training for staff, support for pupils affected by bullying and actions to prevent bullying behaviour from taking place.
“In this case, when allegations were made, an immediate investigation was launched within the school by senior staff who worked with the parents of the child concerned to support them.
“The school also informed the parents of the other pupils involved and sanctions have been put in place for those children.
“Due to the school being at capacity, it wasn’t possible to move the pupil to another class but at the child’s parents request, a move to another school has now been arranged.
“If any child, young person or parent has a concern about bullying then they should speak to someone at school, whether it be the head or class teacher, a classroom assistant, or in some schools, a buddy or playground friend that is an older pupil.”