Parents of Nuriootpa High School students speak out against culture of bullying

Parents of students at one of SA’s biggest regional high schools have been forced to speak out against a culture of bullying they say is going unpunished.

Nuriootpa High School.

Parents of students at the Barossa Valley’s largest high school have spoken out against what they say is a culture of bullying that is going unpunished.

Several parents, many with children who have additional needs, said their children had been verbally and physically abused while at Nuriootpa High School. In most cases, they said, the perpetrators escaped any serious sanction for their behaviour.

The parents, who have asked not to be named to protect the identity of their children, said they approached the Sunday Mail after exhausting official channels in an attempt to get something done.

Education Minister Blair Boyer said he was aware of reports of serious bullying at the school and the department had been working with the principal to address the issues.

The parents, however, said their children often simply didn’t feel safe at the school of about 1300 students.

Nuriootpa High School in the Barossa Valley. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

A parent of two children at the school, one with additional needs, said the school had failed to provide a safe environment for their child by not taking seriously an incident that had occurred when the child was in primary school.

The parent said the school ignored pleas to keep the students separated, and as a result their child was now subjected to daily taunts of a sexual nature, as well as constant calls, texts and social media bullying. The student is awaiting assessment for depression.

“Staff of Nuriootpa High School were warned that threats had been made for the bullying to escalate in the high school,” the parent said.

“Our requests fell on deaf ears and as a result our child’s reputation has been destroyed.

“We are yet to find a suitable resolution, as the bullying never stops. I feel powerless and fear I have failed to protect my child.”

Another parent said their child had gone from an award-winning student at primary school to a child who often refused to attend high school.

They said their child had been punched, bitten and choked on separate occasions, to the point where police were involved, but they felt the situation hadn’t been taken seriously by school staff.

“My child was thriving, confident and loving school and looking at becoming a lawyer. Now they are a completely different kid,” the parent said.

“There is no leadership in this school and nothing keeping our children safe.”

Education Minister Blair Boyer. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Morgan Sette

Another parent said they had spoken to staff who were worried the school’s bullying policy had been “inconsistent in its application” and that they weren’t getting the support that they needed.

The parent said their own child was afraid to use the toilets at school because of the amount of bullying occurring in them, to the point where the child was not drinking throughout the day to reduce the need to go to the toilet. The parent said she knew of other children doing the same.

“There was an incident of a child being photographed while using the toilet, students have been beaten, held up against the wall by their throats,” they said.

“There is also a lot of vaping in the toilets, and we’ve heard of students being held against a wall and being forced to vape so that they can’t tell the teachers.”

The parent said their child, who has additional needs, spent most of their time at school trying not to draw attention to themselves.

“Kids can only brush this stuff off to a point – it does wear them down eventually,” they said.

The parent said a group of about 30 concerned parents had formed a social media chat to support each other.

Mr Boyer said he was aware of complaints surrounding Nuriootpa High and that he was taking them seriously.

“I think the school is (taking the complaints seriously) as well,” he said.

“We have the regional education director for the area working really closely with the principal around identifying different policies and procedures which we’re going review now in the light of parent feedback.

“I’m not at all dismissing the parents’ concerns, not for one second, but I do think the principal and the school is committed to addressing them. That’s the sense I get, and the sense that the department gets as well, that the school isn’t saying, ‘oh, nothing’s wrong, this is all exaggerated’. The school is taking it on and we’re putting as much support behind them that we can.”

Member for Schubert Ashton Hurn. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Mr Boyer said he was aware of complaints of children feeling afraid to use the school’s toilets.

“We checked, and the school has confirmed that they are suspending students for vaping and I support that,” he said.

“I particularly support it when there are instances where it’s stopping kids going to the toilet because they feel too scared.”

Mr Boyer said he understood the concerned parents’ frustrations.

“All any parent wants is for their child to feel safe and happy, and when that’s jeopardised you’d expect any parent to be up in arms, and I’d never criticise them for doing that,” he said.

“Often, though, there is a need for better communication and I’m hoping we can make that better at Nuri and I reckon the principal there is really committed to improving that relationship.”

Member for Schubert and former Nuriootpa High student Ashton Hurn said the facility was the only public high school in the Barossa and that it should be a “safe space dedicated to teaching and learning, where teachers and students alike can thrive”.

“Everything must be done to investigate these reports and take the appropriate action,” Ms Hurn said.

“Should additional resources be needed to further support the school, then the department must act without hesitation in providing them. I’m very concerned about the claims being made, there is no room for bullying in our school system – it must be stamped out.”