Charlotte’s Wish documentary: Teachers in need of expert support to combat bullying in schools

One major change in every school zone across the country is needed to support teachers in dealing with toxic behaviour in the playground, says one mum who lost her daughter to suicide.

Bullying experts should be embedded in every school zone across the country so teachers are supported to deal with toxic behaviour in the playground, says one mum who lost her daughter to suicide.

Bathurst mother Emma Mason, whose “brave little girl” Tilly Rosewarne who died by suicide two years ago, says there should be national requirement, rules or benchmarks for how schools deal with bullies across government, private and Catholic schools.

She goes a step further, suggesting an independent consultant assigned to designated geographical areas would go a long way to supporting school staff and holding them accountable.

Tilly died in 2022 after vile bullying that peaked with a fake nude picture of the fifteen-year-old posted on Snapchat by a school peer.

Emma Mason, mother of 15 year old suicide victim Tilly Rosewarne. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Ms Mason said each school had their own way of dealing with toxic behaviour like what Tilly was subjected to, and some schools handled things better than others.

“It makes much more sense to have an independent consultant for each region that schools must consult with and seek advice from”.

“All schools, no matter who runs them, would access the independent authority.”

Tilly Rosewarne took her life after years of bullying.

Her mother says schools need more support to combat bullying.

Ms Mason said she was “really concerned that schools themselves can’t manage bullying and with all the good will in the world, simply don’t have the skills”.

“And as much as we try to give the teachers the toolkit to manage this bullying on the ground or when it happens, I think they need mandatory education at university, and ongoing training each year as part of their in-servicing.”

“There needs to be a uniform approach and less of this system we have now that everyone comes up with their own ways of dealing with it. That’s not working.”

Ms Mason said part of the problem is that there is no national policy on bullying. Each school, education sector and state manages it differently.

“We need a uniform approach,” she said. “I want the government to come out and say we have a bullying crisis and we need to employ people to assist schools with a bullying expert.”

She’d also like real consequences for students who engage in bullying.

“These children need to be held responsible, they need to understand what their behaviour can do and that there are consequences, like no school excursions or representative sport,” she said.

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