Mum speaks out after daughter ‘attacked’ at southwest Sydney shops

A mother has made the decision to pull her daughter from a southwest Sydney high school as she does not believe she is safe following months of alleged bullying. See the video.

A southwest Sydney mother has spoken out after shocking footage shows the moment her daughter was “attacked” at a shopping centre by a group of students who have allegedly bullied her for months.

About 3.45pm on April 3, emergency services were called to Narellan Town Centre at Camden Valley Way following reports of a brawl.

A NSW Police spokeswoman said officers had been told a fight broke out between several young people.

Last week, a teenage girl was interviewed in relation to the matter. The spokeswoman said that teenage girl was being dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.

Helen*, a mother from the Macarthur region, said her daughter was attacked during the incident by fellow school students.

Southwest Sydney mums speaks out after her daughter was "attacked" at Narellan Town Centre on April 3.

And, she claims it is not the first time.

“Anne* has been bullied for months both on and off school grounds and there have been physical and verbal incidents,” Helen said.

“The school has done nothing to address the issues ... I don’t think she is safe at the school.”

Helen dropped her daughter Anne, who suffers from mental health issues, off to see a movie with her best friend at Narellan on April 3.

“Anne always messages me what she is doing and she told me around 3pm that the movie had finished and they were going to have a look at a couple of shops while they waited for the lift home.

“From one of the stores, she was followed by a group of girls from her school.

“The group crowded around both of them, they hit Anne and they knocked her phone out of her hand.”

A mum has pulled her daughter out of a southwest Sydney school after months of bullying allegations.

Helen, who has since seen more footage of the incident at the police station, said they continue to verbally abuse her daughter and friend.

“They all attacked the two girls from behind and grabbed Anne from behind in a headlock,” the mum said.

“Anne got enough leverage to spin and try to push away but they still had a hold of her and that’s when they all jumped in on her.

“She fell and slid down the floor. She had fallen back on her tailbone and smacked on her head. One stood over her and stopped her from getting up from the floor.”

Anne had tried to call her mum during the incident and Helen could hear her on the phone screaming.

“The last thing I heard her scream before the phone cut off was ‘mum’ and then I heard a fall,” she said.

Helen said this was not the first incident of bullying that had occurred and her daughter was consistently verbally abused, told to kill herself and bears the brunt of homophobic language because she is gay.

In February, another student, who was also involved in the incident at Narellan Town Centre, began to whisper in her Anne’s ear that she should “neck” herself and the school would be better off.

“Anne turned around and slapped at her to get her away and stop doing it,” Helen said.

“There was a one-on-one fight and Anne’s ear piercings were all ripped out.

“Anne called me and she told me ‘I hit her first’ but that she was so upset at everything that had been said. She was given a short-term suspension which I didn’t disagree with because I understood there has to be consequences.”

But then, Helen said, there was no follow-up to facilitate the return to school and also address the issues of bullying that Anne was dealing with daily.

After multiple incidents, Helen decided to pull her daughter out of the school.

“I pulled her out because I don’t think that she is safe there,”she said.

“There was a complete failure in the duty of care to my daughter.”

Data revealed that Campbelltown has the highest amounts of recorded incidents when comparing principal’s networks in NSW, with 46 assaults recorded in 2020, according to the Department of Education’s register of “serious” incidents.

Schools in Camden recorded 26 incidents, and in the Wollondilly region there were 27 reports.

A NSW Education spokesman said the safety, wellbeing, and inclusion of all students in NSW Government schools was paramount.

“Every school has an anti-bullying action plan,” he said.

“[The school in question] does not tolerate bullying, violence or anti-social behaviour.

“The school provides a safe and caring learning environment. All allegations of bullying or anti-social behaviour are promptly looked in to and referred to relevant authorities if required.”

The spokesman said the school took appropriate action against students found to engage in this behaviour on and off school grounds.

“Students are well supported through the school’s wellbeing programs,” he said.

*The pseudonyms Helen and Anne have been used as the mother and daughter cannot be named for legal reasons.