NSW school leaders take another step to stamp out deadly bullying

NSW school leaders have taken another step forward to tackle the devastating scourge of bullying in schools. It comes after the death of Sydney schoolgirl Charlotte O’Brien and other children.

NSW school leaders have taken another step forward to tackle the devastating scourge of bullying in schools.

The NSW Schools Advisory Council, which represents about 3120 schools across the state, convened last year to start working on a statewide approach to address bullying in schools.

On Thursday, NSW Department of Education secretary Murat Dizdar, Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney and Association of Independent Schools of NSW chief executive Margery Evans agreed to work together on “supporting schools to strengthen the prevention,identification of and responses to student bullying and cyber-bullying”.

The “statement of intent” sets out a series of “shared beliefs” including that “schools have a duty to respond when students report they are being bullied, observed the bullying of others or are reported to be involved in bullying”.

It comes after The Sunday Telegraph’s Charlotte’s Wish documentary, which highlighted the bullying epidemic in schools.

Charlotte O’Brien, 12, took her own life in September last year, after a relentless campaign of bullying in the schoolyard and online.

Charlotte left suicide notes asking her mum to share her story and raise awareness.

Charlotte O’Brien, a year 7 student at Santa Sabina College in Strathfield, who died by suicide last year amid relentless school bullying

It has led to the federal government developing standardised national bullying policy, including last week launching the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review.

The government has so far received 120 submissions from families, young people and teachers across Australia.

NSW Education and Early Learning Minister Prue Car said bullying at school was one of the most upsetting and pervasive issues a young person could face, and social media and technology had only made this problem worse.

“For too long, young people’s lives have been disrupted by the unwelcome threat of bullying during their school day, and schools have been working with a patchwork of policies to tackle the problem,” Ms Car said.

“The signing of this statement of intent means public, Catholic and independent schools will now be working towards a statewide framework, which will see robust, evidence-based policies implemented statewide, to better protect children from bullying.”

Mr Dizdar said: “By signing the Anti-Bullying Statement of Intent I am highlighting how seriously NSW Public Schools want to see the scourge of bullying reduced in our schools and communities.”

The Daily Telegraph has continued to report on serious incidents of bullying across NSW schools since Charlotte’s death.

Atreyu McCann, 13, died this month in his home in Sydney’s south, after what his mother Clare McCann described as a brutal campaign of bullying and mental and physical cruelty.

Ms McCann, an actor and filmmaker, says she begged her son’s school to intervene, insisting she raised “at least 10” incidents between February and April, but it wasn’t enough to save her son.

It was also revealed last week, Alex*, who was forced to leave a public school in Sydney’s south in 2023, was bullied so relentlessly online and in the schoolyard, their mother feared her child would end up dead if she did not intervene.

If you want to make a submission to the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review, click here.

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Originally published as NSW school leaders take another step to stamp out deadly bullying