‘Horrific bullying’ led child to attempt suicide

After two years of ‘‘horrific bullying’’ things got too much and in June the girl attempted the take her own life. She was 10 years old.

Growing up in Ashley – a small town in North Canterbury with a population of just over 300 – she attended Ashley Rakahuri School and for a long time she was happy.

Her mum Natasha, whose last name is being withheld to protect her daughter’s privacy, said the girl was a bright, sporty and confident pupil.

When a teacher was diagnosed with cancer, the girl, then aged 8, had her head shaved in solidarity, raising more than $2500 for a cancer charity.

It was around then the bullying started.

At first, it was name-calling. Then lies and rumours. Manipulative messages were sent via Snapchat and prank calls were made on Kids Messenger.

Eventually other children said they no longer wanted to be friends, leaving the girl alone and isolated.

It continued for two years. Sometimes she stood up to the bullies, often she went home in tears.

In the end she messaged the main bully and told her to leave her alone ‘‘or she would beat her until they pulled her off’’. But the warning backfired and in June she was stood down for 21⁄2 days.

When she returned to school she began having panic attacks in class, and eight weeks ago she tried to kill herself.

After being rushed to the emergency department she made a full recovery but Natasha, a registered nurse, said her daughter was lucky not to have done lasting damage.

Natasha said she first approached the school a year earlier, but ‘‘they just swept it under the carpet’’.

Emails seen by Stuff confirm the school board and principal were in email contact with Natasha before and immediately after the suicide attempt. In one exchange Natasha expressed concerns for her daughter’s mental health and the school advised she call 111.

Unhappy with how it has been dealt with, Natasha has not sent her daughter back.

A spokesman for Ashley Rakahuri School board said they ‘‘have not had communication with Natasha since her decision to remove [the girl]’’.

‘‘While we are unable to comment on individual cases, the board takes all allegations of bullying that are notified to us very seriously,’’ he said. The school had followed a defined investigation process and support was offered.

Natasha said the ‘‘directed enrolment’’ process of finding a new school was complex.

‘‘For people who aren’t literate, or understand what they are aiming for, it can be quite a hard process.

‘‘As nurses we advocate for our patients and this whole time I’m the only one advocating for my child.’’

Natasha had hoped to send her daughter to Te Matauru Primary because she knew children who went there, but the request was declined and they were offered a place at Sefton School.

The Ministry of Education made its decision without meeting her daughter, she said, because it was closer.

They were now waiting to hear from Sefton School about when she could start, but the process needed to be improved to make it easier for bullied children to move school, Natasha said.

‘‘[As an adult], if there is bullying, you have the option to resign. But children are stuck in these environments where they can be horrifically bullied.’’

Sean Teddy, hautu¯ (leader) operations and integration at the ministry, said the process for moving a student because of bullying ‘‘is managed on a case-bycase basis’’.

Schools are not required to notify the ministry of bullying incidents, so it did not know how common it was.

‘‘[As an adult], if there is bullying, you have the option to resign. But children are stuck in these environments where they can be horrifically bullied.’’