POLL: Is enough done to tackle school bullying?

As a father schools his daughter's school for the cost of self-defence classes, we ask whether enough is being done to tackle bullying in schools.

The parent, who does not want to be named, has issued a small claims court order against Thorns Community College in Brierley Hill as a way of equipping his daughter 'with the necessary skills to protect herself' from bullies.

It is believed to be one of the first claims of its kind in the country.

Andy Cox, principal at the school in Stockwell Avenue, said the school has received the court notification and will be 'acting on that in due course'.

After hearing his daughter had allegedly been bullied, he approached the school's head of inclusion.

After the issue escalated he went to Mr Cox, before progressing to the chairman of governors, Dennis Hodson.

But the parent claims his daughter has continued to be bullied on a daily basis so he enrolled her onto a self-defence class and has now attempted to reclaim the costs of the course from the school, which has refused the reimbursement.

Now, with the backing of a recently founded parents' support group, he has turned to the courts to try and claim back the £57.35 cost of the classes – and £25 court costs.

Luke, the interim chairman of Parents Against Bullying at Thorns, an anonymous group of parents, said: "This is thought to be the first case of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom where a parent has been forced to take such drastic action due to the inability of the school's leadership to deal with a case of bullying.

"We have fully advised and supported the parent throughout the dealings he has had with the school.

"If the case is successful, we will be encouraging other parents whose children are being bullied to take the same action.

"Hopefully this will force the college to address the bullying issue by a small minority of children who appear to act with impunity."

Mr Cox said: "The claims made by the parent stem from an issue concerning a pupil which was dealt with swiftly and appropriately by staff earlier this year.

"It is important we protect this pupil, along with all other pupils at the school, and it is for this reason we will not be going into further detail on this matter.

"We have a zero tolerance policy on all kinds of issues including bullying, verbal abuse and racism.

"Young people will always test boundaries and these figures reflect our determination to instil tough, simple and effective sanctions where boundaries are crossed."