Inquiry into how schools respond to violence

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BULLYING: Assaults at schools or universities – including knife attacks – continued to climb in the past year.

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The Ombudsmen's Office is investigating how schools and government agencies respond to bullying and violence.

The investigation follows international research revealing a high level of incidents here compared with overseas.

The rare step was sparked by parents of Hutt Valley High School pupils complaining about the actions of the school's board of trustees, Child, Youth and Family and the Education Review Office after nine boys were violated by six classmates in 2007.

Assaults at schools or universities – including knife attacks – continued to climb in the past year. Latest alleged incidents include:

Claims that a year 10 pupil at Hutt International Boys' School threatened another pupil with a knife.

A pupil was injured with a knife in an incident with another boy on Wellington High School grounds.

A 13-year-old girl says she was lured to a Wellington park, badly beaten and left semi-conscious as up to 70 children watched the attack – filming it on mobile phones.

The Ombudsmen's Office, which revealed the investigation in its annual report, cited a report made public in January showing New Zealand children had the second-highest reported incidence of bullying.

The study, which investigated year 5 pupils in nearly 40 countries, including 5000 New Zealanders, found Kiwi children reported bullying incidents at twice the international average.

A report by the children's commissioner and Human Rights Commission in March found "glaring gaps" in the national guidelines that schools used to deal with bullying.

Deputy Ombudsman Leo Donnelly said if the Hutt Valley High investigation revealed "deeper issues", recommendations would be made to the agencies involved or to Parliament.

"Clearly by raising it in the annual report we've sent a signal that obviously there's a matter here that requires a closer look."

However, the School Trustees Association, which represents 90 per cent of school boards, said the investigation was harsh.

"The only reason we are hearing more about bullying and violence in schools is because boards are being more open about incidents rather than sweeping them under the carpet," president Lorraine Kerr said.

Statistics New Zealand figures show the number of assaults with weapons at education institutes jumped from 21 in 2007-08 to 24 in 2008-09.

During the same period common assaults increased from 426 to 437.

David Rutherford, a spokesman for the Hutt Valley High victims' families, welcomed the review. "When you get 20,000 kids a year ringing Helpline about violence ... then there's an issue."

PPTA, a secondary school union representing 18,000 teachers and principals, said any investigation needed urgency. "We all need to be working closer together," president Kate Gainsford said.

- © Fairfax NZ News