Matravers School responds to accusations on social media of pupils being bullied

MATRAVERS School has been criticised on social media this month by parents who say the school is not dealing with a problem of bullying. The school has now issued a response to the claims, questioning the motives behind the comments made by people on social media.  

The move followed a post on social media which asked for parents of bullied children at the school to come forward. Other people posted that their children had been bullied at the school, but said they believed that Matravers had failed to effectively address the issue of bullying.  

In a statement, the headteacher of Matravers School, Dr Simon Riding said, “As a school, we do not routinely respond to social media comments as we have put in place ample ways for parents/carers to productively engage with the school, which the overwhelming majority of parents/carers do take up when they need to.  

“Very often, these types of social media threads can be wide-ranging, contributed to by many people who have no direct connection to the school and not based on any substance. The motives behind their posting can also vary greatly. However, they can fuel emotional responses from within the wider community.  

“As a school, we do feel the impact and effects of social media on the lives and mental health and wellbeing of pupils, and we do support many pupils through these challenges. It is disappointing when there locally exists a mechanism for making worse, the very thing we are trying to help support our young people with.   

“We do spend time advising parents to monitor (and remove where necessary) access to the social media world for children, where it is having a detrimental impact on a child’s wellbeing. Judging by some of the comments made online by adults and the way these are expressed, it is very evident why we need to continue to train our pupils in the importance of resilience in today’s world. Some children will no doubt routinely be reading these things and therefore as a school we must seek to never normalise this type of communication as being acceptable.”