Mother removes boy in bullying case from school

A SCHOOLBOY who became one of the first children in the country to receive compensation after being targeted by a bully has now been removed from school.

Concerned mother Stacey Winfindale has taken her son Jed, as well as his brother and two sisters, out of their schools in Maltby, Rotherham, as she says the bullying has escalated in recent weeks.

She has also written to the Prime Minister outlining her worries.

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Last month, 13-year-old Jed was awarded a four-figure compensation payout after an attack at Maltby Comprehensive School, which has since become Maltby Academy.

He suffered nightmares and flashbacks following an incident in which he was hit several times by a pupil wielding a wooden drawing board.

Mrs Winfindale says that all four of her children are now being targeted by bullies, and she will not return them to the classroom until the situation is dealt with.

“Jed was getting bullied by two children at school and they’ve now decided to start winding my daughter up as well”, the 37-year-old said.

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“Family members of the bullies are also following all four of my kids to school. It’s got totally out of hand and nobody’s willing to do anything.”

Both Jed and his older sister Chloe, 15, have now been removed from Maltby Academy for an indefinite period.

Their younger siblings Caitlin, eight, and Benjamin, five, have also been taken out of infant and junior schools in the former pit village.

Mrs Winfindale, who works as a cleaner and barmaid, says she has had to rearrange her shifts so that she can stay at home with her children during the school day.

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She said: “My children will not be going back to school until they’re safe.

“The bullies are friends of the bully who hit Jed. He’s been removed from school and, after he was removed, they started giving Jed a hard time.

“The school isn’t doing anything about it. They say nothing has happened.”

Jed had to be taken to hospital with arm and shoulder injuries following the attack.

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His mother complained to the headteacher regarding the incident and also decided to take legal action against the school.

Despite what happened, Jed returned to Maltby Academy and continued to be a pupil there until Thursday this week.

Mrs Winfindale and her husband Gareth, a railway engineer, have also written to both David Cameron and Education Secretary Michael Gove to draw the issue to their attention.

David Sutton, Principal of Maltby Academy, said: “The academy has clear policies and procedures in place to deal with all instances of bullying and anti-social behaviour.

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“There are an extensive range of student support structures within the academy and across the Maltby learning community to meet the needs of all students.

“In this particular case the academy has communicated regularly with the family and responded appropriately to all the allegations made. The priority for the academy is to safeguard all our young people and therefore we feel it inappropriate to comment further on this matter.”

A spokesman for Rotherham Council said the council had received no official complaint from the parent in question regarding allegations of bullying.

She added: “As an authority we take all allegations of bullying seriously and our schools are equally robust in tackling bullying.

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“All schools across the borough have anti-bullying policies and procedures in place and these will obviously be followed in this and every other case.

“A large amount of work is done proactively with pupils to help ensure good standards of behaviour and many schools have signed up to a voluntary scheme where their anti-bullying measures are assessed by the council.”