Pupils suspended at Backwell School after allegations of ‘seriously offensive behaviour’ online

Pupils have been suspended at Backwell School following an investigation into ‘seriously offensive behaviour’ online. It is not known how many students have been suspended or for how long.
The school confirmed the suspensions in a bulletin sent to parents. The incidents happened either on social media or via email, reports Somerset Live.
It comes as a mother, who wishes not to be named, said her daughter had been horribly cyberbullied. She endures people with fake TikTok accounts telling her to “kill herself”.
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The school says it has “robust policies and procedures” for dealing with incidents of bullying.
It is understood that the incidents happened outside of school hours. The newsletter to parents said: ‘This week we had to investigate and deal with three separate incidents of very mean or seriously offensive behavior – all of which happened online (email or social media) outside office hours. classroom.
“Our behavior policy covers what a student does outside of school, particularly if their behavior is hurtful to others or could affect the reputation of the school. In these cases, so serious were they, our investigations have resulted in the suspension of students from school.
“It is very heartbreaking that students, parents and staff in the Backwell community have been the beneficiaries of such harmful behavior – and it is disappointing that so much time this week has been devoted to following up on these issues instead to work with students in a more positive way. .”
The suspensions come at the same time as parents said their children who attend Backwell School were affected by cyberbullying. A mother said her 12-year-old daughter’s constant bullying left her unable to eat or sleep.
The mother, who does not want to be named to protect her daughter’s identity, said she has contacted the school and the police about the ongoing incidents – many of which occur on social media including TikTok and Snapchat .
The mum said: “It breaks my heart to see my daughter in pain. Some days she got 10 calls from a private number of people saying ‘she’s dead’.
“The other week, she received 10 calls a night for five nights. “Fake TikTok accounts have been created to target her, some of which are telling her to go kill herself.
“It’s been going on for months and it’s making her sick. She does not sleep properly and does not eat.
“You hear horrific stories of young people unable to deal with bullying and the terrible consequences it has. A child can only take so much before they reach breaking point.
The mother says her daughter has opened up about the bullying and says she is determined not to let the perpetrators win.
“But it makes her nervous about going out and doing things that normal kids do. She feels intimidated,” the mother said. “I’ve been to school many times and they listen and act,” she said.
“But as this harassment is done anonymously, it is difficult to know exactly who is behind it. The school does what it can, but it doesn’t stop him.
“I worry that other kids won’t share what’s going on with their parents and keep it all locked inside. This bullying also affects me because I worry about my daughter every time she goes to school and it keeps me awake at night.
Other parents of teenagers at the school, deemed good by Ofsted, have also reported incidents of bullying online, again on social media. A child has been left upset after his mum was called a ‘slag’ while other cruel posts criticized his appearance.
The school says it has “robust policies and procedures” for dealing with incidents of bullying. A Backwell School spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on individual cases or circumstances, Backwell School takes the welfare of its students seriously.
“We have strong policies and procedures in place to deal with any bullying that comes to our attention (in school, out of school or online). These can be found on our website.