‘It becomes mob like’: Mandurah grandmother calling for action against bullying

Karen Connlley said her granddaughter, who does not want to be named out of fear of further bullying, has suffered harassment, intimidation and threats for two years. 

“We have had to take her out of school again the last two days,” she said.

“Two years on and it’s still happening.

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“It becomes mob like. She is isolated and she is not the only one – it’s a crisis.

“People are scared to speak up because they don’t want their kids to get bullied even more.”

Karen Connlley, who protested her cause outside Halls Head College on Friday, said bullying was widespread and Australians should “hang (their) heads in shame”. 

“As a nation we should be hanging our heads in shame – we really should,” she said. 

“I want bullying to stop in schools.

“We hear a lot of talk, but we need action and people to come together as one.”

Ms Connlley said bullying affected the students’ ability to learn and concentrate.

“Our kids aren’t getting educated properly with this going on,” she said. 

“We want more tools for our teachers to be able to deal with the problems at school.”

Halls Head College principal Bronwyn White said the after-hours school oval fight in June, resulted in one student being suspended and police investigating the incident. 

Ms White said the school had been working closely with two students and their families. 

“These cases are not always straight forward but staff do everything they can to resolve any issues and provide a safe and supportive school community for our students,” Ms White said.

“While most students are well behaved, like at any school, conflict can occur and the college uses a range of prevention and intervention strategies to address unacceptable behaviour like bullying.

“This includes mediation and psychology services for students, family communication and support, mentoring and external programs, through to behaviour management plans and consequences like suspensions.

“We use the most effective strategies to help students turn their behaviour around, but these strategies will only be effective if positive behaviour is reinforced at home.”