Bullied Schoolgirl gets Bodyguard

Amie Salmon is a 13 year old schoolgirl from a local Comprehensive school in my area. She is quiet, small and slightly built. Because of this, she has been bullied repeatedly by the same gang of eight girls since the beginning of 1999. She has been punched and kicked and taunted on an almost daily basis, and her parents have even considered putting Amie on tranquillisers to ease her worries. Amie can and has identified the girls to her teachers, but the school's solution has been not to punish those responsible, but to segregate her from the rest of the school and assign her a permanent teacher bodyguard. This bodyguard is with her from the moment she arrives at school to the moment she leaves, including breaks, lunchtimes and visits to the toilet.

Amie no longer studies with her classmates, but in separate classrooms on her own (except for her bodyguard), and she is allowed to carry a mobile phone with her throughout the school day in case she ever feels in danger.

Understandably, her parents are outraged that no direct action has been taken against the bullies, even though the head teacher, Mr Moralee has provided these 'words of comfort';

"...suspending bullies would not make life easier for Amie and other victims of bullying in the long run...it is not corrective", and"It's always the victim that has got the support here."

He is also planning to improve the school's strategy on bullying by;

• placing envelopes in classrooms for pupils to anonymously report bullying incidents

• setting aside a special room for victims to use during breaks

• arranging an author day at the school to discuss the topic of bullies

It's An Outrage!!

This is a complete waste of taxpayer's money and staff's time, and is teaching the lesson that the only way to deal with persecution is to run away from it.

What should happen is that the bullies are identified and punished, then expelled. By not having the bullies in the school, it would quite clearly make Amie's life much easier. To say otherwise is ludicrous.

Mr Moralee should be ashamed of his approach to this problem and his treatment of the affected pupils. He is not supporting the victims at all, but is adding to their suffering.

Children don't want to draw attention to themselves by hiding in special rooms, or having to be chaperoned by teachers - they want to see the bullies punished and be able to enjoy their lives.