Latest bullying incident at Cape Town school exposes gaps in reporting protocols

A LANSDOWNE Primary school has conceded to a “potential gap” in its bullying reporting protocols after a parent reported discovering her child had been self-harming following months of bullying.

The mother said she was shocked that the teacher, to whom the incident was reported, never informed the principal.

“We are from Kenya. They kept on calling her a foreigner, hitting her, calling her ugly and big forehead. It was three boys targeting her. It got so bad that she would not comb her hair back and she is pretty. She has been at (the school) since Grade R, there was never anything serious. This was the first year she experienced bullying.”

The mother of the Grade 7 pupil explained that her daughter mentioned incidents before but when she wanted to go to school, her daughter said she had informed the teacher.

“My daughter has been going through a lot of bullying the whole year. I wanted to go to the school but she kept telling me 'if you go, they will tease me more. Don't come, I already reported to the teacher.' It got very bad. Last month, my daughter was undressing, then I looked at her arm and saw she had been self-harming. We went to the police station, and a councillor came and saw her. They advised us to go back to the school as a starting point and if we get no joy we could come back.

“I went to the principal, he said the teacher had not reported it. The teacher said he dealt with it himself…he had been talking to the boys. I insisted there is no small or big case, it should have been reported to the principal. I told him, she is self harming. This is how kids commit suicide. They were almost done with exams and I asked the principal how he was going to help me. He said there was nothing he can do because they are done writing exams and they are in Grade 7, the parents won’t bother coming in.”

Her daughter was also apparently not sent an invite to the valedictory until she complained about it.

“I felt heartbroken, she was emotional and crying, the teacher was trying to punish her with the valedictory invite. No child deserves what my daughter went through. We are still seeing the councillor. My daughter didn't want to go for the class party on Tuesday, she didn't attend the signing of shirts, so she's still very much affected. She is not there yet emotionally, we are still working on it.”

The mother has since lodged a complaint with the Metro Central District office.

The principal said the reported incidents were managed as Level one transgressions under their disciplinary framework.

“In accordance with our policies, Level 1 transgressions are handled directly by the class teacher, which was the case in this instance. Critically, the school was never informed of any self-harming behaviour by the learner until (the mother) disclosed this during our meeting on 11 November 2025 at 9:15am.

“Upon learning of this serious concern, the principal immediately expressed concern about not being informed earlier, thanked the parent for bringing this to the school's attention, and offered the school's onsite support services to assist the learner. This offer was declined by the parent. The principal acknowledged that this situation highlighted a potential gap in our reporting protocols and indicated that the school would review its processes to ensure all incidents are reported and that it reaches senior leadership promptly in future,” said the school.

The school said its support services remain available to the learner and family should they choose to access them.

WCED spokesperson Millicent Merton said the Metro Central District office had received the complaint.

"The Circuit Manager will facilitate an engagement between the parent and the school to address the concerns raised."

Cape Times