Brampton family fearful for son’s safety after alleged physical bullying at school

A Brampton family is speaking up about the alleged bullying of their third-grade son as they fear for his safety following a lack of action from the school.

“They surrounded me in a circle, and they jumped on me and hit me… A student hit me and punched me in the face, and after that, everybody surrounded me and hit me again,” the third-grader said.

The family tells OMNI News the bullying has been ongoing since they moved to the area and enrolled their son at Hanover Public School in September. Initially, the bullying started verbally but quickly turned physical.

“We complained, but within one week, he was attacked again. Other students surrounded him and started kicking him again,” his mother said.

“He cried a lot that day, and some other students studying in higher grades, maybe grade 4 or grade 5, saved him from them and told him to take long breaths. The situation was very bad that day. It was one and a half to two months ago that it happened again. The same student punched him in the face, and we emailed the principal regarding it.”

After reporting the incidents, the parents said the principal agreed the students involved showed aggressive behaviour towards their son. The principal also acknowledged the parents’ concerns that the student’s cultural background played a role in the bullying.

Upon meeting with the principal, the mother said the students apologized to her son. But the bullying started again within hours after the meeting.

“They caught him, surrounded him, kicked and punched him on the ground. It is one student who is leading everything… The principal called us again and said he thought everything would be resolved as they said sorry to him.”

The mother said the principal only started taking the case more seriously after the fourth bullying incident.

According to the parents, the principal reassured them of their child’s safety at school last week. But the parents say they’re afraid to return their son to school.

“I talked with the principal [Wednesday]. He said to send our child to school, they said the teacher is waiting for him. They don’t want him to stay home because it affects his studies. But due to safety concerns, we do not want to send him back.”

The son’s father says the situation wouldn’t have been as bad if the teacher acted immediately when the first bullying incident occurred.

“If the teacher was strict with those students, we might not be standing here, and our child’s education wouldn’t be as affected. I don’t want it to affect his future; we hope no other student should be involved. Some kids are silent, and they don’t tell their parents.”

Peel District School Board (PDSB) said they are aware of the situation but cannot publicly comment on school investigations.

“Peel District School Board takes bullying very seriously. We are aware of the situation, and the principal is addressing the matter. To respect the privacy and confidentiality of our students and their families, PDSB does not comment publicly on school investigations,” it said in a statement to OMNI News.

With files from Loveen Gill, OMNI News