Majurey described witnessing incidents she said were more severe than many would associate with bullying.
Among the incidents Majurey said she witnessed were students making homemade weapons and violent assaults involving multiple people, including adult family members.
“I’ve seen family members come into school while students are hunting down another student to beat them up.”
She believed some teachers were reluctant to intervene in fights because they feared disciplinary consequences.
Ministry guidelines allow teachers to use physical restraint when there is a serious and imminent risk to safety, but state it should be a last resort after other de-escalation strategies have been considered.
“I feel really sorry for a lot of the teachers working with this type of behaviour because they’re kind of stuck as to what to do because you need to be able to break fights like that up but then they’re really scared that they will be in big trouble essentially.
“From what I witnessed most of these things go on and there is no one intervening because of that reason.”
Majurey said the Ministry of Education should take a greater role in school governance, arguing schools lacked sufficient support to manage increasingly complex behavioural issues. She warned bullying would worsen without intervention.
“I think it would look more like a prison [in the next 10 years] in terms of the amount of violence and chaos … Kids cannot learn when they don’t feel safe.”
Northland mum Jaimee Fawcet turned to homeschooling after she felt her son’s bullying concerns were not adequately addressed by his school.
Her son loved school so the decision was not easy, she said.
“Schools need better policies around bullying. Children have a right to learn and they [bullies] don’t have the right to disrupt other children’s education.”
Majurey said some parents had turned to homeschooling because of bullying.
“We are all wired for connection and the fact that some parents are resorting to homeschooling, because they don’t have that trust in the education system and schools to keep our children safe just really breaks my heart.”
She said some schools had found effective ways to address bullying, including trauma-informed approaches adopted by former Napier principal Jase Williams.
Williams said many forms of bullying are rooted in trauma, disconnection and emotional dysregulation.
“Bullying is often treated as a student problem, but it is truly a symptom of a deeper community deficit.”
The ministry acknowledged schools are facing increasingly complex behavioural and wellbeing needs and said support was available through learning support services, behaviour services, wellbeing programmes and intervention frameworks.
Ministry of Education operational standards and support group general manager Helen Hurst said the Tomorrow’s Schools review, a Government-commissioned examination of education administration, identified concerns about consistency, capability and oversight across the self-governing model.
While reforms have been made since that review, New Zealand has retained the board-governed model, complemented by stronger regional support and intervention mechanisms, she said.
Schools are required under legislation and national standards to provide safe physical and emotional environments, and the ministry provides assistance and services where needed.
Hurst said teachers spend significant time responding to challenges while maintaining positive learning environments.
“Schools play a central role, but they are not expected to manage complex behavioural and wellbeing challenges in isolation. Addressing this requires a system-wide response. Schools, families, communities and services all have a role.”
Taipā resident Murray Moses called this month’s meeting, saying bullying is a community issue.
“If there are problems, only the community can really make meaningful changes.”
He said the meeting wasn’t to debate who is right or wrong, or to blame schools, people or families.
“It’s about listening and working together to find constructive solutions that put the wellbeing of our children first.”
Yolisa Tswanya is deputy news director at The Northland Age. An experienced journalist and newsroom leader, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and reports on a broad range of issues across the Far North and Northland, with particular interest in health, education and community affairs.
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