High Court case over alleged bullying at primary school resolved
Class Girl That Had A A Bullied Primary Her In Boy Her Claimed School Had
A High Court action brought over allegations that a female primary school student had been bullied by a male classmate has been resolved.
Last December the primary school student and her father initiated High Court proceedings against the school over its alleged failure to protect her from a boy in her class she says has bullied and injured her.
In their action against the school's board of management, the girl and her father had claimed the school had not taken any appropriate steps to deal with the other child.
In reply, the board denied any wrongdoing and had claimed that the girl's father had not exhausted all of the internal complaint remedies available to them before commencing court proceedings against it. The parties cannot be identified for legal reasons.
The matter had been adjourned after an investigation into the allegations of bullying was conducted by a member of the school's board of management. When the matter returned before Mr Justice Brian Cregan, the court was told that the proceedings had been fully resolved, and with the consent of the parties could be struck out with no order.
The court heard that the applicants had received the report prepared by the person who conducted the investigation into the allegations and on foot of that the girl will be leaving the school.
On Thursday morning, Mr Justice Cregan made no order for costs in the matter, meaning that both sides will have to pay their own legal costs.
In their action, the applicants had sought orders including injunctions directing the school's board of management to keep the girl separated from the other student at all times in the school, and that the other student not be in attendance in the same classroom at the same time as the girl.
They had also sought an order requiring the school to complete its probe into complaints raised by the applicants into various allegations of wrongdoing by the other student and to take reasonable steps to ensure the girl's safety while she was at the school.
The other child was not a party to the proceedings. The court had heard that the girl had claimed that she has been bullied by the other child on several occasions over the last two-and-a-half years.
The girl's father claimed that meetings with the school's principal had not resolved his concerns and he had claimed that the school had not treated the other student's behaviour as bullying and harassment.
In a recent incident, it was claimed that the girl required medical attention and suffered injury after being kicked by the other child. Arising out of the school's alleged inaction the father instructed lawyers to bring High Court proceedings. The school had denied any wrongdoing.