Parents Address

School’s address

Date (Very Important)

Dear (Name of Headteacher)

Re: (Name child in full and class year)

I/We are writing to request an urgent appointment with you to discuss a serious issue my/our son/daughter has recently brought to our attention.

We also ask that (child’s name) is not approached or questioned by you or any other member of staff seeking the reasons why we are requesting this urgent meeting.

We look forward to a speedy response to our request.

Yours sincerely

Mr/Mrs Parent

***

Note:  This can be sent by post, emailed directly to the Headteacher or parents can hand-deliver it.  However, do not ask your child to hand it in themselves.

Due to the limited information offered in the standard letter, it is not unusual for a staff member to contact the parents to query the subject of the discussion. Parents should explain they would rather wait until the meeting to expand further as the matter is highly sensitive.

There is a possibility that by mentioning ‘bullying’ prior to the initial meeting, parents could be sending warning bells to the perpetuators of the abuse.  As a result they may punish their victim further and the child could regret having reported them in the first place.

Once the Headteacher has been informed of the bullying and the aggressors named, he/she should immediately write to their parents notifying them that “serious allegations have been made about their child’s behaviour towards another pupil”.

It is advisable for the victim’s parents to request no further action is taken at this stage other than the above as it has been proved that the Headteacher having a quiet word with the bullies in the hope that this will resolve the situation has proved to be generally unsuccessful.

No parent welcomes the knowledge their child is persecuting another individual and will probably become defensive, disbelieving the accusation and wanting to protect their child against the allegations being made.

However, a reluctance to become the mediator in a war of words between the pupils’ parents should not dissuade the school from carrying out its duty and the parents of the victim should remain calm while insisting they do so.

Once all parties are aware of the situation, it is beholden on them to take control, putting personal prejudices aside and acting in a calm and positive manner approaching the problem with a determination to resolve it fairly.  Parents’ behaviour is paramount in ensuring no child suffers as a result of their mismanagement of the affair.