Pāpāmoa College is swiftly implementing measures to address a disturbing incident captured on video, where two students were filmed in February assaulting another student on the college grounds.

The footage, circulating widely on social media, has sparked outrage and concern among the college community.

In response, the college has initiated investigations and implemented measures to address not only the specific incident but also the broader challenge of bullying within the institution.

Pāpāmoa College principal Iva Ropati says this was an isolated incident and both boys seen assaulting the third boy in the video have been suspended.

“One of the boys in the video was excluded from Pāpāmoa College last year,” says Iva.

“The Ministry of Education directed our board to re-enrol him despite our concerns. The other boy had some low level misdemeanours but nothing as serious as the current incident.”

Iva says the college’s counselling and pastoral teams are checking in with the student, who was assaulted, to provide support.

The college has not notified police of the assault, as Iva says “a police referral is not our practice but we support parents/caregivers to make that decision if they choose to”.

Ensuring student safety and well-being

The videoed incident underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive approach to ensure the safety and well-being of all students at Pāpāmoa College.

In March 2021, the Pāpāmoa College Board issued a message on bullying, which states that “bullying of any sort is not acceptable to Pāpāmoa College and the Board of Trustees is keen to see any harassment removed from the school environment because it affects all involved”.

The message provides helpful information for students about what to do if they are being bullied.

Challenging antisocial behaviour

The principal says, sadly, with the college’s higher expectations, some students have chosen not to cooperate.

“As a consequence, we have seen significant numbers of students stood down or suspended from Pāpāmoa College last year in comparison to the previous years,” says Iva.

“We do not believe this increase reflects an increase in poor behaviour, but rather our reduced tolerance for behaviour that is inconsistent with our values and an active effort to improve overall behaviour and pride.”

Pāpāmoa College. Photo: Supplied.

He says the number of students involved in disciplinary action last year doubled, with many coming from the junior school, and they are mostly boys.

Iva says they manage every known case of bullying within the college’s policy and procedure.

“I suspect we may have allowed some anti-social behaviours to go ‘unpunished’ in the past,” says Iva.

“This has created a challenge for us as a school as we lift our expectations. I am confident that we will act on every report and where appropriate hold students accountable. Our stand-down and suspension rates last year highlight this commitment.”

Courage to stand up and speak out

In the video of the assault, a female student is seen initially intervening, pushing back against one of the students who committed the assault.

The student steps past her and unleashes a series of punches and kicks to the victim, being joined by a second student who does likewise.

The student being assaulted is seen stepping back, trying to get away from the two bullies, before falling to the ground where he is punched again.

Knowing how to deal with being bullied is also a challenge, as it requires the victim to speak up.

Other students who witness bullying need the courage to stand together to stop bullying and to know how to get help to ensure all students feel secure, valued and free from any form of harassment, says Iva.

“We encourage students to reach out to a trusted friend or staff member so we can act.

“Our value of ‘courage’ is an attempt to get many of those on the periphery of anti-social behaviours to speak up when they see or hear of such behaviour.

“Our whanau groups are pastoral groups where relationships between staff and students is different. The aim here is to reinforce positive relationships so that matters can be raised and support given.”

Barricading bathrooms

A Pāpāmoa College parent is also reporting that their student has stayed home from school due to not being able to enter the college bathrooms, and is waiting to get into a different college despite living outside the enrolment zone.

“She can’t go to the bathroom at Pāpāmoa College as the older girls have barricaded it because they are vaping,” says the parent.

The principal says they have not received any reports about barricading of toilets.

“We ask staff to monitor toilet areas while on duty and also have our cleaning/ground staff repair any damage or interference that may have occurred,” says Iva.

“This year we have new buildings with new toilets available for student use that make ‘barricading’ highly unlikely. In short, when we hear or see an issue, we fix it as quickly as we can. Students can use other toilet facilities around the campus.”

Involving the community

Iva says in Term 2 of 2023, following the Pāpāmoa College board surveying the community, a priority was accepted relating to student behaviour.

“The school then formulated a plan that was shared with the wider school community,” says Iva.

“We are keeping our community updated and across our on-going challenges. We want to make the wider community more aware of our stance and practices and that this type of behaviour is not widespread as some would suggest.”

The way forward

Although Pāpāmoa College does not have a specific anti-bullying programme in place, it does have a school-wide approach to bullying.

“We have engaged with the Ministry of Education to have a new programme in our school which directly supports positive culture, called ‘PB4L’ - Positive Behaviour for Learning.”

Iva says they are beginning the PB4L program at the college this year.

“It is a whole school initiative which aims to support a values based culture of well-being and care. This is a programme that we applied to and were successful in getting a place.”

He says they also hold timetabled and regular whole school and split assemblies which are ‘values’ based.

“Where appropriate, we may from time to time use these sessions to address anti-social unwelcome behaviours,” says Iva.

“Our approach is consistent with our policy relating to managing student behaviour. Once a matter is reported then our investigation process will start. This involves key staff and referrals up the chain of authority. As with any anti-social behaviour, we have little tolerance and as long as our process is robust we will always hold students accountable for their behaviour.”

Pāpāmoa College. Photo: Supplied.

The recent incident is shedding light on the prevalent issue of bullying within schools.

A strategic objective that Pāpāmoa College has is for the school culture to foster an environment which is positive, safe and affirming for students, with new strategies implemented.

“We have invested more resources into pastoral care for our learners,” says Iva.

“Two new Associate Dean leadership positions were created which will directly support other year levels deans from Y7-Y13.”

He says they have also increased the time allowance for deans so they can always be available to students.

He says the college has also increased staffing for their ‘at risk’ students, with two new rangatahi mentors to assist with supporting students with behaviour and learning challenges.

“We have reintroduced formal student councils. These are opportunities to grow and develop more leaders at school to further promote and embed these values throughout the college.”

The student councils are operating at both the Junior (Year 7 - 10) and Senior School (Year 11 - 13).

“We have introduced a new set of school wide core values which we intend to roll out this year.

“Our aim is to provide opportunities for students to put these values in practice. They are Courage, Aspiration, Resilience and Empowerment.

“These values arose from significant staff and student feedback about what we needed, to live in a complex world.”