Probe launched into bullying claims at Perthshire school

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Perth and Kinross Council’s head of education and learning Sharon Johnston has commissioned an investigation into claims of bullying and other discriminatory behaviour at Crieff High School.The probe will be led by service manager for secondary education David Macluskey and focus on allegations made by a pupil that racism, sexism, sexual assault and harassment, homophobia and transphobia are “rife” at the institution.A student at the school published an open letter on social media last weekend stating she had witnessed sexual harassment and racist abuse at the school.She went on to claim this kind of behaviour had become normalised through the school’s alleged “inaction” over the problems and that pupils are “scared” to speak up as they feel they may be bullied further for doing so.Announcing a formal investigation into the claims is now underway this week a PKC spokesperson said teams will be looking to gather information and testimony from pupils and staff “to identify any areas for improvement in Crieff High School”.Sheena Devlin, the council’s executive director of education and children’s services, remarked: “We take the allegations made regarding Crieff High School extremely seriously.“Nobody should feel victimised or harassed in any of our schools.

I want to assure all children, young people, parents and carers that we do everything we can to tackle bullying of any kind.“This investigation will make sure the policies and processes we have in place at Crieff High School, and across all of our schools, are as effective as possible in ensuring our pupils learn in a safe and welcoming environment.“I would urge all children, young people and staff at Crieff High School to engage with the investigation team so we get a