Anti-bullying school 'neglected'

All the pupils at the college have been victims of bullying

Parents in Kent claim they have been forced to establish their own school for victims of bullying because the state system is failing them.

The Co-operative Independent College in Broadstairs charges pupils £70 per week to attend because it gets no funding from the local education authority.

Kent County Council (KCC) insists its own Safer Schools programme deals sufficiently with bullying.

It added it was more beneficial for pupils to stay in mainstream education.

'No-one cared'

Sally Williamson from KCC said: "I think it would be quite concerning to ostracise young children who perceive they have been victims of bullying or harassment in some sense.

"I also feel they lose some of the benefits of going to a mainstream school around peer relationships, social interaction and things that will equip them for life."

But one 13-year-old pupil who had her hair set alight by bullies at her previous school, now attends the new college because she felt that no-one cared.

Corron Osborn, teacher at the Co-operative Independent College, said: "It's not fair when the bullies have special compensation, special buildings and schools.

"These are the children who have been bullied, who are the victims, and they have nothing."