This is really worrying me

[Imchangingmynametodad]

My DD is due to start secondary school in September. However she is going to be going to a school with a boy who lives near us and has taken a dreadful dislike to her. He has told her that she is not allowed to go to the local park and that if she does he will come round and smash our cars up (a threat that I am afraid I take seriously). I am at my wits end and I know that there is no point me going to see him or his parents as he is a complete yob and I think the situation will just be made worse. At the moment she just does as he says and doesn't go to the park, but I am concerned that he is also going to bully her when she gets to school. It seems to me that this he has the right to own the area and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it.

[Desiderata]

Ewww, this is not a good situation to be in, is it?

With regards to the secondary school, could there not be safety in numbers for dd? And could you forewarn the school so that they can keep an eye on the situation?

I doubt that the yob is unknown to them ...

[Imchangingmynametodad]

It is difficult. She is going to walk to school with a friend, but she has to pass the end of his road to get to her friends house and presumably he will be going to school at the same time. I am just hopeful that, being the type of child he is, he doesn't go to school that often. I agree that I should flag up the situation with the school and that he is undoubtedly known to them already, however unfortunately her new school don't seem to be that approachable although I recognise that that might change once she has started there.

[Desiderata]

I know this is not very PC (and totally uphelpful to you), but about ten years ago a friend of mine had a very similar situation (local yob threatening various children), and acting like he owned the manor.

One night, all the fathers in the neighbourhood (of all colours, shapes and sizes) got together and cornered him in the local park. He was told, in no uncertain terms, that if he threatened any of their children again, he would have to deal with all of them.

It worked a treat!

[Imchangingmynametodad]

Well that at least brought a smile to my face. How I would love to do that and I bet the little runt would run for the hills too. However nowadays he would probably call the police and have all the dads arrested. It seems that in a lot of cirumstances these days the decent people are the ones who have their head in their hands while the yobs rule the roost. Thanks very much for your ideas.

[lucyellensmum]

You should call the police, there is a law against threatening behaviour, that may just be enough to scare the little bastard off That way, you have the upper hand too if ever there is an incident at school or the likes and it gets twisted around, bullies are good at that.

[Tanee58]

Most city schools (at least, ours in London) have 'pet policemen' assigned to them, who could liaise between you, the school, and this boy's family. You may need to be persistant, but I'd suggest speaking to the head teacher at the beginning of term and asking to speak to the police contact also. This boy can't be allowed to behave like this - for his own future good, if nothing else. If the school doesn't seem to be acting, contact your local councillor or even your MP as they should be able to put pressure on the school and the police to act. This boy's behaviour is anti-social and action should be taken.

Good luck. I was bullied as a teenager and I have NO tolerance for bullies!

[Imchangingmynametodad]

Thanks for your suggestions. The thought of going to the police is quite scary as I am ashamed to say that I am frightened of reprisals. I will definitely talk to the school if he does approach her at school and if he makes problems on the way to school.

[saggarmakersbottomknocker]

I would definitely talk to school when she starts there. You may find that he has the edges knocked off him a bit at secondary anyway. Often children who go along with an 'attitude' having been a big fish in a small pond soon find they are on the other end of it at secondary school. Also do you have a police community liasion officer you could chat to? It's not on that she is afraid to go to the park