The mother of a girl whose information was posted online by bullies, leading to sexual messages being sent to her, said her school's handling of the situation was "absolutely abysmal.".
After her Snapchat handle was posted on adult-only forums, according to Gemma, whose name has been changed, the 13-year-old received explicit texts.
She claimed the Tameside school offered "absolutely nothing" in the way of assistance.
Taking "safeguarding and bullying very seriously," the school declared.
The bullying, according to Gemma, began earlier in 2023 and included her daughter being excluded at mealtimes, as well as offensive name-calling and body-shaming. Gemma reported this to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
She claimed that the situation culminated in the sharing of her daughter's information on forums for adults without her knowledge and the creation of a profile showing her as a woman in her 20s.
"One of them was registering for online sex chats in [her] name. "And the school gave a damn," she claimed.
"In a single day, she received 80 contacts. ".
She claimed that despite reporting the abuse to the Greater Manchester Police and the district's MP, the girl continued to experience anxiety and insomnia as a result, which caused her to miss school.
She claimed that the school's administration refused to accept the reasons for her daughter's absence despite receiving letters from her doctor describing problems with "mental health, confidence, and energy.".
In order to reintegrate her daughter, she continued, no change in format or schedule was provided. She also mentioned that one teacher had called the abuse "petty.".
She declared, "The school did nothing, not even a thing.".
Her daughter had recently transferred to a new school, she said.
She described what she had gone through as "absolutely abysmal and horrible.".
"She used to be a confident, well-liked teenager, but now she's the complete opposite.
She won't even exit the front door any longer. ".
A "considerable number of students" told inspectors that they did not feel safe during a recent Ofsted inspection of her original school.
While a school official stated they were unable to comment on specific cases, they did state they took "all reported concerns regarding safeguarding and bullying very seriously.".
Safeguarding is the top priority in our post-Ofsted action plan, and when such incidents come to our attention, the school conducts a thorough investigation.
