Special report: Parents powerless to deal with mistreatment of children at school

Up to 50 families in one village gathered over a shared complaint about the school principal in 2014; eight years and numerous complaints later, nothing has changed. Jennifer Horgan investigates

File photo: Pixabay

At a town hall in 2014, approximately 50 families living in a small village gathered over a shared complaint: they believed the principal of their local primary school was mistreating children, particularly those with additional needs.

Many signed a letter, complaining about the principal's behaviour, and addressed it to the school’s board of management. Over the following days, families asked for their names to be removed from the letter, citing a fear factor. The chairperson of the board had labelled the meeting a witch-hunt. It came to nothing.