Laura Anne Jones, Senedd member for South Wales East, has raised the alarm on bullying inside local schools, after being contacted by a worried local parent whose child had to leave their secondary school after severe bullying damaged their mental health.

She said there is sometimes a “lack of urgency” from some schools in tackling bullying, which can be extremely frustrating for parents. Speaking in the Senedd Laura said “ I spoke to a constituent whose child suffered bullying at a school over a long period of time.

The family raised concern with the school, but the bullying continued.”

As an advocate for those struggling with their mental health, Laura was keen to highlight the effect that bullying can have on the mental health of students, and how in this case the girl was unfairly forced out of education, ultimately causing her to have panic attacks. “This led to the child suffering from panic attacks, and she was eventually kept out of school activities, which meant her not doing lessons for months in the run up to her GCSEs. She felt unable to stay on in the school to do A-levels and her parents are convinced this has profoundly affected her mental health.”

Laura fears that if bullying like this is not tackled, many students will have their education negatively impacted and suffer from suicidal thoughts.