Edinburgh council has launched an investigation after videos surfaced online showing schoolchildren being beaten and bullied.
It is known that a number of students at Firhill High School have experienced “awful incidents” involving physical attacks and bullying.
Videos that were distributed to the media depict horrible assaults on kids, including punches and kicks to the head. Some of the clips seem to show several students abusing a single youngster. In another video, a boy was seen being assaulted on the school restroom floor, pulled up, and smashed head-first against a sink.
Education, children, and families chair Councillor James Dalgleish called the behavior “completely unacceptable” and stated that the school is currently collaborating with the police to “further address this as a matter of urgency.”
Cllr Dalgleish said:
“I was deeply shocked when I saw these videos and I want to reassure pupils and parents that I and the council leader take this extremely seriously. To be absolutely clear, bullying and behaviour of this kind is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
He added:
“School should be a safe environment where children and young people can learn and thrive, and I can only imagine how the victims and their families must feel. I will ensure that they are receiving all the support they need following these awful incidents.
Action has been taken by the school’s leadership to address this unacceptable behaviour, and I am fully committed to working closely with the school, education colleagues and Police Scotland to further address this as a matter of urgency.”
Former Colinton/Fairmilehead ward councillor and Labour MP for Edinburgh South West Dr. Scott Arthur has denounced the string of incidents and stated he will “follow any developments closely.”
What has the council said about the investigation timeline?
City of Edinburgh Council has not intimately bared a detailed timeline for its disquisition into the viral academy bullying vids, emphasising perceptivity around relating child victims and perpetrators under data protection laws.
Council education spokespeople verified active collaboration with Police Scotland’s education liaison officers, following Getting It Right For Every Child( GIRFEC) protocols that prioritise weal assessments before public updates. Standard practice limits adverts to cover ongoing inquiries, with internal reviews generally gauging 2- 4 weeks for original fact- finding before formal correctional or felonious referrals.
Under Scottish education guidelines, examinations involve academy operation interviews, maternal announcements within 24 hours of identification, andmulti-agency reviews assessing ethnic provocation or armament involvement flagged in CRER statistics.
