Langley Primary School began this year as a small but vibrant school with an enrolment of 43 students.
Ten months later it has an enrolment of just eight students and permanent staff departing or on stress leave.
The mass exodus has come following a flurry of claims of students feeling unsafe and bullied, and staff on Workcover.
While this newspaper cannot report in detail the allegations being made, we can confirm parents who have removed their children from the school have made formal complaints in writing to the Department of Education at both the regional and head offices but have been left dissatisfied with responses they believe inadequate.
The Midland Express understands the staff have sought professional advice on the situation.
One parent who removed a child from the school said they’d contacted the department a month ago and were told they’d receive a response by the end of the week.
“They said it was a very serious complaint and would be taken very seriously.
“As yet we are yet to hear a reply.”
Another parent said they felt they’d let their child down by allowing her to stay at Langley Primary this year.
“We’ve been speaking with her GP about seeking psychological counselling for her. She is also getting support from staff at her new school.
“The change has been really agonising, she was just crying, sobbing, anxious, not sleeping and saying ‘I’m not going to wake in the morning to go to school’.
“Although she hated the sum total of her day at Langley, the shock of moving (schools) and having to rebuild everything was horrible for her.”
A Department of Education spokeswoman told the Express that all complaints were taken seriously and followed up as appropriate.
She said that as with all schools, enrolments at Langley Primary changed “for a variety of reasons relating to the personal and family circumstances of its students”.
“Langley Primary School is working closely with its students and families to provide a teaching and learning program that supports the academic, physical and social development of its students,” the spokeswoman said. She said a primary school located outside an urban centre should have 11 or more students, but that the department was assisting Langley Primary to apply for an exemption.
The school’s principal was contacted but declined to comment.
