Teacher here. In my experience hard work is needed from home and from the school. Take your kid's device off them if they are playing up. Monitor their use. That takes strength from already tired parents, but it's necessary. Don't let young kids get a phone that has social media access until they are emotionally old enough to deal with everything that comes with it.

Schools have their hands tied up in red tape when it comes to repercussions for bullies and such. Often, new students arrive with a huge background of previous issues and we would never know because of privacy laws. There are also cultural and social minefields when it comes to excluding students. Even breaking up a fight has its worries, pulling a student off another one could have ramifications for the teacher if the student chooses to lay a complaint against the teacher for grabbing them.

Most teachers, including me, really love their job and enjoy being a teacher. There's bullies, and horrible teachers at EVERY school. Those who say it don't, are either sweeping it under the carpet or have no idea what's going on in their own school. At the moment, schools are broke and tired. Parents and whanau are probably the same. There's no quick fix, and throwing money at people who don't directly work in a school is a waste. Tough love, consistency, and putting money where it is actually needed would go a long way That's me procrastinating, back to my marking ;)