![MP Roma Britnell is concerned about violence in south-west schools. MP Roma Britnell is concerned about violence in south-west schools.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/379mw9XPZ7UFRqmwjWhGKkr/e9a0e316-3fe2-4b6d-be9b-5bfda9872362.jpg/r0_0_4511_3007_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Violence in south-west schools has resulted in some students enrolling in virtual schooling, according to Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell.
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In parliament on Wednesday, Ms Britnell said she had been contacted by parents concerned about their child's safety and well-being.
"There are children in South West Coast secondary schools who have personal safety intervention orders, also known as IVOs, due to instances of physical violence perpetrated on them during school hours on school premises by fellow students," Ms Britnell said.
"One student was targeted by a group of older students who physically assaulted them by pushing them to the ground and striking them repeatedly."
Ms Britnell said the incident was captured on CCTV and the matter was in the hands of the police.
"This same student was then actively pursued by the same group of older students during class changeover and repeatedly assaulted," she said.
"Another student was not only repeatedly physically assaulted at school but also harassed and tormented on social media and out in the community."
Ms Britnell said some students did not have the option to simply change schools because of limited educational opportunities in regional Victoria.
"Some of these children have been forced to enrol in virtual schooling because their schools do not have the resources to ensure their safety," she said.
"These children have been forced to abandon educational opportunities, the chance for peer relationships and the ability to broaden their horizons due to the under-resourced and overwhelmed school system."
Ms Britnell said teachers were amazing people who did remarkable things to educate, inspire and support young people.
But they need more support, Ms Britnell said.
"Intervention orders in the playground you cannot make this stuff up," she said.
Dr Janine Bounds told The Standard she had written to Deputy Premier James Merlino outlining her concerns that a student will be seriously injured if something isn't done.
Dr Bounds, who has spent most of her working life as a school chaplain, said she was speaking to clients on an "almost daily" basis about bullying and threats of violence in schools.
"At the present time, students who I care for are facing a level of violence at a frequency that I have never before experienced," she said.
"Two days ago one of my clients was 'viciously attacked' at lunch time in front of the closed school library."
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