A Summerside father said his son was seriously injured by a bully at school and he wants more done to protect him.

Benoit Prégent said his child has been bullied by a specific student for the last three years while he’s been attending École-sur-Mer.

But, he said recently it got worse and the boy is now at home with a painful injury. Prégent said his son’s bully aimed a sled at him when students were outside playing at school during recess.

“He ran into my son with a toboggan at the bottom of the hill and when that hit my son it broke his hip,” Prégent said.

He said this injury happened several days after his son was punched while at school. He’s asked the school to keep a closer eye on him and said he’s been complaining about the bully for years and doesn’t feel enough is being done to protect him.

“He is being targeted by that kid, absolutely,” Prégent said.

“But it doesn’t seem that anything’s been done.”

After the sledding incident, Prégent said his son asked to go home because of the pain, which prompted a trip to the hospital the next day where X-rays were taken. 

Prégent said his son has had to miss four weeks of school and may need surgery as a result of his injury.

P.E.I.’s French-language school board, La Commission scolaire de langue française, did not provide an interview or talk about the case specifically with CBC.

But in an email statement said the “safety and well-being of students is the top priority for the Commission scolaire de langue francaise, our schools follow established policies and procedures which outline expetations and intervention protocols.”

Prégent has taken his concerns to the French-language school board and he praised the work of the child service co-ordinator at the school, but said he still doesn’t know what the plan is to help his son.

“We don’t see any actions taken and we don’t see any special attention taken to ensure his safety,” he said.

“Some days he was reluctant to go to school. Thank God he has good friends at school. That’s the other part that helps him,” Prégent said. 

Prégent wants to bring awareness to the issue and he wants to see the situation taken more seriously, with a plan in place for when his son returns to school. He said he’s speaking out because he wants to encourage other parents to do the same if they’re worried about bullying.

The school board said schools work with families when concerns are brought forward.

“My long-term hope is that they take this bullying seriously,” Prégent said.

“It’s more than just the pink t-shirt one day a year.”