Children are reportedly afraid to go to a school due to social media bullying including "hate pages" targeting specific pupils. The family of one child at Cardiff West Community High School in Ely told us the anonymous TikTok accounts make vile promises to get children "beaten up" if a post reaches a certain number of likes.

Many of the pages are named after the secondary state school and follow the theme of Mr Men or Little Miss cartoons, making posts that name-call pupils with insults like "Little Miss Crawly Nits." WalesOnline has seen one family's complaint to TikTok over "harassment and bullying" by an account that stated: "I'm turning this into a [child's name] hate page." In response the social media platform said "the reported content doesn't violate our community guidelines". We approached TikTok's press office for comment but it failed to respond.

"They have screenshotted her face, made horrible memes," said a family member of one pupil . "She has seen them and it has affected her. The school can't do anything about it. They are aware of over 10 hate pages. They initiate fights, pick on children and say 'This person needs to be beaten up.' Some say, 'Get me to 500 likes and you can see this child being beaten up.' You can't do anything to stop it.

"It's quite disturbing that this is allowed by TikTok. When I reported the 'hate page', they wouldn't remove it. Even when I made clear it involved a 13-year-old child they still said no. So what are parents meant to do? There are girls just being ridiculed by these pages. They say 'This is the girl most likely to get battered.' They then bait others to post pictures of that child. That's what these children are growing up seeing.

"Videos are posted showing children having fights, sometimes in the playground, at other times outside school. The videos are shared on Snapchat as well. Children are filming while their schoolmate is getting stamped on and punched. One girl was made to lick another girl's shoe on camera. This is the reality of what social media is making these children turn into."

One family challenged a "hate page" by messaging the account. The anonymous troll defended themselves by saying "there is plenty accounts posting ur [child]" and "the ones of [child's name] was requested by people". They added: "Like I think people who don't like her because people are posting Tiktoks of her and [another child] on other Little Miss accounts."

Despite the family telling the troll the devastating impact the abuse was having on their child's mental health, the page later posted: "Guys we [are] still posting [because what's] the mum gonna do?" Another post read: "Guys all get us to 800 and request if u want us to do it of people u don't like... we won't say nothing."

Cardiff West, which has around 613 pupils, has banned phones on school grounds but this has had limited impact, according to one family we spoke with. "They are a good school, and they have tried. They have just employed a social media mental health therapist for children. They have banned phones but children still hide them in their bags.

"Some children are withdrawing from school because of the severity of bullying. One of the accounts put up a message saying 'How can a mother stop us?' Well, we might not be able to stop you, but we can make people aware. I want parents to know. If your child seems quiet and they don't want to go to school, ask what's been happening on social media."

TikTok claims it does not "allow content that may put young people at risk of psychological, physical, or developmental harm", adding: "We do not tolerate language or behaviour that harasses, humiliates, threatens or doxxes (publishing personal information about someone online with a malicious intent) anyone on the platform." We asked the platform why it had rejected the family's complaint about the "hate page". Its press officer told us she would look into this but did not provide a response.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "Cardiff West Community High School takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying in all its forms, including online bullying. The school has taken measures to educate pupils about the dangers that arise from the misuse of social media, and the negative effects that it will have on their health and wellbeing. The curriculum we deliver to pupils directly addresses these issues and these messages are reinforced in regular school assemblies.

"The decision taken by the school to ban the use of mobile phones was in large part motivated by our determination to protect the pupils from online bullying, and to protect their health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, social media use can occur 24 hours a day and whilst we have a policy of no mobile phones during school hours, we are unable to enforce this when pupils are not on site.

"If any parents and guardians have any concerns regarding the safety of their children, they should contact the social media platform, report offences to the police in addition to speaking to the school. Anonymous accounts are difficult for any school to investigate. We know that this is a major cause of concern to many schools across Wales and would welcome a national conversation and approach on the matter." Snapchat was also approached for comment and did not provide a response.