VIOLENCE at Cooktown State School has forced one mum into a daily 160km dirt-road trek in a bid to keep her children safe.

Zachery Tholen, 8, and his sister Charlotte , 7, are now thriving at Rossville State School, 300km north of Cairns, their mother Dayna Tholen, 32, told The Cairns Post.

But after the family moved to Cooktown in April 2007, the children endured months of physical abuse, Ms Tholen said.

"They were scared to go to school,” she said.

“It was a constant thing. He (Zac) got hit in the face six times.

"One side of his face was all swollen.

"He was all shaken up."

Zachery was also kicked repeatedly in the crotch by a six-year-old student, sworn at, pushed and slapped, his mother said. Charlotte suffered cuts after being shoved off playground equipment.

"It’s an everyday occurrence," Ms Tholen said.

"It happens to everybody."

Other parents reported excessive swearing, teachers forced to resort to yelling, a child head-butting a teacher, students spitting on each other and students selling marijuana at the gate of the adjoining high school, Ms Tholen said.

"They’re not acknowledging that there is a problem," she said.

"People say it happens everywhere, but this is our fourth school and no it doesn’t happen everywhere."

More teachers could help instil discipline at the school, she said.

"I'd be happy to see the cane brought back, but that’s never going to happen," she said.

The school run to Rossville, 40km each way, twice a day, was "hairy" Ms Tholen acknowledged.

"The roads have been washed away and we've moved debris off the road so we could pass.

"We were out moving logs back into the river."

But since starting the new year at Rossville in January, she said: "They're enjoying school, that's the main thing. I'd do anything for them."

In a statement, Education Queensland said a review of Cooktown State School's Responsible Behaviour Plan would be complete by the end of Term One.

Staff were available to address behaviour management issues which included a second deputy principal, a guidance officer and a part-time teacher who provided behaviour support, the department said.

The school principal was also happy to meet concerned parents or community members.

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