Mumsnet Talk

My son (aged 10) stood up for a friend today in the playground and ended up being punched three times in his stomach. Both boys were then taken to a teacher who wouldn't hear the story as to what happened so both were treated equally as if both were to blame.

This is a general failing of the school as the children are not allowed to speak. If they try they are then told off for back chat and get into even more trouble.

I am not just concerned about my child, I am concerned about the whole school. It is demoralising to the children and it is not helping them develop into secondary school children who need to start thinking for themselves.

How can I even begin to bring this up with the school as the Head takes any criticism very badly.

If you have a complaint that you can substantiate then follow the regular complaints procedure. As for changing the school's ethos or policies generally I would have thought your chances of doing that were minimal.

Yes I feel that my chances of changing the general ethos of the school are minimal and that is why I feel so powerless. There are, however, other parents who feel the same - we are just glad our children are now in Y6.

That having been said, if your son was bullied when he was punched (and wasn't in a fight) and the school didn't respond appropriately to a complaint of bullying then you can make a complaint in the usual way. The school has a duty of care to its pupils and the school governors will be well aware of that.

Yes thank you - I could go about it that way. It is just such a shame as it has the potential to be a great school. Such a pity the teachers there are not child-friendly!

I would email a written complaint to the school today stating that your child was punched three times n the stomach and ask why this was not followed up.

Then follow standard governors procedure if response is not good.

What is the general reputation of the school? Is it a popular school? It sounds horrid, surely 'fact fnding' is necessar before doling out punishments.

It is pretty horrid. They are very controlling with the children and do not treat them like little people.

There are so many instances of injustices that I am sure you would not believe what goes on in that school - sometimes I feel as if the teachers had just stepped out of Dickensian novel!

Do you have any alternatives nearby? I feel ethos is so vital, I personally would take a good ethos with less good results over a school with a bad ethos and excellent results. I just feel happiness in school is the most vital factor.

Hi! I am here to play devils advocate!!

I am a teacher and one of the biggest drains on my learning time is playground disputes. Today is a perfect example for me. When the children came in after lunch I had 3 children who needed to talk with me about playground problems. Naturally they all had differing accounts and it took 20-30 minutes to listen to each child individually and then again altogether to get to the truth.
I had 2 of these. I lost 1 hour of teaching time getting to the root of these 2 disputes. If your child's teacher is being pushed for targets, better lesson results etc, then he/she may not feel they have the time.

On the flip side the reason I take half a hour to solve each problem is because I feel it is important to show child we value the truth and their opinions rather than just say we do. After a term with my class I can honestly say the no longer lie to me (on the whole) as they know I will get to the truth eventually and I double their punishment if they have lied!!

Your son should write down his accounts of what happens, even after the event . Then give to his teacher. If he is any good at all then he will hopefully start to take a bit more notice!

Goof luck

I appreciate it takes time, but can you imagine being bullied in the work place and a boss simply ignoring you? Children are subjected to such cruddy treatment just because teachers/schools want to get through their lesson plans. I fully appreciate the pressure put on teachers, but it's a shit school that has no time to deal with a pupil getting punched three times. Imagine if that happened at work, to an adult?

Sorry, I should have added good on you Laurasmurf for listening to your class.

Thank you all

LauraSmurf, ignore the ofsted/NC obsessed culture. What you're doing is giving those dc learning time: far more important for their futures than any pre-planned lesson they could be assessed on.

Thank you for the kind comments. I makes me think I am a good teacher. I'm not always convinced!!