Help needed please to tackle Y4 teacher over whole class discipline

[CovMum]

My DD is well behaved at school and has had no other problems up until now. The teacher they have is well known for being harsh. If any child misbehaves, talks or does not do their reading book the night before they are all kept in at playtime. This has happened every day since they started this system last week. My DD has gone from a child who loves school to one crying and finding every excuse not to go. It has lead to the "guilty" children being called names.

[startail]

Whole class punishment is very frowned upon. If this is really happening it's a speak to the head problem I'm afraid.

[CovMum]

Thanks that is another problem we cannot see the head. We have to go through a hierarchy of teacher, phase leader, senior teacher, deputy head and then eventually head. This head started 2 years ago and is hardly ever seen only at christmas plays or concerts when she puts on a show for the parents.

[ragged]

Governors? They should be somewhere on that list, OP.

[mungogerry]

I don't always think that having a "strict" teacher is a bad thing, but this does sound overboard.

Personally, I would see the head directly regarding this and just repeat everything you have posted above. I would normally advocate speaking to the teacher in the first instance, but I doubt very much that the teacher would change their style if you went in and chatted to them about it. Also as it is impacting on the whole class in such a negative way, the head needs to be aware asap.

I do hope the teacher mellows soon or the head steps in with some guiding words, and that your DD begins loving school again.

[bounceyball]

We have the opposite problem - my dds teacher doesn't do discipline. Class get away with talking and not completing work. I am also at a loss as to what to do.

[mungogerry]

Cross posted. I would telephone the secretary and ask for an appointment to see the head, explaining that is is not appropriate to speak to the teacher, in this instance, if you are questionned.

[CovMum]

Yes the governors are after the head if you are not happy. My other DD had no regular teacher in reception after the first half term and had a different supply teacher every day for the rest of the year. The head refused to speak to us about it. Three children were taken out of the school as a result. Apart from that and this issue now I am otherwise happy with the school.

[IndigoBell]

Why are you happy with it? It sounds absolutely awful.

Have you got anything to compare it to?

Do the 3 people who were taken out say there new school is better?

It can be really, really hard to judge if your school is any good or not........

It's normal for HTs to be very accessible. Standing on the gate every morning and saying hi to parents is very, very common. I'd be incredibly alarmed if the HT didn't want to talk to parents.

It's not normal to have to escalate problems through all those levels.
It's not normal to use excessive whole class punishment.
It's not normal to have a different supply teacher ever day.