How to approach member of staff about this

[upsidedownfrown]

Hiya, not a teacher but am support staff in a primary school. Due to family commitments my role and working hours have changed and so I am quite often on lunch duty which I actually really enjoy!

Will be relatively vague to remain as anonymous as possible. There was a scuffle between 2 ks2 boys today. Both boys are 'high spirited' and clash with other at least once per week. I did not witness the scuffle but as the most senior on duty, I filled in the report and spoke to boys involved. I asked the member of staff who witnessed it, exactly what happened and wrote it as she said it (mrs x says "blah blah blah")

One child, child a,was left with quite a mark and blamed it on the other child, child b. The other member of staff categorically denies any wrong doing by child b saying he did go for child a but never threw anything at him and she saw the whole thing, and child b stopped immediately when she called his name.

Child b fully admits he left these marks on child a by throwing something at him and actually got a few kicks in too.

Now I know the the staff member may just be mistaken but I have a gut feeling that she was fibbing on purpose. She has a bit of a soft spot for child b, feels sad for him when he gets in bother and I feel she was wrongly defending him so he came out of it as the innocent one.

How do I approach this? I'm not senior staff but was the lunchtime most senior on duty if that makes sense.

I work closely with this woman every day. We're not exactly chummy but don't hate each other... We're just indifferent I guess.

Should I speak with head teacher just to give her a heads up of my suspicions? Because I can't prove she's lying for this child. Just so if she is a witness to any further incidents it can be looked at more closely? When I told the staff member that child b had admitted to hurting child a, she just went along the lines of 'well! I didn't know that. Ok then' and walked off. Awkward.

[upsidedownfrown]

Oh god sorry, that was really long!

[disappearingninepatch]

Have you included it in your report?
Mrs X said, "Blah, blah, blah."
Child B admitted to blah, blah, blah.
If so, you have done your part.

[upsidedownfrown]

I have included it, yes. Made it very clear. Just worries me how many times she's done it before. The lad needs support, we recognise that, but of the full extent of his behaviours aren't being reflected in other people's reports or are not being reported at all, I worry his support will continue to be minimal..

You're right though. I've done what I can

[Starlight2345]

Yes document it all..

Child A...is in essence been called a liar..Will be damaging to child A, Child B won't get the support he needs if there is a need ( as you are implying)

So yes document and hand on for more senior staff to sort out.

[ElizabethShaw]

Don't approach her about it if you aren't her line manager, pass it on to your/her managers.

[Cynderella]

You've done enough. Reports should be factual, and if you've reported what was said by each party, there should be someone else to read through and recognise anomalies.

If you try to exert influence, it will look personal.

If you have concerns about the child, raise them separately, citing the incident as evidence.

[Apple23]

You've done all you can in the report.

Speak to whoever is responsible for behaviour (deputy head if you're not sure) about strategies to manage these two boys on the playground to minimise the chance of these incidents recurring.