To Think That DD School Are Covering Up Teacher’s Unprofessional Behavior

That is horrendous and I am shocked the school are doing nothing ! Possibly , they are behind the scenes ?

As a teacher myself I would NEVER go to a parent with my own opinion of a child’s needs . I have been in a situation before where I have suspected additional needs - to me , it was so clear that this child was autistic . I’m the parent of an autistic child myself and this child exhibited very similar behaviours that I personally couldn’t put down to anything else, this child was always getting into trouble . I was on long term supply and it really pained me to see them being , in my opinion , reprimanded for things that were beyond their control and not supported. I went to the head, who asked me to voice my concerns to the senco but he explained to me that this had been mentioned to parents before but they completely shut it down. Therefore , I just put things in place to support the child.

I would never approach a parent like that , especially in view of others when it’s so sensitive and to say it’s “ because she’s like another child with ADHD” it’s disgusting and goes against all the teachers standards we are expected to uphold every day . I’m sorry you were treated in this way x

The Head is worse than the teacher. Of course the head doesn't want you to make an official complaint because that would look bad on her and the school. Make the complaint official.

Oooohhh I am sorry but I would be taking this ALL the way.

The teacher’s behaviour was horrifyingly unprofessional and the Head’s response is utter nonsense given that it was during the working day, on the school site and related to her job/your child.

Off to the Board of Governors with you and the very best of luck!

Ive not read the whole thread but just read it to my DH who is a primary Headteacher.
He said the teacher , most definitely but also the school are not following the teaching standards expected which are about expectations and professionalism, and also is bringing in to disrepute the integrity of the school.
As a HT he said he would have called you in for a private meeting, most definitely WOULD have apologised for the behaviour of the staff member and although you may not actually find out what their 'consequence' was, the teacher would most definitely have a consequence (teaching standards / expectations).
It is the Headteachers role to ensure their staff DO act as part of the school. If that is their stance then you could honestly question their ability in their role as a HT.
Definitely not good enough and I would let the school know this and maybe speak with the Governors regarding GDPR.

On a separate but similar topic we recently went to a college parents night for our fs. Obviously he has a 'story' but we were unable to discuss any of it because it was so open. 2 lecturers in a room, with parents (some students) at seats in the middle of the room. We literally heard the whole conversation about one student's difficulties at parts of the course, how she was waiting to see a consultant and how her adhd meds might need adjusting, along with other stuff about her secondary education (very little ie 2 x½ days). It was awful. I did email the course leader and say ut was not acceptable.and we.couldnt discuss our fs in detail as it would mean others learnt of his situation.

Some posters made a really good point. Is this teacher a member of staff employed by the school, or self employed/ employed by a different agency?

In the first case, even if the governors wanted to side with the head, they can’t. It was a member of staff, on school grounds, talking about a pupil of the school , with information she gathered as part of her employment. If you explain it exactly like this , the Head has no excuse.

However, if this is an external provider , the Head is kind of right, even if she expressed herself very clumsily and you would need to take this up with whomever the music teacher’s employer is or their governing body .

They will always stick up for their fellow teachers but, trust me, she will have been spoken to about this and won't be doing it again.

Yes that’s what I was wondering. Is there anyone in the process that could do this?

It actually doesn’t, because OP went through the school and wasn’t happy with the result. It’s proof of nothing, except that what what OP is complaining about doesn’t meet the threshold of the TRA and it should be dealt with by the school. That doesn’t give the complaint legitimacy.

Is it not strategic to put in evidence as to why the heads initial decision was wrong though? Because if the governors back the head as some pp have predicted, then it will be long winded and stressful. So if it was me, I’d preempt this argument and evidence why it was wrong. An email from the tra - even just op saying she wants to make a complaint about a teachers conduct and being directed back to the school and told why - might provide that

It need not be long winded. She literally just puts the complaint in writing to the chair of governors. Because the complaint also now includes the head teacher’s handling of the initial incident it would go to the Chair anyway as a Stage 1 complaint about the head. Be very clear what the complaint is about, and what outcome you wish to see. An outcome you won’t get though is knowing how the teacher has been disciplined.

Re-reading the OP this is almost so crazy, it feels like information is missing.

Sorry OP - I don't mean to be nasty, but I am wondering if there is something about your initial letter to the Head that wasn't quite clear to get a response like that.

Was the letter totally focused on a GDPR breach?

I am saying this because I think it's worth revisiting to ensure the letter to the Governors is effective.

Why would you need to know this?

It’s more about shutting down the heads argument when op approaches the governors to save op the stress of a long winded complaints process

Honestly, this such a minor issue, it will just get referred back to the head - no one is getting sacked or put on a formal disciplinary for this. Best case is that the head has a word with the teacher and an apology is received by the OP.

None of the alphabet spaghetti organisations involve themselves at this level, it was mildly unprofessional, realistically it is worthy of a word in the teachers ear from the head, and certainly an apology, but that's as far as it goes.

Ok so I’m just thinkjng then. I think it’s better to be prepared and shut down what could be a long winded process quickly. Is there anyone in the complaints process who is quite senior who could put in writing why this is a matter to be dealt with by the school to save OP this long winded complaints process?

The TRA will only consider action where the behaviour might warrant prohibition from teaching. They don’t deal with less serious issues, and you have to have gone through all the complaints procedures available to you first. Follow the procedure as set out in the school’s own complaints policy, the next step of which will usually be to take it to governors. Governors don’t always just back up the head, I’ve been on two panels (that I can remember, probably more) where we didn’t just agree with the head and gave a different outcome to the complaint.

But the tra might be more appropriate? As this is about teacher conduct? No point going to the governors if they’ll just back up the head and this may not be gdpr so this is just one way of preempting and avoiding this argument

I would write to the governers

But that is absolutely not the LADO's job.
They will be busy dealing with extremely serious and complex safeguarding cases, including allegations of sexual abuse. They are not there to provide a listening service for disgruntled parents or tell HT's how to deal with complaints. It is absolutely nothing to do with them.
If OP is not satisfied with the HT's response she simply needs to follow the schools Complaints Process, which will be on their website in order to escalate her complaint.

Sorry to the previous posters. I know this is probably wasting these people’s time but sometimes pissing off the right people is how you embarrass an institution into acting properly.

Yes and that’s what I’m saying. You could say look I’ve been advised by the dfe this is a school matter, you gonna argue wit them and hide behind teacher acting on their own accord?

Im more going along the lines of getting someone senior to put in writing that this is a school matter and why, so that the op can then show it to the governors if they say it’s not a school matter

The response from the HT is infuriating. Personal capacity? In school grounds? When you have no relationship outside the school?

I’m in Scotland, and like a PP has said, but this could definitely be taken to the professional registration body for teachers. So unprofessional.

If she was speaking after school, in the playground, she is certainly still in her 'directed time' for working hours. Therefore, must have been speaking in her professional capacity.

Teachers can't diagnose. We can observe and share these observations privately to see what parents want to do next, following referral process.

Not saying it applies in your case at all, but the teacher also needs to look into the effects of trauma on children - it can have a surprisingly similar effect. They were way out of line.

I would get independent legal advice. The school aren't going to admit the teacher is in the wrong and If you have only verbally put in your complaint, you need to follow it up in writing after you've gotten the appropriate advice.