Safeguarding in school

[safefirst]

I've previously asked for advice as we are going through the process of transitioning my son back into school but we keep seem to be hitting problems.
Quick background son came home with severe fingerprint bruising to his arm I reported to police and school, no evidence, trying to transition son back into school he was really happy and then saw this particular TA and reacted to the point of crisis, he is autistic and non verbal, it was so extreme school referred to LADO they advised didn't meet threshold but to talk to TA and put accusation to her and put a risk assessment in place.
So follow on from my previous post the TA was pulled in by senior leadership team and asked if she caused the bruising to my sons arm she obviously denied it, she was then asked if she would move to a different key stage so she wasn't in the same part of the building as my son and she refused, risk assessment was put in place which had a 4/5 for my sons reaction and safety should he see TA, school said if he was to see her it would cause a crisis situation for my son that could lead to him harming himself or others, TA has been advised to avoid my son for safeguarding reasons so if walking down a hall and he is coming towards her she should duck in a room or turn around and walk the other way, on Friday we was in for a transition day as we approached my sons class this TA stood with her foot in her classrooms door blatantly staring at him, luckily he didn't see her as he was looking at a wall display and the teacher that was with us acted fast and stood to block his view, she then with another TA started walking down the hall towards my son, she has been told she can't do this by the headteacher, there is a risk assessment in place which she is totally ignoring, it's utterly disrespectful of her, all I get told is we will have a word with her! This isn't enough, a word, unbelievable, she knows this is a safeguarding risk, luckily the teacher managed to guide my son into a classroom whilst blocking the TA from his view, I honestly don't know what to do, this is a special needs school and spaces are few and far between.
I honestly don't know my next move I have emailed the senior leadership team and the headteacher.

@CollyWibbleWobbles I just don't get why they are so adamant not to move her, they must have there suspicions of her after everything that's happened, she should not be working with any children at all.

I absolutely believe you. I'd contact your social worker and the school FLO too
Monitor it everyday , record any changes in him in his home school book too
The fact that a teacher blocked her view to him is very telling
The problem being that you don't want it to appear as a witch hunt , but people will know what she's like. I've met some myself and reported them .no regrets

Yes, she can be moved to a different class/KS/ area and it can be framed that this is where the need is. It sounds as though the school are unwilling to do that though.

I would request an emergency review, as you said and request a transfer to the school you wanted in the first place. It is important that you have a paper trail of all the interactions you’ve had with them. Particularly stress the safety of your child in that school with the proximity of the TA.

So they've basically done all but move her.

I would have thought she'd rather move than have to actively avoid him. That RA reads as if they totally get she's a trigger for your ds.

They are telling her to move herself frequently from his location but yet are also saying if they move her she can sue?

I think she's made a threat - and is not very professional.

@safefirst have a look at IPSEA.org.uk

Suspicions without evidence cannot be acted upon.

That's simply law.

However pupil wellbeing can be. And your ds reaction tells them he cannot tolerate being in her company. You can draw your own conclusions as to why (I'm usually always on school staff side but this particular member of staff attitude despite a RA is ringing alarm bells).

Can't say too much because of confidentially but I've dealt with a situation of complaints about a staff member. In this case they we entirely innocent and the pupil just took a dislike to them. They'd hurt themselves and then accuse the staff member. In the classroom in front of witnesses!
Class staff all swapped with another class as parent thought they were in kahoots!!!

You can guess what happened next!!!

But my point is that staff that feel vulnerable to untrue accusations (I assume that's situation here she's been accused or questioned and denied it?) do not put themselves into that situation again. Her whole attitude of arrogance worries me most. If she thinks she's untouchable ......

@CollyWibbleWobbles what is the school FLO? maybe I didn't explain properly at the moment he isn't at school full time he goes in twice a week for half an hour with me with him at all times including in class, this is at the schools request that he only does 30 minutes per visit.

@Bluevelvetsofa yes I think you are right, he only started last September but between hospital admissions and the school closing classes because there short staffed or overrun with covid he's barely been there, you can see he remembers and he beams at the other TA's he remembers which is such a shame because they are doing an excellent job.

@itsgettingweird yes I'm guessing she has threatened with legal action, she must know that tongues will be wagging in the staff room, the staff know about the bruising to his arm, they were questioned by police and then they see his reaction to the TA most people would be putting 2 and 2 together, I wouldn't want to be in her position

@itsgettingweird you have hit the nail on the head.
Yes I had my suspicions it was her when the incident took place, he had bruising on his arm on 2 occasions the first I couldn't work out if it was fingerprints it looked like it but I wasn't 200% the second time it was awful my son looked like he had been beaten, the police saw his arm and said it would need a lot of force (squeezing) to cause that severe bruising they confirmed it was adult fingerprints from the size of the bruising and finger span, I couldn't say 100% it was this TA, the reason I had my suspicions is she was his main TA took over this role in February, she left him on the floor of a bus having a huge meltdown other kids trampling over him and he was right by the bus steps, then she called me the day after the bruising incident I had kept him off, she wanted to know why he was off then told me he has his moments and that I should home school him because he doesn't like school.
When I saw my sons reaction to her it confirmed in my head what I had known all along, teaching staff saw it, the teacher that shielded him saw it and said we need to get him out now he's in crisis, she said we have to keep that TA away from him, camhs where also with us they saw it, we all wrote reports, school were so concerned they referred to LADO.
She honestly doesn't seem to think there are any consequences to her actions, she does what she wants, she seems to want to antagonise my son, he is a tiny 6 year old with autism, severe global developmental delay and he's non verbal, he stopped drinking some days at school under her care, he was eating 2 biscuits a day, he does have an eating disorder but was eating his packed lunch before she took over.
She worries me, my son is my main concern but I also worry about the other children under her care.

@Anewuser yes I have tried to get an appointment with ipsea which is impossible.
They really helped when we was gearing up for tribunal.

You are all so helpful you honestly don't know what a relief it is to actually talk to someone about this and to get the amazing advice, feedback and support from you all

Family Liaison Officer @safefirst , does your school have a MASH team ?

I really cannot see how this will be resolved. The school has no evidence against this member of staff so can't get rid of her. You need to find another school if it is causing this much distress to your ds.

@CollyWibbleWobbles that I can't answer, when I reported to the police they forwarded it to the local MASH team, then we just had an officer come out.
Should school have a MASH team?

@cansu I understand what you are saying but they have seen the distress she causes him so that they can hold her culpable for and they can move her they are choosing not to.
Secondly it is a sen school it's not easy to get a space in a school they are like gold dust, just because I name another school on his EHCP doesn't mean a space in that school will miraculously appear unfortunately

I understand your feelings. I have sen my dc teact similarly. However it is not straight forward. You can't say it is because of abuse. It could be because she shouted or even just that he dislikes her for whatever reason. If there is no evidence then they cannot dismiss her.

@cansu no they can't dismiss her, although ignoring a RA not following an instruction within her role that could have caused a safeguarding issue is close to gross misconduct, I just want her moved

Would the TA when given the RA have been asked to sign to say she agreed with its contents? Or would it have been just handed over to her? Surely someone would have gone through it with her.
She hasn't been at the school long, she only started last September so not sure how familiar she would be with the RA.
It says the TA is aware of concerns and must strive to avoid contact with ds, with examples such as go to nearest room, walk the other way etc.
I honestly don't know an awful lot about the schools risk assessment process other than being told that the consequence for contact is a risk factor of 4/5 for my son, not sure what new risk rating means but one of these comes in at 12 which seems high.

The TA has denied hurting your son. There is absolutely no proof that she did. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just that without actual proof the school's hands are tied to a certain extent.

She will deny, deny, deny and demand "fair" treatment as an innocent party.

Look at it from her point of view, if you can. And then think of your next move.

You cannot tell the school what has to happen and if you aren't happy with how they are dealing with it then you need to think about removing your son.

For both your sakes. This is causing you a lot of unhappiness and stress.

I see what you're saying @PurpleWisteria but the facts that she is ignoring an RA can be treated as a separate matter re safeguarding, if you will.

For this RA to be effective she must be aware of its contents as it names her. The fact that a teacher has intervened and you have seent his behaviour is quite concerning. As someone else pointed out, if you had been accused of harming a child you would try to keep away.

I am not familiar with academies and how they operate, but there must be a complaints procedure in place. If you haven't seen one, I would ask for one in writing. Then follow that.

If I had been the teacher, knowing the RA, I would surely have a duty of care to report that it had not been followed by the TA??

on a lighter note, there are far too many acronyms in special ed aren't there?!

Might be worth popping this in to the sen forum too op

Sen chat

@PurpleWisteria I do understand where you are coming from and yes part of me thinks try to move ds.
However there are issues surrounding that decision, firstly sen places are not readily available, secondly the next nearest school that can meet his needs is at least 45 minutes away and thirdly that my son doesn't deal well with transition it's difficult when you see his little face light up at the staff and children he recognises, all the staff I have met there seem lovely and you can see how much the children think of them, it's sad that one bad apple can cause all of this.
Yes I know I can't tell the school what to do and I don't expect to be able to dictate to them, but in my mind this TA moving key stage would be reasonable adjustment, sendiass didn't know the answer to this as thankfully it is a rare occurrence.

@Sunnysidegold thank you.
we had a meeting after my son had been in class where I obviously bought it up, teacher just sort of nodded in agreement, meeting was with deputy head, camhs was there again they also saw exactly what TA done.
TA is named in the risk assessment absolutely and is fully aware that one she was going against the RA and that she would have caused a safeguarding issue should my ds have seen her.
And yes too many acronyms that's for sure

Just another thought ... perhaps something has happened previously where she was moved from the other Key Stage and therefore they can't move her back there, but obviously they wouldn't be able to tell you that?

Or perhaps she has been under investigation before and the school are wary of another one as she / her union may suggest they are trying to get rid of her?

As a parent I would not want my child anywhere near her based on what you've said. Good luck op x