Child assaulted at school.

[AnotherThrowawayUsername]

Apologies if this ends up long...
Name changed to preserve privacy.

S14 was attacked at school a couple of days ago by a larger and older boy (16). This occurred in a study room that all pupils have access to and are allowed to use. My son was there to revise for tests and was just setting himself up to start work, when the other boy decided he didn't want him there, picked up his stuff to throw it out the room, including his laptop. When my son went to stop him taking his things, the boy attacked him. He ended up pinned against a wall by the throat with the back of his head split open.

School have 'investigated' and are calling it child on child abuse and saying the other boy will be punished, but that as it is so close to end of term and his GCSEs, it won't be until next term. They are saying that the boy knows he overreacted and is blaming it on exam stress. So that's all meant to be ok, then?!

Yet, my son is expected to check in with a staff member multiple times a day, supposedly to make sure he is feeling safe. It feels more like he is the one being punished.

I am not happy that the other boy is still in the school at this time. It turns out he has previously been suspended for other inappropriate (but not violent) behaviour. I also have concerns about what happens if this boy stays on after GCSEs (school has a 6th form). Due to the house system, he will be in close proximity to my son every day, and will continue to be using the house, study areas etc, where my son should be able to safely work.

We have a meeting with the school tomorrow to discuss the situation. I am feeling so conflicted, as I don't want the other boy hung out to dry, so to speak. But, I also want to protect my son. I want to know what they are doing and what sanctions the other boy will face to ensure he learns that actions have consequences. Previous suspension doesn't seem to have worked.

I don't really know what I want from this, mostly to get it off my chest. What action would you be expecting a school to take over an assault like this?

I would get his head wound looked at and report the incident to the police.

Honestly I would have involved the police, it invovled damage to his belongings and a split open head! School can’t handle it clearly.

That sounds like a very serious assault, I would report it to the police. Your poor son

School will not tell you what action is taken against the boy.

Where I work this would be a suspension at the least. Students fighting recently were given a three day suspension followed by internal isolation for two days.

Police.
He's old enough to know better. Exam stress is a poor excuse I'm afraid.
He should be suspended.

Get the police involved.

Schools and colleges ,imo, never want to involve the police because it affects their reputation. I would suggest calling 101 for advice.

Report to police! He could have been knocked out or strangled. Boy should have been suspended immediately!

I'd also report to the police. You would if it had been some random on the street, and this isn't somehow less serious just because it was at school.

I'd want assurances from the school that they can keep DS safe, and I'd ask that the boy who assaulted him is not allowed access to the unsupervised study areas.

I would phone the police and then explain to the school that exam stress or not their response was inadequate.

I do not understand why parents leave it to schools to deal with violent criminal behaviour when if it happened to themselves on the street they would be straight to the police.

Report it, and hopefully the police can take proper action.

The idea that the school can't deal with it till after Easter because of GCSEs is also total bollocks. He should have been suspended immediately.

I'd call the police, report the assault.

Take photos of the injuries. Ask the school for a copy of the written statements the school should have taken. If they haven't taken statements, do it now.

Given the severity of the attack, the other boy could be charged with assault or wounding with intent.

The other boy should be suspended to revise at home. Your son's safety should be the school's priority. The school is putting their exam results before the safety of their pupils. They are a shit school.

It’s a police matter.
The boy should have thought about his exams before he assaulted someone.

Another vote for police. Your child was seriously assaulted.

As an aside when police pass the information to children's services I would expect them to look very closely at the other childs home life and whether they are safe.

Definitely a police matter.

Before your meeting, print off anything from the school’s website that relates to bullying and safeguarding and highlight any sections you think are relevant which shows they aren’t performing their duty of care and keeping your son safe.

He’s lucky he wasn’t killed, head injuries can be fatal.

So they will punish him after GCSEs when he will no longer be a pupil at the school? 🤔

Just adding to the chorus of contact the police.

Frankly, fuck his exams. All the school cares about is their pass rate and that's why they're refusing to punish him right now. That's outrageous to be honest.

He should have thought about his GCSEs before assaulting someone. I'm pretty sure excluded students are permitted to come in for exams only and then go home again. That's what I would expect in this situation.

That's not true that they can't do anything until after Easter. The other boy shouldn't be on the premises (depending on their behaviour policy) the school can ask for him to be 'directed off site' and hosted by another school for the remainder of year 11 as an alternative to permanent exclusion. If they should be permanently excluding the boy, theres mechanisms for making sure he still does his exams. He has commited an assault which brings consequences. Try not to go too far forward into what happens at 6th form age etc. It's the whats happening now and how do the school intend to keep your son safe so that your son can be successful in school.

Absolutely go to the police. Why on earth have the school not reported a serious assault resulting in injury on their premises to the police?

I would report it to the police personally. Your son was the victim of a violent assault. Had it happened on any other premises you wouldn’t hesitate to involve the police. The school are not the arbiters of justice here.

For that sort of severe injury, I would have taken my son to the hospital and filed a police report. I would expect the school to expel the other pupil. Knowing that they don't like to do that nowadays, I would expect him to be kept separate from my child, at the very least, and it's a load of rubbish that they can't punish the other child until next term.

You have every right to get your local news teams from press and television. You could tell the head teacher that at the meeting. I reckon they will take action then as they will not like the bad publicity. I think it is a poor response so far. I was sad to hear about this. I hope your son is not too traumatised by this incident. The school should hang their heads in shame. It might be worth commenting how would they have handled things if the same happened to their child.

OP we had similar. Our son had to go to hospital to get checked out. We made an appt to speak to the headteacher who saw us with his deputy. All he was interested in was whether or not we were blaming the staff for what happened and to tell us that the boy concerned wasn’t the worst! We also contacted the Council in writing to tell them what happened and reminded them of their “duty of care” and the fact that we knew the individual had been aggressive to other children in the past. We had a few letters going back and forward. We made it clear they wouldn’t like the publicity we would give them if there was a recurrence. We did contact the police who came to the house to discuss what happened with our son. Social services phoned us and wanted to talk about mediation. So that could be on the cards. We didn’t go that route though they did come to the house, I just wanted the individual to have it on his record as we had found out he had previous form and no consequences to him. Us phoning the police upset his guardian so perhaps it was the shock he needed. There were no further instances. An unpleasant experience all round. My advice, contact the Council or whoever is in charge of schools in your area and do it in writing, contact the police as it is obviously assault and get it on the boys record. Definitely the police as the boy needs a sharp lesson to keep his hands to himself.

This. If you haven't done this OP, do it asap.