to want to know what will happen in this instance?

[Petraperfect]

If your child is hurt at school and says that a teacher did it, probably accidently but it may be that the teacher lost control to a certain extent? Who would you need to speak to and what would then be the process? I am sorry not to give more detail but it isnt actually me and it is situation that may be recognised in RL.

Thanks.

I would ask the teacher what happened.

If you're going to ask the teacher, you need to do it with the head present, that way the teacher can't say you're making accusations. You need to make it clear that this is, at least initially, just an enquiry.

She did, the teacher denied anything happened but seemed defensive but child is adamant that it did and is now refusing school.

In which case you need a formal complaint, in writing to the head and copy it to the head of governors. Detail time, place and said childs version of what happened. Let them know that if you do not have a written reply within 7 days that you intend to take it to the LEA.

Ok, well I think that it has gone beyond the written reply within 7 days thing. So what happens after it goes to the LEA? And who would she even address that to and in what form, written, phone call, email etc? Is there someone specific there that would deal with this? The concern is that now her child is refusing school she wants the reason on record. Fwiw there are marks on her child. I am going to direct her here so she can read the responses herself.

Was the chuild kicking off and the teacher restrained her in some way?
Is it that the child is too embarrassed to return to school because of the way she behaved?
Find out the full story before you ruin someone's career.

Petra, it is not your friend's place to decide whether it has gone past the "written reply seven day thing." This procedure is in place for other reasons, not least to allow the teacher to contact his/her union rep to arrange support during this matter.

The child has SN. Her issues at school arise because of her SN.

My friend hasn't "decided" anything, this happened a while ago and she is getting nothing back from the school. She wants to know what to do next.

She has no interest in ruining anyones career. She wants to know what to do now, that is all.

I really think the Headteacher should be given the chance to look into this, to be fair to all involved. It can and should be handled diplomatically.

I am quite sure that if her child continues to refuse then my friend will have to answer for that won't she? Its going to look pretty rubbish is she suddenly comes up with tales of woe only in response to concerns about non attendance. This is her main reason for wanting to get it all on the record.

Your friend needs to contact the Head, even if only by email in the first instance.

Any reason you didn't mention the SN in your OP?
If she;s worried about being pulled up for non attendance then surely her best course of action is to write an official letter to the Head, or CoG, or both?
The teacher still has every right to a decent period of time to respond, and acquire union support. It's difficult to say more without knwoing more details, which you understandably don;t want to give. Obviously there is a MASSIVE difference between a teacher dragging a kid out of a room and hurling him/her into a seat, and a teacher using trained restraint techniques when a child (SEN or not) needs to be restrained.

"Any reason you didn't mention the SN in your OP?"

Yes, I don't want to go into too much detail as its sensitive and didnt want to be emotive. Purely wanted to know what to do in such a situation as this. Does it matter if the child has SN or not when you are only wanting to know what the official procedure for such a situation is?

The child has been injured, she says her teacher did it and is now too scared to return to school.
The teacher was approached, as was the HT and my friend receieved unsatisfactory responses. Just complaints about the childs behaviour but no real explanation.
The child is still refusing to attend and my friend wants to know what to do now.

Thats it. No with holding, no drip feeding, purely a request for information.

Then CoG is the next port of call.

What is CoG?

Chair of Governors.

I have a friend who went down this road, and it is still ongoing. The Chair of governers said there was no evidence (Only three witnesses) so it has now gone to the department of education.

Oh ok, sorry don't have kids in school myself. What will happen then? I think she just wants to get this on the record with minimal hassle for all concerned, especially her child. At the end of the day her child has been hurt. I am actually quite surprised that there doesn't seem to be much sympathy for her on here actually. Its all about the teacher .

Never mind, thanks for your answers.

Thanks crabapple yes I think that this will most likely go that way as it was only the child and this teacher there when it happened. How long has it been going on? If you don't mind me asking? I think everyone just wishes this had not happened and wants to get back to normal but at the end of the day if my friends child had gone INTO school with those marks, then she would have to answer for that wouldn't she? I don't think she would get away without an explanation.

It's very difficult to offer advice without knowing more details about it.

In fairness, Petra, it's been mostly me who's expressed sympathy for the teacher. As union rep, and teacher to some very difficult kids, I do have an interest in ensuring teachers get a fair hearing. I have made no insinuations about your friend's child - of course I am sad they have been hurt, but I do believe it's hugely important procedure is correctly followed before someone's entire career is potentially destroyed.

hope the dc is ok Petra :( we send our kids to school to learn not get hurt, are the school going to investigate, I take it they are not taking this seriously since you are asking for advice. Children are so vulnerable and we trust teachers to care for them in school.

Oh I agree entirely butwhy but I know this child and I have seen the marks and something is not right and as I said previously if she was going INTO school in that state questions would be asked and my friend would be expected to provide some answers. If her dd continues to refuse to attend then more answers will be expected.

My friend has received no real explanation for what happened and due to her dd's SN cant really get a full explanation out of her. Suffice to say this child is not given to telling lies, not really capable of it.

bodyofeeyore honestly not being awkward but I am not sure how much more detail you need, I have said everything that happened as far as I know it

I fully understand that you cannot tell us everything here, but that's part of the reason why accurate advice cannot be offered.

If your friend is not satisfied with the response from the HT she should contact the CoG, that's the correct procedure. If I were her I'd be tempted to try again with the HT though - has the HT seen the injuries? If she warns the HT she's going to take it to CoG then HT will make sure everything is done by the book.

I would say however that your friend being dissatisfied with school procedure may be to do with how the school have communicated how they have dealt with the situation - ie they have have conducted a full investigation already. Doesn't sound like it though, and I'd expect a 'restorative justice' meeting if the teacher was found innocent by the HT - a meeting to ensure the relationship between the pupil and teacher is mended.