To have expected the head to ring TONIGHT

[owlsintheflowerpatch]

Have name changed as this will out me.

A child in dc year brought a knife into school yesterday. They showed the knife to the kids on their table before form. Dc described it as a pen knife with tools. He was showing off the knife bit. A boy on the table said he was going to report to the year head.

Today as dc and a friend were queuing for assembly and as everyone was pushing and shoving to get in the hall my dc was pushed and accidently bumped into the child who had had the knife the day before.

The child turned round and told my dc and their friend that if they pushed him again he would get them with the knife.

My dc has tried to find the year head but was unable to, dc has sen and is very shy and has issues approaching adults so did not feel comfortable approaching anyone else.

Dc rang me as soon as they came out of the gates to tell me, I rang school, the head and year head were apparently with the child after they had found out about the knife from the boy who said he would report. They were unaware until then that my dc had been threatened.
They did not speak to me at all (may have been with parents) and told me that they would speak to my dc on Monday and call me after then.

AIBU to think given the seriousness of the nature of the incident that someone should have phoned me after the meeting with the child if only to reassure me it was being dealt with and reassure my dc rather than a message through the office member and leaving us to stew all weekend or am I over reacting because I am cross about the incident?

Boom in some schools teachers are expected to do precisely that.

ilove is that in a school wth a leadership team doing their jobs properly?

In my opinion Boom decent leadership teams look after the safety of their staff and pupils.

I have experience of those who hang teachers out to dry.

Quite ilove!

I was subjected to prolonged bullying, abuse and assault in the classroom. The pupils weren't excluded. They even told me they did it because they knew the head was trying to get me out.
I know there are leadership teams who are quite happy to put teachers at risk.

A workplace should be safe for everyone within it.

SLTs who don't take their duty to keep the school environment safe are awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that ilove.

Yes they are awful and make us all feel unsafe. I know of incidents where children have brought in knives and not been excluded. Neither has it been communicated to staff so you know who to keep an eye on.

Agreed Boom and thanks. I'm fine now.

'there is a child with a knife in your community who threatens to use it if crossed.'

It's this that makes the situation even more serious, OP's DS didn't even cross this boy (not that that would have justified it), he just bumped into him by accident.

The boy is actively and repeatedly searching for ways to create a reputation that he's the kind of person prepared to use a knife for literally no reason.

This could translate into OP's DSs head that school is a dangerous place where he has no control over whether he finds himself in life threatening situations, and from the schools silence they've shown can't be counted on to reassure him that they'll keep him safe in a place where attendance is compulsory.

If it's got to the point where they have so many of these incidents that this one is considered minor and not worthy of even the most basic of victim support, then I fucking despair.

I'd willingly give the OP a few minutes of my precious fucking private life if I had information I knew would reassure her and her child, hell, I would call even if I didn't because I'd be concerned how her DS was faring!

Just phone the police, that what they are for, dealing with people who are treating and violent.

Any adult who was threatened with a knife in their place of work would involve the police, the law is the same for children.

threaterning

Last night I mentioned an incident where the boy with the knife was off the premises within half an hour. I would add that as soon as I became aware that pupils were being intimidated I looked for a deputy head and found two by sheer luck. They acted there and then. The HT wouldn't have but he was out of school that day. The HOY would have been useless too. The pupils who told the truth and I would have been left swinging in the wind and very fearful of our own safety if I hadn't gone to the right people.

That was back in the last century! Following the fatal stabbing of a teacher in Yorkshire last year and the more recent death of the Aberdonian boy I expect the response to be less random now.

Office staff taking it upon themselves to act as a buffer between parents and senior staff is something I deplore, particularly in a serious matter like this. The OP cannot be certain that her information was passed to the member of staff who was dealing with the possession of the knife. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the OP and her DC are asked on Monday why the threat wasn't reported on Friday!

Also, the sudden removal of the boy with the knife had an immediate beneficial effect on the mood and behaviour of the whole year group.

Well ten o'clock on Monday now. My dc is in school. I've heard from someone else that the boy won't be in 'today' still no idea what's going on, still no call.

At what point today would you wait until to phone again?

Ring now. Why should you wait?

I would also also ring now.

I'd have gone in first thing and sat and waited, with my child until they had been seen

But yes ring now, lay out their failings and your wants

My child was threatened with a knife
I reported this to you on friday
No response from you then other than pervarication
It's now 3 days later, and still no response
I want a firm plan of action to ensure safety for all pupils, or a full explanation of the sanctions taken so far

and then just wait for them to fill the silence.....

Ring the school now. I kinda get the Friday afternoon lack of call, but it should have been the first thing someone did this morning.

They won't tell you what's yapping with the boy, but I think it's highly likely that the child will be on external exclusion this week, pending a permanent exclusion meeting.

Check the school website, to see if their policies are on there. They should be readily available and banned items at school, should be on there somewhere.

I've found the policy. All I can find is that if knives/tobacco/blah are confiscated they will be returned to a parent and not the child. Unless it is an item such as a flick knife which will be given to the police.

I have had some off the record advice over the weekend. They have until the end of break when its possible they would have told dc to come and I'm ringing.

The fact they haven't rang me back makes me feel they aren't taking seriously something which involves a child in school threatening my child with a knife when they actually did have a knife on them.

I don't think you are over reacting.

Your son received a credible threat - the boy HAS a fucking knife on him and threatened to use it.

No.
They did not speak to me at all (may have been with parents) and told me that they would speak to my dc on Monday and call me after then.
There is your answer.
The matter is being addressed.
Spend your time drumming it into your son that if a child produces a knife he must tell a member of staff immediately.

owls sadly the lack of a call is unsurprising given the lack of reaction in Friday.

Whether you call or not, you need to put this down in writing with times and details of what your son told you, what you were told when you rang in Friday. Email to the head with a copy to the governors. It is much harder to ignore if you have created a paper trail.

Reporting to the police probably seemed like an overreaction on Friday but it may be the only way of ensuring that the school fulfils its safeguarding duties.

owlsintheflowerpatch, have they been in contact yet? I hope you have been reassured, it must have been horrible for you over the weekend. I would have expected a call on Friday but they should definitely have been in touch today.

(sorry, iPad wants to covert "on" to "in" every time I type it!)