To not want dc2s to do boxing at school in PE

[Daisiesbox]

Dc2s school do boxing for half a term in PE. The school did it last year with DC1 who ended up with an eye injury after their friend got a bit rough being silly. Big group of kids, all beginners and not enough control of the group and I believe it was stopped early.

Teacher is a PE teacher but not as far as I know a qualified boxing teacher.

I'm not against self defence or martial arts at all but boxing with a proper boxing coach who is insured and used to teaching beginners classes would make me happier.

I would contact the school - maybe via the head of PE with the sports teacher that would be teaching, the head of year or head teacher and child's form teacher copied in.

I'd ask them what measures had been taken this year to safeguard children (guessing it is boys rather than girls and boys?) and to prevent them from getting hurt like your ds did last year. It's one thing getting a bruised arm/rib etc in learning boxing (and to be honest I'd be cross about that too) but for punches to be thrown and connect with the head hard enough to cause an eye injury then that's a whole different kettle of fish... If they had connected with other parts of the head or face they could have really done dangerous damage and any sort of eye injury is incredibly worrying - I would be beyond furious if ds suffered an injury to his eye that put his sight in that eye at risk now or in the future (they can't know that it won't have knock on effects in 20 years time).

I would withdraw my child from boxing until they can prove that they have enough staff present with sufficient training to safeguard my child and prevent a repeat of a serious injury as happened to my eldest child.

I think the word you have to invoke is safeguarding - otherwise they can ignore you and write you off as a fussy parent if they want to. With safeguarding, if you complain about their failure to safeguard your child then the way the legislation is written they have to do something about it and can't dismiss it in the same way.

Did the school ever do anything to apologise for the injury or to ensure other children didn't get hurt (other than stopping the classes)?