Don’t know what to do about TA and her behaviour

[RickOShay]

I work in a primary school in a lowly position. On two separate occasions I have seen a TA manhandle children in Year one, so children of five or six. She pulled one child off the ground by his wrist because he pushed into the queue and another child she pulled back by the hood of her coat when she turned away while the TA was telling her off.
Should I take this further?

Yes, you should bring this up and make sure there's a written record of it.

Maybe email is a good idea as it sounds like you're universally disliked (HT, TAs and teachers) so you can carefully couch the way you raise the problems.

You must report it. You know that already. I understand how hard it is and don't judge you at all for struggling with it - taking on a hostile school, especially when your own livelihood is hanging on it, is incredibly daunting.

I may regret sharing this, but when I was teacher training I spent several weeks in a school that was very much like yours. I saw some terrible things. A child with a severe SEN picked up by one leg and an arm and dropped in the corner (he had a special corner where he was physically barricaded in with toys during carpet times) and told "Get in your corner!" as if he were a dog. A TA slapping this child when he lunged at another child in the classroom.

The worst day was when a child the teacher hated and bullied and scapegoated every day was being silly with another child with mild SEN. The teacher shut them both in a small side room, sitting silently at a table, with nothing to do. I was allowed to go in and do a planned activity with them as they were my "focus children" for a part of my training. I comforted them and spent all morning with them. The NT child told me he felt "teyyiffied" when the teacher shouted at him, that he wasn't a good boy and he couldn't learn. He said he never wanted to come to school again. At playtime she sent the class out to the main playground, then let these two onto a small outside area and said "you can run around, but you are not allowed to play". After playtime she sent them back to the side room to sit in silence until lunch time. They were 4 years old.

I cried in the toilets every day when I was in that school and burst into tears as I left the school gates every day. Blowing the whistle would probably have meant the end of my hopes of a teaching career - you were supposed to be tough and suck up the teaching placement, the teacher was the blue-eyed girl of a desperate headteacher, could do no wrong and was an expert bullshitter. But how could I carry on training and trying to become a good teacher, and start my career by turning a blind eye to abuse? I tried to talk to the Head and she stonewalled me. I told the tutors at my college what I had seen and hoped they would deal with it. I don't know what happened.

Do the right thing. Whatever comes of it, it will be easier to live with than the alternative.

I am a TA, now in a special school. I think this should be documented. Do you know if she has had Team Teach training? If she hasn't, she has no right whatsoever to be involved in restraint

Pulling a child from the ground by the wrist, and grabbing a child from behind by an item attached around their neck. Are not team teach methods nor are they reasonable to be anywhere even close to a restraint,

A small child pushing into a que and a child turning their back on you are not incidents that place other people or property are legitimate risk of harm.
All respectable TT (and any other positive handling type training should make it very clear that it is not a method of punishment is is nothing other than a safeguarding tool in exactly the same way that the DOE policy does)

I’m astounded that you have even made the link between the two things well actually I’m not it’s something I see often used as an excuse for being a bit to rough or outright violence but when inappropriately used it’s normally a bit more subtle and applied to situations with much older kids usually the naughty ones who the member of staff has been pissed off by but because your dealing with volatile kids they get away with it.

I’m a huge fan of TT and other appropreatly used methods I also work with some extreamly volatile groups and have been training my staff members in those methods for years whilst routinely updating my own to make sure I’m current, but throwing out TT and restraint with everylittle physical contact issue as if it would be a valid answer does the entire system a disservice it leads to staff thinking it’s acceptable to use it as a punitive measure and supports institutional child abuse.

Please report, the child shouldn't have been manhandled and the parents should know what happened to them, what happens when the child copies that behaviour and gets punished, very confusing for them

It sounds as though you think you should be running the school! Dealing with a class of 30 is very different to dealing with your own children.
That being said, these instances needed reporting straight away. Much easier to get to the bottom of them. It's not about being a grass but about protecting the children.

Thank you. I think part of the problem is my dislike of this particular TA, and my negative experience of the school, I feel somehow that my judgement may be clouded, though deep down I know it’s not.

I will report this as soon as I can. I have a feeling I am opening a huge can of worms though.
Greensleeves, that sounds awful, I am sorry, thank you for sharing that though, you are right, whatever the consequences I can’t allow her to continue behaving like that towards other children.

RedHelen, you know what, I think you are right, i should be running the school!

i should be running the school!

You’re conveniently ignoring the fact you have sat on some worrying TA behaviour because you “bottled it” with the head. Perhaps you could evaluate your own role in this mess a bit more realistically?

No you can not be sacked for raising a concern.

If you work in a school you have a legal duty to report this. You must know this, surely? Safeguarding training is mandatory and this is a clear safeguarding issue. Report it to you DSL first thing on Monday morning.

* Do you know if she has had Team Teach training? If she hasn't, she has no right whatsoever to be involved in restraint.*

^ that's some scary arsed incorrect information.

For a start team teach is only 1 framework for RPI and risk restraint reduction and all counties and schools will have a physical intervention policy that has to include the statutory guidelines from DFe - which include duty of care and a rift tonise restrictive physical intervention in certain situations.

The training is to provide a holistic approach to doing it.

I'm glad your reporting. I think the children are lucky to have someone willing to stand up and challenge senior staff for them.

One of my friend's daughters had her shoulder dislocated by a TA pulling her up by one wrist. She was crying all afternoon and got told off and made to sit out of class, and no one paid any attention until her mother collected her from school that afternoon and took her straight to A&E.

You must report this, OP.

No maybe not running the school.
It is not easy to report someone, however much it may be necessary.
I just hope there is a positive outcome all round.
Purple I have raised issues in the past, with a different leadership, not only was nothing done, but I had an extremely unpleasant few months of character defamation.

I would have involved the trade union, but like I say, things shifted under the new head, but obviously not enough, so here i go again.

It is depressing and unnecessary, school life doesn’t have to be like this.

Any HT who would back his staff every time, is not fit to be in charge of children Well said.

I'm chair of governors at a school, I find it really concerning that you have kept this information to yourself - you have a clear duty to report any safeguarding concerns straight away, you should follow the safeguarding procedure of the school and if you have any concerns about speaking to the safeguarding officer then take it to the safeguarding governor.

Newyear, I have raised concerns before. The school has recently become an academy, so the old board of governors was dismantled, I not sure if there have been new elections.
I will report this.

It is concerning that schools can develop a culture of fear without any kind of check.

You need to report this to the head rather than the designated safeguarding lead. Always straight to the head if your concern is about another member of staff or straight to chair of governors if the concern's about the head.

How long have you worked at the school?

2 years in June.
I will tell the headteacher, I haven’t discussed it with anyone at school.

OP, do you have children? If you knew they were being physically manhandled at school by adults that they trust, what would you do?

Leccy 2 of my children are at that school.

I needed to know that I was 100% doing the right thing by reporting, I don’t think I would have posted if the school had been more positive about responding to my other concerns, which have included safeguarding, and also the TA wasn’t somebody who I felt animosity towards.