To ask if you’ve ever complained about a teacher

[Justwondering14]

It seems the view is that this shouldn’t ever be done.

I have complained a few times. Once about a male member of staff telling my fifteen year old she looked like she was enjoying that in a suggestive way when she had a lollipop.

Is it always ‘wrong’, then? I’m not a teacher ...

*good teachers, not odd teachers

The parent who complained about me to HoD - we put stuff in place to mitigate her (unfounded) concerns (real problem she has a child who hasn’t done any work for seven years).

Meanwhile, all my colleagues told me of times they/others had run ins with her and assured me she was horrible. HoD says he will write me an excellent reference at any point in the future.

But I’m sure she thinks I’ve been told the error of my ways!

ScipioAfricanus
I had a student do zero work and then went crying to home when he failed his internal exams. Apparently I was horrible to him, picked on him, humiliated him in front of the class... (this is because I did a reminder to all students not to make careless errors, not to make simple statements and make sure they answered the question)
oh and I also hadn't been teaching the correct course either! That's why he wasn't doing well.

Quite funny really when SLT asked me for a chat about this boy's progress and I brought his work and books from others in the class along with my homework records etc. I also offered them to see my planning but they laughed and said that clearly there was no need to.

Mum had been told SLT and I would have a chat about her son's progress. Given how foul she was at parents' it was clear she thought I'd been bollocked. I didn't back down, she screamed at me like an oddball and SLT backed me 100%.

She's not technically misbehaving e.g not putting her pen down when told to and then replying with "I was only writing the date which you told me too"

well technically she is misbehaving isn't she? She's not following instructions and she's answering back

I have previously about a teacher that would not listen or take my dds invisible disability into account. We ended up getting outside help on that it was resolved quickly. I’ve also seen the other side of it though, in my dds class a few parents dislike the current teacher. They constantly pick at her I’ve even heard them critique her chose of clothing! The teacher can literally do nothing right in their eyes and they are constantly running to the head over homework, trips etc.

• choice of clothing

The teacher I complained about is leaving though it has nothing to do with my complaint. He's quite openly said he doesn't want to leave.

I agree with Maisypops on the whole. Calm fact finding discussions where concerns are raised are good and I see lots of positives happen as a result of this. All guns blazing without getting the bigger picture, silly and not productive.
I'm front desk in a school and clerk to governors so I see pretty much all the complaints, informal and formal. So I'm not sure it's not the done thing at all. It seems quite popular. A lot of people sound off at me about an issue and then by the time they see the teacher they are calm and in a better posituon to get a solution or listen to the otherside. It can leave me a bit shaken if they are really aggressive but normally the parent comes to apologise after. I always give similar advice on MN which is calmly get the facts and if you are complaining follow the right procedure.

A few parents of people in my class at school claimed they had got a teacher sacked. They didn't. The poor man had a nervous breakdown and left teaching. He was never the best of teachers, but wasn't mean or spiteful or useless. He'd taught us a specific subject over a few years but it seems having us as a form group tipped him over the edge. It was a very challenging group for all the teachers btw, not just him. Looking back I don't think the management gave him the support he needed, and left him to sink.

SoddingUnicorns

Not particularly.

in my dds class a few parents dislike the current teacher
I'm one of the few who like DDs teacher. Well I don't like her as she's quite abrasive when dealing with adults but I don't take an issue with her over anything but that. She's the only consistent teacher DD has had and she's the first one who notices when DD is struggling. I realised I don't actually have to like the teacher, a teacher that is good to my DC both in an educational and personal way means more.

She's not technically misbehaving e.g not putting her pen down when told to and then replying with "I was only writing the date which you told me too"

God, I hate this. I have more or less banned the phrases 'I was just...' and 'I was only...'

You were just or only doing what I asked you not to.

I have queried things and asked school to investigate the full series of events with regard to a TA's conduct (being fully prepared to accept that my child might not have got the sequence of events 100% straight - not through anything malicious but just getting the wrong end of the stick with things). I've then complained to the governing body about the fact the Head's response to a perfectly polite, clearly worded query about "errr this sounds quite concerning if it happened the way I'm being told - please can you take a look at it" was rude, abusive, outright accused my child of lying and got my child's name utterly incorrect (not just spelt wrongly but the totally wrong name - and not even a name there's one of in the entire year group!) and didn't even talk to my child to find out her version of events.

I've also complained about my child being denied her asthma inhaler at the school - told that was a lie... inhaler returned at the end of the year - still with the seals from being dispensed by the pharmacy.

We're no longer at that school. Unlike most parents who just sit and complain on the pavement around the school every single morning about that place and do nothing - I realised nothing was going to change and, putting it politely the school wasn't a good fit for my kids, putting it honestly - the school was shit, and moved elsewhere. The reception teacher was coasting doing the absolute bare minimum and just fobbing parents off with a smile and a "oooh yeah we'll sort that" and completely ignoring everything unless you put it in writing and then she'd be really pissed off with you that she had to actually DO something.

Current school - I've queried a couple of things to find out what's really happened, but haven't complained and have actually made a point of thanking the teaching staff and head a lot for how helpful and supportive they've been. I'm in and out of the school a lot and seriously their teachers are fantastic - I'm jealous of how bloody superb DD2's teacher is in front of the class - she's amazing, and DD1's teacher is fab too (and deserves a medal for not being driven to distraction by my eldest's wittering on!)

Bing - it just goes to show how different schools are. I have to try remember that when i see things on MN. That inhaler thing is awful. My child has an inhaler so I am really careful about inhaler access where I work but obviously not everywhere is the same.

that he didn't care what his careplan said.

Bloody hell Leoparda - this is a similar issue to DS's teacher - she didn't believe he had any special needs, just that he was lazy (couldn't be further from the truth) - I thank my lucky stars that I had the money to get him assessed, and then to pay for OT sessions (and of course that the head, and the next teacher both listened and worked with us rather than just think we were being precious like the first teacher did)

I can understand that teachers can't know everything about every SEN, but we had a full report, we worked with them - the movement breaks were instituted for all the kids in the new class (they used something called GoNoodle) which wasn't an issue, and punishments for bad behaviour need to be appropriate to a child. It's not about already knowing what to do I think, but being open to a child's needs (and we were happy to provide anything they needed)

God, I hate this. I have more or less banned the phrases 'I was just...' and 'I was only...'

You were just or only doing what I asked you not to.

I was just/they were just...
I was only/they were only...

• the opening of a conversation where a child hasn't done what they should.

I was only asking them for a pencil - but it's a test and you have been told to work in silence and raise your hand if you need anything

But she was only joking - well the thing is our school don't take kindly to repeated bullying dressed up as banter and your child ia quite the bitch to a number of students she considers to be weaker or uncool so as a school we are quite glad more parents are complaining because it proves what we have been trying yo deal with for months but sadly ypu keep excuaing her nastiness

Disturbingly, it wasn't great >.<

At that point we only knew DS had Dyspraxia, but within another year of me pushing he'd been through to CAMHs and also diagnosed with ASD/ADHD, sensory processing disorder, anxiety and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake disorder!

Wasn't the last of my problems with the school, just before his EHCP was completed I ended up making a more formal complaint about the school as a whole to the Governors for Disability Discrimination and had SENDIASS and PP involved and everything.

It finally settled down and 2 years on, I personally can't fault them any more as they really pulled their fingers out and have done an amazing job with him (in no short thanks to his incredible TA who is a miracle worker).

I do think that sometimes as a parent to a child with SEND you have to let them know you WILL throw the book at them legally if they don't provide adequate inclusion and care, for them to actually stop trying to fob you off.

Never Ever be afraid of being THAT parent if your child has SEND.

Yes, in ks1. I'd raised a few issues about dd with the teacher informally and intended to discuss them with slt as nothing changed.

Then one week another child's dedicated 1:1 was off, and the teacher decided to use the temporary replacement as a general classroom ta. And dd as the 1:1 support for a child with complex needs. Given that when dc was having a bad day it sometimes took 2 experienced adults, it wasn't surprising dd couldn't cope, and after a few days other dc had a bad day.

She did a pretty admirable job, repeatedly telling the teacher dc was getting upset and becoming increasingly violent, but was repeatedly ignored. Eventually she defended herself when dc exploded at her and they ended up fighting.

The teacher reported to me as a minor childish squabble where he hit dd once and she hit back, the numerous bruises she had acquired earlier proved otherwise. Other parent was told her dc had randomly attacked dd, and she'd gone to town on him in defence, with no mention that her dc had only progressed to a violent meltdown because their increasing signs of distress had been ignored. And that the only support was another small child.

My complaint was that the violent situation was one that could easily have been foreseen and prevented. That neither of us parents were given the true story. Socially and educationally other dc needed that 1:1, not a peer doing their work and the possibilty of a reputation for violence. And that neither dc were gaining anything from that method of teaching.

Dd's bruises were pretty conclusive evidence. The work produced by both with dd as 1:1 easily proved they weren't getting the differentiation both needed, along with dd's handwriting on several days of his work. And ta backed up the fact she had done general classroom support, not 1:1.

Don't know about what eventually happened to the teacher, but dd was given differentiated work from a different teacher for the rest of the year, other dc got their 1:1 back. Teacher didn't return the following year. I know other parents had also complained about different issues.

Also complained to slt about a supply teacher in ks2. They were quite insistent dd do something in pe that is physically impossible due to her hypermobility. With the usual ignorant crap that hyper mobility meant she could do it even easier than everyone else. Dd got in trouble for apparently being stubborn and deliberately doing it incorrectly. I put it down to the teachers ignorance on the condition, and tried to politely correct her knowledge, and make her aware that she had basically bollocked dd for having a physical condition that can be disabling in some cases, if just minor for her. I was told the same crap as dd, hyper mobility was apparently a bonus.

We'd also had a problem with same teacher trying to prevent dd leaving for lessons she didn't do with the class, and doing the work set separately for her. The classroom ta had sorted it at the time, but mentioned it to the head for the record when I reported the other problem. Again other parents had complained about other issues. Supply teacher didn't come back but obviously that doesn't prove anything.

Not sure I'd really say I voiced them as complaints, more that I asked slt if I could discuss some concerns.

I didn't but mainly because I knew her ignorance was down to the attitude of the SENCO who had not even shared the multiple reports with his class teacher, she entirely relied on his TA to tell her when the curriculum needed adjusting. The SENCOs attitude was that she had dealt with lots of different special needs and didn't need any advice, except that our son had suffered a severe brain injury following a car accident had a completely different personality from before, had complex medical needs and sight impairment along with mental and physical fatigue associated with brain injury, and ABI is not covered in normal SEN training. his class teacher told us in front of him how sorry she felt for him that he wasn't allowed to stay all day and couldn't we let him stay. I would have given my right arm for him to be able to stay all day and that she had said she felt sorry for him in front of him because we wouldn't let him stay longer just upset me more. She had obviously not got a clue about any of it. But the real issue was the senco and she was just about to leave on maternity. I spoke to the new senco, but felt that making a formal complaint was not going to achieve a lot and his TA is amazing and has done all the free training available in her own time so she could support him.
Schools need a lot more support if inclusion is actually going to work, financially and from experts, and SEN pupils should be excluded from results that penalise the School including attendance as sadly this makes a lot of heads not really want SEN kids which is sad but a realistic reaction to not having the funding, time, support and being judged negatively on their attainment when it doesn't match NT children.

Leoparda
As for people saying 'you didn't get them sacked' no, most of the complaints didn't get teachers sacked, what they likely did was show the school management that they weren't the right fit and either didn't get their contract renewed or were encouraged to seek employment elsewhere.

What usually happens is that the teacher gets pissed off with getting no help from management, other than 'follow the policies'. So they leave, it very rarely has anything to do with your complaint being registered.

Former teacher here. I have made two complaints regarding my son's teachers/education. Once when his school's SENCO told me she had never heard of Dyspraxia, so she very much doubted that's what he had (I have dyspraxia and was concerned about him, she thought he was just lazy. Yeah he keeps havi g accidents and breaking bones because he can't be arsed to stand up ). It turned out she was actually the Acting SENCO and had very little training or experience - why not say this instead of lying and pretending you know everything there is to know about all SEN so you must be right?

Second complaint was about the Rugby teacher who yelled at my son to 'Man up' and made him do extra laps in a blizzard, after DS said he felt really ill he was so cold. It was - 5C, in a snow and hail storm, plying rugby on an exposed windy pitch in shorts and t-shirt. DS ended up in hospital with severe hypothermia a couple of hours later.

@staxers

Have I read this right that you threatened a pupil with the prospect of doing PE in just their knickers the next time they forgot their kit, they all rememberedafter that, but you really wouldn’t have followed through with the threat even if they had?
The threat of humiliation is not the way to earn the respect of your pupils.
In years to come, they’ll have forgotten what you said and what you did, but not the way you made them feel.

We complained about the head who said having missed the school pictures due to them illegally excluding my dc with Sen everyday they’d photoshop dc in the pictures, or when the head said other parents might complain if we brought our child with Sen into school at the same time as everyone else, or the time we turned up at class and they’d all gone on a school trip without us as they never send us class paperwork. Tip of the iceberg. Head of governors did nothing!

I've never had cause to complain about a teacher, although I have complained about school processes once. DC2 has just finished school though so hopefully I'm not likely ever to have to complain about a teacher.

Greyponcho. I didn't see the post you mention, but there's a "PE in underwear" troll on mumsnet