How would you feel if a teacher did this to your child?

[Beenherebefore]

Background -
Private school, in year 7. Good kid, all the teachers say so and so do I. Was head girl last year. Doing well, respectful yadda yadda.

So she was in a maths lesson. The teacher was a supply teacher. My daughter raises hand to ask teacher for help as she was stuck on a question.
As she was looking at her book and explaining where she needed help the teacher suddenly took my Daugher's head in her hands and snapped it up and round to the white board, said "read what it says and then speak to me" and then sharply turned her head back to her book and let go.

My daughter came out of school an hour later and told me about it immediately. Not one to make a fuss she told me it had hurt her and that while it didn't still hurt she could feel where it had happened.

I called the school. They said they would treat as safe guarding issue and meet me on Monday.

How would you play this?
I'm not happy and I want this dealt with but not sure how far I should take it.

Would you be as cross and upset as I feel about it?

I'm quite shocked a 'good and professional' teacher would think it's ok to put their hands on a pupil like that - she could find herself in a police station accused of assault should a patent be so inclined - I'd say she lost control in this situation - very unprofessional

A complaint to LADO, OFSTED and the governors.

@Beenherebefore would this be helpful?

www.gov.uk/guidance/teacher-misconduct-referring-a-case

Safeguarding and LADO
That is appropriate

As 'just' a mum who knows nothing about these things, dealing with a large school like this, your support is really helpful, thank you.

Please do contact your LADO as others have suggested.

Remember keep notes of all correspondence.

Imo contact police

Normal protocol would be to suspend on full pay while it was investigated. If the allegation had no basis then she would be exonerated and alternatively, she would follow HR procedures.

I would be extremely concerned that she was still at work.

I would contact the LADO yourself if you haven't already (sorry, I haven't rtft)

Fuckity fuck.

GP appointment as a follow up to make sure all is Ok (teaches your daughter that getting checked out is sometimes needed, don’t make a big thing out of it).

Put everything in writing from now on.

Insist the entire table your daughter was on are witnesses (one from every table is fine but possibly didn’t see it).

Write now everything that has happened and send to governors and head of school.

So glad I sent you that pm last night!

A teacher has no right to put their hands on a child unless they are defending themselves or restraining a pupil.

There was an article awhile back about what the NHS thought about chiropractors and it was, don’t let them touch you above the shoulders! They supposedly deal with lots of patients who have been left in pain by them tweaking or manipulating.

Sounds like the school is trying to hush this up. It was an assault, unless the witnesses completely contradict your DD then the school should suspend the teacher pending the outcome of the investigation.

You are of course free to contact the police and make the allegation. I would though talk to the parents of the children involved to inform them of your intention.

Safeguarding is a very serious process which should involve local authority safeguarding childrens teams being involved. Glad school is taking this seriously and teacher will be dealt with as part of this process if they think there is a case to answer. It certainly sounds like there is. Shocking but stay calm and trust in the process

That's assault. I would make it clear to the head that this teacher is not to be allowed to teach your daughter again and that you expect a complaint to be lodged with the agency who supplied her. I feel sure the head wouldn't have this teacher back again anyway, though.

As others have said, this has to be reported to the LADO and the agency should not send her into schools until the LADO has investigated. It would be the agency’s responsibility to do this but you could too. School should get your daughter to write a log of exactly what happened.

A complaint to governors is not appropriate at this point as it’s an operational matter that needs to be addressed by the school. If you want to complain then it would be via the complaints procedure. That only ends up with the governors if the school haven’t dealt with it properly.

I'd be utterly fuming if it was as serious as your daughter has made out.. They don't have any right to hurt or manhandle children.

I would expect you would be able to get her charged with assault. This is completely unacceptable.

Disgraceful behaviour and sadly your daughter will probably never forget this incident. Report, report, report!

Hold your cool until you meet the senior staff or teacher and if proved to be a true account of the circumstances - hit the roof - it's assault.
If proved to be an exaggeration of the circumstances - be reasonable. Kids even sensible kids can be truthful as well as exaggerate.

If the teacher is boasting about how she was second scariest in her old school, then presumably she is new to this one? It's hardly something you'd mention five years later - and must be the first time she'd met this class, otherwise they'd already know (and surely a reputation like this goes around a school faster than a case of nits)?

Totally unacceptable. I might pretend to do that to a kid but a, it would be one I knew well, and b, I wouldn't lay a finger on the child. More importantly, I wouldn't. If a child had there hand up, I'd ask them what question they had.

I would go in with a very grave face as to why a teacher had their hands on your child. If they're treating it as a safeguarding issue then they are taking it seriously too.

Jeez. Unbelievable. If your daughter didn't see this coming at all, no escalation, this sounds like a fucking psychopath.
She could have caused a really serious neck injury. Grabbing someone's head is just unbelievable!

I would go to the GP and pay for a GP report.
Tell school, either they sort it out or you'll be called the bloody police.
You've done the right thing so far OP, keep the heat on.
My kids in private sector but I've NEVER heard of anything like this!

Sorry but you’re making something out of nothing. Let it go and maybe your child will learn to pay attention

Bearing in mind that kids tend to exaggerate incidents, it does sound pretty bad. See what the school has to say and take it from there. I imagine the supply teacher won't be invited back at best.

Sorry I haven’t read all the replies, but as a teacher and a Mum I would be upset about this. You need to tell the school exactly what happened and how you feel, not only for your daughter but this teacher does not sound like they know/care about very basic safeguarding procedures, and they probably shouldn’t be in the profession at all.

How awful for you and your DD.

Hope you have a meeting soon and this is resolved.

I’d be involving the police at this stage. I wouldn’t tell the school I was doing so. I’d hope the element of surprise would catch this teacher out.

If I felt they weren’t taking it seriously I would threaten them with the papers and name and shame this bully of a teacher!!!

Nobody would get away with doing this to any child of mine! 😡

I’m not sure it’s for the police? LADO - definitely.