knives in school-10yo threatening my child.

[RudolphsJinglingBalls]

Posting here for traffic advice as I have no idea how to proceed and am in shock tbh.

My youngest is 10 and in final year of primary. Since joining tis school two years ago there was some bullying issues and my 10yo worked through them with the kids and now they are all friends. Apart from one kid. It's been relentless small stuff. Name calling, isolating friends and shit stirring. Last week my child mentioned in passing that they had holes in their trousers where this kid had stabbed them with a sharp pencil. I was gobsmacked and they just replied " i'm just glad it wasnt the Xacto knife they brought into school and put in their drawer". Turns out this kid has been threatening to stab my 10yo but I felt the threat of a knife was extreme in that it was likely a lie.

A quick call to the school and I find out that this kid did indeed have a knife in their drawer.

I just got off the phone to the head teacher. I asked him about his policy on weapons in school. They do not have one. I asked him how they plan to punish this kid. They aren't. They want me to go in next week and have a sit down with this child and the mother and me and my kid to "smooth things over". I want, at the very minimum, this kid to be excluded for a week to learn the severity of their choice and then to never talk to my kid again.

But no. Apparently its 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. They have no proof ( apart from the knife and the teacher knowing about the pencil stabbing). I have been into school twice about this child bullying my daughter, the other parent has never been in to say that my kid is bullying theirs. But now apparently their kid is upset as mine falls out with them so much!

What do I do here? I am actually employed in education myself but my brain is swimming with this , all my safeguarding training has drained out my left ear and I am panicking like mad and in total disbelief about what could have happened. This is a lovely little school and the last place you would expect students to have knives.

Somebody please help me here.

At dh's secondary school, having a knife in school is immediate expulsion (and they have done it) regardless of how shiny and spotless your record was beforehand.

They absolutely should and must take this seriously.

Very foolish and worrying of the school. Your child can expect to be safe and not be threatened at school. It’s the schools job to do this.

I’d write or call and refuse this meeting. I’d be very clear:
a) the knive needs to be removed. The schools policy on weapon and knives needs updating. Preventing anything like this occurring again.
b) the child needs disciplining for threatening your child.
c) you need to be kept informed of all of this and your child needs any adjustments to make him feel safe. Including not being named and having to go up in front of this boy who bought a knife into school.

They must have a safeguarding policy. Speak to the head again and warn them you're considering going to the police.and there will be no Sit Down with the other family.

This isn't an issue with the parents, it an issue about safety while on school premises. I'm gobsmacked by a response that they have no safeguarding poklicy that includes the use of knives - even craft knives.

Get copies of the school's bullying, discipline, safeguarding and complaints policies, and ask to have a separate meeting with the head where you go through those policies and they explain precisely how they are applying those policies in relation to your child. Don't take nonsense about having no proof: the fact that your child has been attacked and they know about the knife is proof enough. If you don't get satisfactory answers, use the complaints policy to escalate it to the governors, and contact the council's safeguarding department.

don't know what an Xacto knife is though? And whilst using a pencil is bad behaviour - it's not comparable with an actual knife

Sorry stabbing someone with a pencil is a bit more than "bad behaviour". The child has already done this and now has a knife... does another child actually have to be stabbed before anyone would take it seriously?!

Ah yes - the old 'bully feels bullied as victim stands up to them' defence!

Can only speak from my own experience, but I would be removing my own child now.

If the school won't act on them having a knife, they won't act on anything, ever!

I'm not one to jump to action against kids, but this needs police intervention - not necessarily criminal proceedings but definitely support, for the kids and the school.

Damilola Taylor was 10 when he was stabbed to death by kids only a year or 2 older than him. It DOES happen, it shouldn't be brushed under the carpet.

They want me to go in next week and have a sit down with this child and the mother and me and my kid to "smooth things over".

This isn't something you 'smooth over', this is something you come down on like a tonne of bricks! The school clearly has no intention of managing the matter and, with the best will in the world, I don't think there can be any excuse for having a blade in school.

This is one occasion when some advice from a police officer is in order.

Carrying a knife is a crime. Threatening to stab someone is a crime. The age of criminal responsibility in the UK is 10.
I cannot believe the school are being so cavalier about this. Involving the police feels extreme but if they are going to treat this as some petty argument between two equally responsible children, then they are not leaving you much alternative.
Let the HT know that in your opinion this is a safeguarding issue which the Governors & police should be aware of. Safeguarding, governors & police are usually trigger words for action. This child is in Year 6. They are merely months away from starting secondary school. There needs to be some serious intervention now, for their sake & for their classmates. It is simply not acceptable to treat this as low level bullying.

Police and keep DC off school until it's rectified.

A child has a weapon in school and the school want to deal with it by having a nice chat to smooth things over? Absolutely unacceptable. Go over the head to the chair of governors (the school office will be able to tell you how to contact them). Ask the office for a copy of the complaints procedure whilst you're at it.

This is awful. I agree with PPs that you should call the police, as a child of 10 is at the age of criminal responsibility.

I would go above the head teacher, I am in Scotland and here we contact the QIO (Quality Improvement Officer) if we have any complaints that the head teacher is mishandling. Unfortunately I have had to do this and it was incredibly effective! Within a day I had an apology and a new plan in place. I would have a look on your local council websites education pages and look for details for a quality improvement officer. Alternatively, look for their complaints procedure online.

I would under NO circumstances would my daughter be returning until they could assure me that my dd was safe!

Absolutely agree with contacting the police. At least say to the school that they clearly don’t recognise the seriousness of this to ask you to sit in the same room as the child and parent to “smooth things over” so you are informing the police. Yes, these children are young but bringing a weapon into a school has to be seen as a really serious issue. I wouldn’t make demands about specific punishments, that’s for them, but you have to feel that your child is safe, and that they need to ensure children do not follow this lead.

My daughter and her friend were threatened by a little white with a knife on the school bus. I reported it straight away to the Police and also phoned the bus company.

The Police Officer said ‘boys will be boys’ I won’t type my response, anyway they went to the school, searched the boy, bag, locker etc and he was expelled for a few days from school and the bus.

I also had a visit from the Police and a follow up letter, he was warned and no trouble since, this behaviour has to be stamped on now in my mind.

Little white = little shite

Unbelievable. Schools don't have 'policy' on knives, they uphold the law.

Go to the police. As PP have said, this is an offence.

The child must be suspended pending an enquiry and depending on the findings ought to be excluded. Are SS involved with the family? Perhaps they should be.

And the schools unfathomable response to OPs concerns should be raised with the chair of governors, and possibly the relevant authority (LEA etc.) depending on what type of school it is.

From House of Commons Briefing Paper 330:
"Possession of an offensive weapon or bladed article
on school premises
Under section 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 it is an offence for
a person to have with him on school premises:
• an article to which section 139 of the 1988 Act applies (i.e. an
article with a blade or sharp point other than a small folding
pocketknife); or
• an offensive weapon within the meaning of section 1 of the
Prevention of Crime Act 1953.
Once again, it is a defence for a person to prove that he had good
reason or lawful authority for having the article or weapon with him in a public place, or that he had the article or weapon with him for use at
work, for religious reasons, or as part of a national costume."

So, if he brought it in to work on a craft project, he isn't committing a crime (but under the circumstances, this sounds unlikely).

Another vote for police here, the school had their chance to sort it out and they've tried to minimise it! I wouldn't even warn them you're going to the police, call them in and watch the headteacher try and get out of that! Treating it like a silly squabble indeed, that's ridiculous.

Definitely involve the police. And if it is a LA school contact the LADO (designated officer) at the local authority to make them aware. This is a massive safeguarding issue as well!

It doesn't matter if its a craft knife, a 10 yr old should not have it in his drawer!

Craft knives should be kept in a locked drawer IMO

If we continue to take such a 'tolerant' view as one or two have suggested, we cannot complain when our boys are 16 and stabbing each other at school and in the streets...see London knife crime statistics.

Lack of tolerance is whats needed, and some strong no nonsense parenting, enforced by the school..

x-acto knives are basically what the hijackers used on 9/11. there's no way on earth that they should be kicking around unlocked drawers in a primary school. have a word.

To the person that Lisa is a knife on a hill premises is a crime-THANK YOU! That was exactly the sort of thing I needed. And people saying they don't know what an xacto knife is, o have attached a picture.

And I don't want this child "punished" for the sake of it. I just want my child to be left well alone and i feel it's going to take a massive shock like the police for that to happen.

Thank you so much, will go through all the replies in detail as soon as I'm home. My head is spinning with it all. Have attached the type of knife for those that don't know

Oh and this is a little church school around 15 miles outside Liverpool.

And I posted in a neutral manner so as not to get biased responses but this is actually a girl abusing my daughter. My daughter has worked with previous bully's and they are all now friends but this girl has caused misery for my daughter over two years. I have been in several times and she never changes.