To raise a formal complaint regarding school isolation

[HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend]

Last week a group of 20-30 kids were throwing acorns at each other in the school playing field, a child who also throwing the acorns, got hit in the eye which I've been led to believe required medical treatment, teacher asked who hit the child and DS said he believed it was his acorn, and that he was sorry, and did not mean to cause anyone harm.

He was given a days isolation plus after school detention, however on the day with only 10 mins notice.

His head of year called and said as he admitted it was him, they had no choice to follow the isolation process, however admitted they thought it was harsh, however rules and rules which we will adhere to and support the school with.

DS has NEVER been in isolation.

My AIBU is, Ds was made to sit in a 2 by 4 booth, being made to sit upright and face a white wall for the whole of the school day. NO SCHOOL WORK WAS GIVEN AT ALL

He could not tell the supervisor he had no course work as he isn't allowed to talk while in isolation, and tbh nor should even have to ask for course work, its the supervisors role to ensure DS has course work, which is the policy in DS school.

Only one teacher called the isolation supervisor to ask if DS was present, however did not send course work, not one of his other 4 teachers called to ask if he was present.

The isolation supervisor has confirmed all of the above is true his HOY has advised us that they have passed it on to the isolation manager who will be calling me, however even after chasing it up everyday for the past week and leaving messages for them to call me I am still awaiting the phone call.

My own DS ended up requiring medical treatment as he endured a headache with sickness and sensitivity to light, ds has never had a migraine before isolation, which the A&E doctors advised was the cause.

YANBU.

The problem isn't that he has been put in isolation, it's that he was given no work to do.

Funny, because every teenaged boy I've ever known has his pockets of his blazer stuffed with items he could have used for study.

None that I know. Most have to ask to borrow pens in lessons from other students

You wouldn't treat a dog like that, it's just cruel.

*Yeah, tranquiltess, I’m fed up of some (a minority) of parents who complain that their injured child is falling behind in their work. WTF do they expect schools to do about it if their child is on crutches? Children on crutches are not allowed to use stairs, and it’s doesn’t matter how much work is sent down to do in the library or isolation room or wherever they are based while injured, if they have missed the actuak teaching of the topic, they’re going to struggle with completing some of the work, eg in maths or science, where really you need a teacher to be explaining a new topic.

I honestly think some parents expect miracles of schools.*

I would expect every school to be accessable to students with disabilities.
I don't think that's a ludicrous idea

I would expect more modern school buildings to be built with disability access in mind. Obviously it's going to be difficult with some of the older ones.

have you seen this op? https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/11/pupil-brings-legal-action-against-schools-isolation-booths-outwood-grange-academies-trust?CMP=sharebtnn_fb

That is referenced upthread, ringoargh. Good news.

I have moved my DS out of a school like this one.

We will back on schools like these and see them as establishments where institutional abuse was carried out on a daily basis.

*look

Rules are rules,

A&E for a migraine is ridiculous, I suffer from them and would never waste their time.

Get over it and hope your son has learnt his lesson and let him know how lucky he is that he didn't cause severe damage to the other childs eye.

First migraines can be scary. I remember when a colleague had her first cluster migraine and we all forced her into a wheelchair and took her down to A&E (work in a hospital) because we thought she might be having a stroke.

Wine . I dont think people are misunderstanding. I think you are misunderstanding not all schools are like yours. Some very much are punishment rooms and used heavily for afterschool and saturday detentions.

Many schools dont let you take bags around with you, and as OP said their child had had pe anyway.

To be satstaring at a wall for 7 hours with nothing to do is barbaric.

Thesnobby, has it by any chance occurred to you that the first time a child gets a migraine no-one knows whether it is a migraine or a sign of something much more serious?

And if "Rules are rules", do you think that perhaps the school should have followed its own rules about ensuring that children in isolation are properly supervised and have work to do? Or indeed that it should have complied with legal requirements to provide full time education during normal school hours?

We had a kid on crutches who couldn't walk through corridors at the same time as all the other pupils, walk any distance, or make it up stairs, for health and safety reasons. This meant about 90% of their lessons weren't accessible.

In that situation the reasonable school arranges for the child to leave lessons slightly early so that he can walk through empty corridors, looks into the possibility of a wheelchair for longer distances, and does its best to relocate his lessons so that they all take place on one floor. If it can't relocate, it arranges for at least some 1:1 work with a teacher or TA. It's not a miracle, it's simple compliance with the law.

A&E for a migraine is ridiculous, I suffer from them and would never waste their time.

You have misunderstood. He was taken to A&E for specific symptoms. Once other things had been ruled out, then the diagnosis was migraine. HTH

A&E for a migraine is ridiculous, I suffer from them and would never waste their time

As Cecily says, he got the diagnosis is a&e, as did my dd, but she not only got a diagnosis, I was told that I had to take her to the hospital if she ever had another one.

British school system is a disgrace in every way. Yanbu. Complain. Totalitarianism in every way. Shame after doing research and talking I can't afford Private school as the state of this countries state schools and the way they things. Complain! Tale it further. This barbaric stuff must end.

I agree with wine wolf howls. Pick your battles OP.
The school has responded not because they think your complaint is valid but because you’ve alerted ofsted.
So they will pay lip service to your complaint, say they should of followed policy, won’t happen again, etc to placate you but nothing will change. As you’ve said, your son has not been in isolation before and probably won’t be again so it won’t impact on you. And as you have now copied ofsted in on your email complaint you cannot escalate this any further if the school does nothing.
And you’ll become ‘that parent’
But I agree with you- the school should have provided work for your ds.

I got told to “fuck off, you cunt” today by a student because I insisted he get on with the work we were doing.

He was isolated.

I will have to spend breaktime tomorrow having a restorative meeting with him so he can be back in my class in the afternoon.

When I rang his mum, she said - and I swear I am quoting verbatim “I don’t think it’s very appropriate for you to have told me the actual words he used, we don’t use that language at home. I’ll have a word and see where he heard it”.

My face was 😳😳😳😳
Then

It’s a tangent to the OP’s post but I think it illustrates some of the bonkers things going on in schools.

SmileEachDay

I don't think anyone is under any illusions about behaviour in secondary schools. I went to a grammar school in the 1960s and I think a couple of teachers ended up in mental hospitals because of us.

Yes, there has to be discipline, but it has to be proportionate to the crime.

If you have heavy handed one size fits all punishments you are going to lose the support of the majority of parents. Most parents are happy to support reasonable discipline.

A bit off topic but is that typical isolation? A booth facing a wall and not allowed to talk??

My year 9 ds was in isolation a few weeks ago, with 9 friends and said it was great! They even ordered what they wanted for lunch from the cafeteria

@Coyoacan
You can’t honestly be comparing the jolly hockey sticks high jinks I imagine that went on in a 1960’s grammar school to the type of violent and abusive behaviour experienced in inner city schools today. It’s quite insulting to suggest that the daily verbal abuse, threats of violence and actual violence carried out against teachers in schools today is any way similar to your experience. As well as the antedotal evidence on this thread( pp stating that a teacher had a crisp packet of shit thrown at them!,!) statistics show that Secondary school staff are three times more likely to face violence at work than the average UK worker and the amount of teachers and education workers being left injured in attacks has soared by 24 percent in five years, according to figures that show some staff were so badly injured they were forced to take more than a week off work

Are you sure the isolation room wasn't a torture chamber? This thread is bizarre.

DM headline:
'Boy who threw acorn and injured fellow pupil is rushed to A&E after spending a day in isolation at school.
Joe Bloggs (12) was left so traumatised by his punishment that he curled up in a ball next to his father after wetting himself on the CT scanner at the hospital'

@WhiteDust don't be a dick! Does it make you feel all high and mighty taking the piss out of a child?