School damaged bike

[BertyFlanter]

I'm braving AIBU because I really don't think I am but willing to be told different. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible but 😬

So my son has started cycling to school, year 7. He got a new bike for Christmas that is his pride and joy and he looks after it.
He parks it in the bike shed at school all locked up. Apparently there is an issue with some kids just dumping their bikes and making it hard for everyone to park. So the deputy head has decided to make his point by stacking all the excess bikes on top of the properly parked ones to inconvenience the students. As a result my sons saddle has a slice right through it which is going to cost £60 to replace!

I called the school to discuss with said teacher, who admitted to me that he had done that but that if he paid for the repair it would set a precedent and he'd have to pay for all repairs. I pointed out it would only be the ones he was directly responsible for. After some back and forth that apparently no cctv covers the area to prove it was ok when locked away (there is cctv at my end to prove it was perfect setting off) he then decided he must have fallen off his bike and is just coincidentally blaming him. I suggested someone other than him (conflict of interest) investigate further and maybe ask the six kids who were with him all the way to school and check the cctv just in case. He came back an hour later having had one chat with my son for a minute and said it was more likely than not the bike had been damaged by him but that he still would not pay for the repair.
I now have to go to the chair of governors to make a formal complaint, but "he already knows" it won't do me any good.

AIBU to take this further? For clarity my calls are recorded (work phone) so I have all this available as proof, along with the separate call from the business manager who was adamant the staff never stack bikes for this reason, before she knew I'd had the chat with the deputy head.

TLDR: AIBU to expect the school to pay for damage as a result of their negligence?

Normally I would say that you send a bike to school at your own risk.

But I don't quite understand how staking the improperly parked bikes on top of the parked bikes is fair at all? Why inconvenience the children that have done the right thing? And if the school deliberately did this and put another bike on top of your son's - correctly parked bike - then actually you do have a case. So yes go up to governor's...... although I am a school governor and that doesn't sound like the school have followed the correct complaints procedure which you should find on their website.

In this case I'd be really pissed off actually even though you take the bike to School at your own risk.

The teacher should fork out for a new seat in this case.

Thank you for the reply

I did check the complaints procedure, it's introduction says it will ensure a "thorough and fair" investigation. I told him I thought he had done neither. He said he took it to the head and she agreed with him, but then I would have thought she would call me back for transparency?

I had to drag the info out of him for what the next stage was, it definitely wasn't offered which rang alarm bells. He just kept repeating we can't set a precedent.
He definitely did it to punish, I suggested several other options off the top of my head that he could have tried (informing parents, email, newsletter etc) but he dismissed them all as he was too busy. Even though I guess it takes less time to send a mass email than it does to stack 15 bikes on top of each other in a bike shed!

Sue the teacher responsible in small claims court as he is personally responsible for his actions and damages caused by his actions not the school

Follow the formal complaints procedure and take it from there.

It seems a bizarre decision to respond to the issue of poorly stored bikes. I've known site staff remove poorly stored bikes and students have to find them at the end of the day to get it back (the same logic is frequently used in canteens when students throw their bags instead of storing them properly).

I don't think that sounds like the proper complaints process. If it's not on their website then email and ask for it, and send a formal letter of complaint to the Head to get the ball rolling.

He's a bit of an idiot isn't he? How on earth did he get the job of Deputy Head!

YANBU. Yes you take it to school at your own risk - however you also drive your car at your own risk but if someone smashed into it, you wouldn't just shrug it off! The fact that the people was purposely being irresponsible with the bikes means it is entirely their fault that the seat is broken. I would challenge them. (No advice on Governors because I'm in Scotland)

Threaten to sue the school. They're vicariously liable for his negligence, as their employee.

He sounds like an absolute idiot! Let's hope he's not actually teaching your DS too, OP

*teacher, not people

Personally, and even though it sounds like the teacher was responsible, I'd just let it go. I don't think I could be arsed to go through all this time and effort for £60.

@Stressedout10 I thought about that, he said he gave the instruction to the site supervisor to do it whilst he watched, I wouldn't want to take the innocent staff member to court but I'd happily take him. Can I serve him at school address if that's all I know? I guess exhaust the complaints policy first but I'd definitely go down that route of needs be on principle!

The teacher did the damage so should pay, YANBU about that, but YABU to send your child to school with a fancy £60 bike saddle, it's absolutely not that expensive for a bog standard one, even if you can't open and close the one screw you'd need to move to fit it yourself. The lesson here is, high schools are sadly not somewhere to take nice things.

What a muppet. Stacking the 'excess' bikes on top of the properly parked cycles is a major inconvenience to those who used the bike store correctly. Definitely take it further.

@arethereanyleftatall I see where you're coming from but tbf I haven't got a spare sixty quid right now. I'm just getting back on my feet after Christmas and it would have to give somewhere else.
His bike isn't unusable but the seat is torn open so it's uncomfortable to ride and if it's gets wet then he will be sitting on a wet sponge all the way to school. I don't see why he should have to suffer because a grown man in a position of authority can't find a better outlet for his frustrations.

The seat isn't a fancy one it's the one that came with the bike, which again is not a super fancy one (less than 300) but when I spoke to the manufacturer that's what they quoted for a direct replacement 🤷🏻‍♀️

£60 for his saddle? Is it a brooks saddle. Many various saddles on wiggle street various prices, would there be something there to replace the original?

The teacher has acted in a very dubious way, unfortunately his actions haven’t been thought through and really he needs to take responsibility for his actions.

Who is the manufacturer?

www.wiggle.co.uk/seating/ Wiggle selection

I would take him to small claims court or at least notify him that I would and see if it has an effect. You’d have to pay a fee (it might be around £35?) so you wouldn’t get a lot back but I’d do it to make him pay the full whack anyway.

I'm not 100% sure but I presume that you could serve him at his place of work but you should double check that with the court. Also as its for less than £200 it should be free to file

I'd also take him to small claims court. You won't be out of pocket when you win. Hate it when people inconvenience the kids following the rules to punish those breaking the rules.

I’m sure you could take him to small claims - if you want to permanently damage your relationship with the school. Your ds will probably be there for another 4 and a half years. Is it really worth it?

FWIW, I think the teacher was absolutely out of order.

It's only a Carrera bike, but when I spoke to Halfords today they don't sell them so it would be direct (which is probs why more expensive). They had a good quality one for about 40 but said it really wouldn't go with the bike as it's old fashioned. If I knew anything about bikes I'd be more than happy with an equivalent that looked the same and was just as comfy. I'm not looking to gain from this at all.

I think at this point I'll exhaust the complaints procedure with the school (which he's already told me will be fruitless) then send a letter before action re small claims. If that doesn't work then I will have to follow though and lodge a claim.

I said to Dep H I don't think it was malicious or intentional, however as a direct result of your actions damage has been caused and you are setting a terrible example to your students by not accepting responsibility. Obviously he just replied precedent blah blah blah! I get it might damage my relationship with the school, but my son is looking to me to help him do the right thing. I don't want to show him you back down when faced with this more than I don't want to have a bad relationship IYSWIM.

Sue the teacher responsible in small claims court as he is personally responsible for his actions and damages caused by his actions not the school

No, the school is responsible because this was clearly done during the course of the teacher's and site manager's employment. It makes much more sense to go after them as they are more likely to pay up to get rid of the problem.

You should be able to get the complaints procedure off the website. I suspect the next stage is to go to the head, who may well have something different to say than what the teacher alleges s/he said.

It's all dependent on what type of school it is (voluntary controlled, voluntary aided etc.) but it's usually the case that the employer is responsible for any damage caused by an employee (in terms of financial liability to you - how they treat the matter in terms of internal disciplinary procedures is another matter). Ultimately, the school should have public liability insurance in place to cover damage to pupils' property, but I imagine the excess will be greater than £60.

I would make it very clear in your complaint to the chair of governors (and include the headteacher) that your intention is to take legal action against the school should the matter not be resolved within a reasonable timescale (say 5 working days). I would ask explicitly with whom legal responsibility lies and to whom you should address your Letter Before Action and subsequent legal documents. You can't go through small claims unless you have this information (you need to know exactly who you're suing) and it serves the dual purpose of giving them the kick up the arse they need to get this sorted properly.