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?

Thanks for the update OP. I guess it's great you've got the cheque but it definitely doesn't restore any faith in the deputy head who sounds like a knob of the highest order.

That's an interesting result Berty. At least you have the wrong righted and you know they know the truth even if they aren't admitting it.

Glad you’ve got the cheque and are able to buy a new saddle @BertyFlanter so in that way it’s good. It’s annoying that the bullying deputy has wriggled out of it but karma will out at some point.

What a cunt that dep head is.
Blaming the site supervisor. Who probably earns fuck all compared to him and won’t say anything for fear of losing his job.

That’s despicable. Personally it would make me more angry and I would dump the cheque and expect a FULL investigation. But then I hate seeing injustice. And this man is going to blame others for the rest of his fucking life

I’m just posting to say to OP that you shouldn’t settle for a lesser priced saddle, one that doesn’t match the bike itself.

The important thing is that it matches the rider not the bike

The head probably isn't that happy to have this Deputy bringing more complications into her working life, but is circling the waggons, as you say. The fact that there has been a financial settlement speaks volumes.
But my instinct is that she is well aware of what really happened, and his card is marked.....my guess is that he is compiling an impressive dossier of twattery, which she knows about, but you don't.
Being an old cynic, I'd guess a fulsome reference to speed him on his way to some other unfortunate school.

Great result. And whatever the conversations between head and deputy, they wouldn't have shared them with you anyway, so you never know...

You can be sure that she knows what he is like but she is never going to admit that to you or any random parents. If you or your kid have any more grief from him make sure to mention the taped conversation.

Glad you got your money back OP.

You can be sure that she knows what he is like but she is never going to admit that to you or any random parents

Really? I would have zero respect for an HT who knowingly blamed thr wrong member of staff in writing to a random parent. That's shocking management behaviour surely

Actually thinking about it further I would be uncomfortable with allowing the HT to think I believed her when I had evidence that the DepHT is clearly a liar

It does say on the complaints procedure that the result of complaints about staff will not be shared, understandably.

He was so adamant that they would never set the precedent and that she agreed with him so no doubt he has some frustrations that she hasn't entirely "backed him up" but I'll never know what has gone on behind closed doors.
I've had my fair share of office politics over the years, I don't envy her this situation. Good luck to her!

I'd be tempted to cash the cheque send a reply stating that you accept their apology but the deputy head told you that it was him who organised the petty damage to the bikes, and you don't want the other guy blamed unnecessarily. It's up to you if you add a transcript or state you have recorded proof, but I'm not sure I'd let him be blamed for something that wasn't his doing.

I have a meeting with his head of house at the end of the month, she's lovely and I trust her as one of the good ones. If the opportunity arises I might test the water but tbh I don't really think there is anything I can do.
I do feel incredibly sorry for the SS, if indeed he has actually been blamed as oppose to the letter being some arse covering for Deputy Dickhead!

What exactly would you have wanted him to do, drop down on his knees to beg for forgiveness?

OP never suggested she wanted this. Entirely reasonably, she wanted the DH to admit to what he had done and for her son to get a saddle to replace the one damaged by his recklessness.

Sometimes I think there is a bigger picture. With 1000+ teenagers, things get damaged, unintentionally on many occasions

Certainly. But when a member of school staff does something reckless that he must know is likely to cause damage, the school should compensate for any damage. After all, that's what they have insurance for.

It would be unreasonable to expect any school to pay out every time.

When did OP suggest the school should pay out every time? But clearly what they should pay out for is damage done by their staff's negligence. Again, that's why they buy insurance.

Well done OP. I hope your lad's friend is getting as good a result.

Stressed out people are often obnoxious, rude and defensive!

Having read more threads though, I think you are right to pursue but try to keep calm and objective and not be provoked.

For the school I like the suggestion that they lock away the dumped bikes.

Teachers behaving like children really annoy me. When will they realise they are there to serve the community not to have their ego served by the community. Sadly it tarnishes all teachers.