To go to headteacher about child being pinned to floor

[Fruittwist12]

There has already been many concerns with DS school. I raised a concern with the head regarding what the teacher and TA had said to my son 2 weeks ago and still have not had a response.
Today he has come home and said the 1:1 in his class has pinned down her pupil. They are Yr 2. Apparently he said that the pupil was being disruptive and walking around the class and shouting. They were not a danger to the class or to themselves from what my son has said. However the pupil was pupil was pinned on the floor laying down at the front of the class for their unacceptable behaviour. A parent has witnessed this 1:1 shouting at their pupil for no big reason whilst on a school trip. This child is a LAC.
I've read the school policy and states that restraining is the last thing to do and only if they are a danger to themselves or to others. I've been increasingly concerned about his class anyway. Aibu to raise this with the head or stay out of it? I don't feel like my son should be witnessing this and other violent behaviour from another child in the class.

Good on you for listening to your child OP. Whatever the facts of the incident, something has happened as your child is distressed. Continue to get to the bottom of what has happened.

I’m a 1-2-1 with challenging children. I have had to restrain children, following MAPA training. It is only in extreme situations and as others have said, involves a lot of paperwork afterwards. I have never pinned a child to the floor.

Consider contacting your local MASH - multi agency safeguarding hub.

Unfortunately, we all know there have been awful cases of child abuse/cruelty in schools.

I'm sorry to hear about this. Is tough isn't it. My DS is also articulate and emotionally mature. I witnessed for the first time last week a different child in his class attack another and it was completely unprovoked. I witnessed 2 TAs restrain and carry her. I completely see why they did it and have no issues with it. The child was a danger to others.
I honestly feel so frustrated and at a loss with the school. I don't believe their safeguarding is ok and in previous ofstead reports other children have voiced they also feel unsafe. Yet nothing gets done about it.
I feel in a hopeless.situation

Child abuse survivor here and yes. Many of us couldn't tell or wouldn't from fear of things being made worse for us. Thanks for believing in children and having their backs.

Oh FGS some TAs are crap. I was one for a while and witnessed a colleague behaving appallingly to a child. I reported it and was sort of shooed away. 3 weeks later she slapped that child across the face. She was suspended immediately and dismissed. Worryingly she did it in full view of the class teacher who looked the other way, a 3rd colleague and every child in there reported it.
The teacher got a slap on the wrist. It was considered that because the TA (LSA actually) was in her 30s and the teacher was NQT, she wasn't comfortable speaking up
Similarly an LSA who was not Team Teach trained dragged a child across the playground and pinned him down. He had pushed another child, but it was a normal shove. There is CCTV so she too was dismissed.
The idea that it never happens is bonkers. Some people are bad at their jobs.

I'm also a child abuse survivor and from different people. I know this is why I'm passionate about advocating for children without voices. Especially vulnerable children such a the LAC child.
Perhaps there was good reason for the restrain or perhaps there was not.

I’d tackle it from the point of view that your child witnessed it and was distressed. Appropriate or not, if it’s happening in full sight of other children, and scaring them, there needs to be a way of explaining what happened and why in very simple child friendly terms.

In my experience there is always a debrief after using restraint - for both the staff member and the child involved. This is because using restraint is a measure of last restart and potentially traumatic for all concerned. Good practice would be to debrief other children who witnessed it - not least to allay their fears that it might happen to them if they’re “misbehaving”.

The school can’t give you information about another child, and don’t owe you an explanation because that would breach confidentiality but they do need a plan in place for supporting other children in the class who are distressed by what they saw.

Wow I am actually speechless. And for the class teacher to turn the other way.

You can't possibly comment on something you didn't witness, and only got 3rd hand from a small child! Treat the school staff with some respect, and let them get on with doing their jobs.

There’s a reason that a child needs a 1-1 and it’s usually for behaviour reasons to keep them safe.

I assume the teacher was also in the class and would have raised concerns if she felt the child didn’t need restraining.

When one of my students who needs 2-1 adults was being restrained one of the parents saw and went mad. He physically pulled the 2 women off her and the child ran into the busy road and was almost hit by a car (literally about an inch). Fortunately it scared her enough to make her freeze so we could grab her else she’d most likely be dead.
Her mum took the school to court because she was meant to have 2-1 (she did but because they were pulled off her she managed to run from them).
Fortunately we have lots of CCTV and we could prove that the 2 staff members acted in the correct way.

So if you want to report the TA then go ahead but you’re saying that your sons word is more reliable than that of the TA and teacher.

If you were genuinely concerned then I wouldn’t think twice about reporting it but tbh it sounds like you don’t like the school or head and just want something to complain about.

Children this age don't see things the way adults do. You have no idea what actually happened apart from the fact he was restrained. He could have had something in his hand he was going to hurt someone with etc. I don't think you need to report anything unless you yourself see something worrying or something actually happens with YOUR child.

Sadly use of restraint is not risk free or as low in frequency as we think in schools. The impact can be devastating on children who are still developing. The reality is that as soon as a situation results in a restraint being used, risk of physical and emotional injury to staff, children and those around them increases. Not to mention trauma as a result of experiencing restraint which can manifest in a multitude of ways. A recent report highlights this. TRIGGER WARNING: harrowing report which includes details of physical and emotional injury.

Agree, hate it and I find it really disturbing. No one needs to prejudge what happened but why should we automatically disbelieve a child? It worries me a lot when I see it on here.

Teachers, TAs, retail staff, hospitality staff, office workers - they can all be capable of good or bad.

We should listen to children otherwise how have we moved on from the past?

And not only did it happen, but more than one incident, witnessed by other pupils and staff and yet allowed to continue. Just horrific. That poor child.

I haven't said your child lied. I said your child is 7 and therefore cannot understand the full context of the situation.

What do you want to get from the conversation about the LSA? It sounds like most of the behaviour you don't like has already happened in front of other adults, who will have either reported it, or taken into account the context and understood the LSAs actions.

The school won't explain an incident with another child to you.

I honestly feel so frustrated and at a loss with the school. I don't believe their safeguarding is ok and in previous ofstead reports other children have voiced they also feel unsafe. Yet nothing gets done about it.
I feel in a hopeless.situation

You should raise concerns with the school.

If you don't feel satisfied with the result of that then you elevate it to the governors. But you have to be articulate yourself about what exactly your concerns are, what evidence you have for those concerns and what outcome you think needs to happen - but it must be centred on your child OR in terms of what you have seen directly (not through hearsay).

From there if you don't like the response you can raise with the LA and Ofsted.

Use the schools own policies to frame stuff. Don't get into a blame game or emotional stuff. Stay very factual and focused on details about the impact.

It is not hopeless but you do need how to use the system appropriately and to not go off the deep end. Stay measured.

Agree with @Giltedged and @MindPalace this is exactly how abuse stays hidden. Mind your own business, they're a child they must be lying, mistaken etc

Yes. I do hope it can be dealt with properly and the child kept safe and no longer distressed.

I have seen incidents like this. My advice is raise a concern with your local . The girl may have paperwork in place that as you correctly state permits physical holds is in place. Mainstream staff cannot do most of this training, it's restricted to SEN schools or departments. There are v v clear protocols around physical holds, how it's done, where its done, how its recorded etc and a LAC child is obviously already vulnerable and it's a safeguarding issue . I'd follow this up and ask for a written confirmation, also request a follow up of what is happening with your other concern, in writing. Some people would be shocked at how poorly trained and managed some staff are and how aggressive they can be.

In this situation I would remain factual and contact the school regarding your own child and their distress/concern which seems to stem from a pattern of behaviours and incidents in the classroom.

When you report what your child has told you, make sure you don't put words into their mouth (eg unless your child specifically said that they saw a peer being "pinned down on the floor", I wouldn't use that language as that's judgement based language).

Explain that based on your child's accounts you're concerned that restraint is being used frequently, which means as a parent you're concerned that the risks are not being appropriately managed to prevent such situations happening regularly.

@DaisyUpsy exactly! 🎯

That’s all very well but 1- it is reasonable to be concerned about your child witnessing incidents at school that have upset them, and 2- bad practice and abuse happens in schools and parents should be aware of that.

I can't believe what I actually just read. I can't believe no one in that school did anything after witnessing that child being taped. And that just goes to show that stuff does happen

I think you forgot to attach your link.

I'm a teacher and a sendco and over the years working with many violent children in primary. I have had team teach positive handling (restraint) training and there isn't a single acceptable restraint that involves pinning a child to the floor. The most severe we use is a 2 person escort to a safe place. There is one which involves wrapping your body around the child while they are between your legs but this would only be used if there was a danger of assault/flight risk until the area is secure. There certainly wouldn't be other children in the room. If this was the case it does need to be investigated.
I'd arrange a meeting with the head to discuss your previous concerns and mention that your child was distressed by what he had seen, subtly mentioning the pinning. The head may be aware of the general incident but not the hold used.