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.

This. Exactly

It's ok to raise it with school, but bear in mind they won't be able to tell you anything.

As mum to a Lac child for a while, I was able to see him escalate and know when I needed to intervene very directly. I'd get a phone call that he was on the school roof, or out the bathroom window. They'd evacuate the class when he started in case he began throwing furniture.

Please don't assume they handled it wrongly. They may have intervened before your DC was able to see the need, but prevented a more serious incident.

A Y2 pupil is hardly likely to have a clear understanding about whatever was happening with a child who sounds like they have some challenging behaviour. Pinning down is a very emotive and upsetting term. I think you could say that your child was upset about what happened in class. However, reading between the lines you are reacting to any tale told by your child. You don't know the facts and the school won't tell you them either for good reason.

And this is why alarm bells rang. If the child was of danger to themselves or others and being restrained then either they would be removed or the class removed to lessen the risk. On their policy it states certain restraints that are acceptable and pinning to the floor whilst they are on their back is definitely not one of those.

I would approach it as neutrally as possible. Either your.chimd is telling the truth, or they are so upset by school that they are fabricating scary scenarios. Either way you need to speak to school before you end up with a case of full blown school avoidance on your hands.
You can say what he told you and say you know it's the words of a 7 year old, but it concerns you whichever angle you look at it.

How do you know that the child didn't throw themselves onto the floor first. I can totally understand your child being distress by what had happened but after having my daughter in a classroom with a child at primary who often caused the whole class to be evacuated (they don't normally remove the child they normally remove the class) explaining to them why this may happen is the better option.

You do sound like a parent who constantly complains. This is not your issue, at most you can ask the school to reassure your child, which they should do.

If you really don't get on with the school then you should move your child.

And this is why alarm bells rang. If the child was of danger to themselves or others and being restrained then either they would be removed or the class removed to lessen the risk. On their policy it states certain restraints that are acceptable and pinning to the floor whilst they are on their back is definitely not one of those.
All my training would mean a class is moved out the room before a restraint is used in typical circumstances. I can think of situations where that hasn't been the case too. Circumstances are often complex.

Like PP, I can't think of a single acceptable hold that is pinning a child to the floor. Our students were older than your situation OP and if for whatever reason a hold became a non Team Teach hold at any point we had to log that as well and how it happened.

You need to report what your child said as neutral as possible without putting words in their mouth.

If you are concerned then send an email stating what your child said.
My own non verbal child was subjected to an unsafe floor restraint by staff who then lied about some of what they had done so I don't agree with the idea that others should keep out of things.

reading this - my concern here . You say your Ex was abusive - children are damaged by witnessing , living with abusive situations .

this can spill into every day life . You say you have had issues gone to the governors , don’t have a good relationship with the head teachers/ Ta.

what you need to do is focus on how your child can be helped .

raise an issue about what is happening in school, what your child is struggling with , it may indeed include what he believes he witnessed .

You will never get the answers you want regarding the restraint. It won’t be discussed with you .

restraint is going to happen more and more often and children who would benefit from special school struggle to get a place .

@OldBeller
Oops good spot. Link below:

againstrestraint.com/icars-report/

Report it. I have a safeguarding role and things like this need to be reported. This child is extremely vulnerable.

I can only read a little bit because I've heard a child being restrained for over an hour, more than once but one time sticks in my head and it isn't a sound I want to remember.

It's really frightening that people say trust the professionals. Restraint does get used as control and as a punishment. And it gets used for the restraining people to take their anger out.

I know for a fact that the children blame themselves and come to expect that level of violence against them. They won't trust anyone in a position of authority again.

I can promise you that, in the current situation, 1:1 support is only awarded in the most dire of situations. A child in my class used to regularly hurt others, yet we are miles away from getting additional support for him.

it’s none of your business. Be grateful that your child is being kept safe by the 1:1.

Hi OP

I am coming from a professional background with many years relevant experience in working with children who are looked after, schools that support them and have done research in RPIs (restrictive physical interventions). I’ve name changed for this as too much info.

1. your child is expressing anxiety and distress at what they have witnessed. It’s effecting their desire to go to school. That is definitely something to raise with the school. It could be quite traumatic for them from what they have described. You only need to share what they have told you and what the impact has been. You don’t need to share your opinions on whether what they did was ok. It’s enough to describe what your child has said and what you have witnessed in their behaviour and for them to know that and take it into account and record it. Hopefully they can give you and your child some reassurance.
2. Restrictive Physical Interventions are allowed but only if there is a danger. As PP have said, none involve being pinned to the floor. In fact this can be dangerous. Prevention and de-escalation are the biggest parts of most models - your opinion that this wasn’t OK practice is correct. It’s not ok to assume the 7 year old is wrong and the adults are right. The truth of what happened will lie somewhere between everyone’s account. It is, however, a safeguarding issue. You have been made aware of a child being pinned to the ground by adults. In this circumstance I would anonymously contact social services - children looked after can also be supported by the child protection team. It sounds OTT probably but even if they don’t act in it, it will highlight that there may be a need for more training. These things can be worked through with expert help. But if no one raises the problem there will be no chance of that.
3. That said, I am not blaming the TA. They are under qualified for these roles and working with traumatised children is exceptionally challenging. Having researched RPIs it is very difficult to make decisions in the moment that fit with the model, when you become dysregulated yourself. Becoming dysregulated when working with a dysregulated kid is easy to do for the best of us. They may not have had training in a model of RPI yet.

I hope things improve for everyone concerned.

OldBeller

Sadly, you are correct. The adults using RPIs are human and can end up using them punitively and in anger. It’s really hard not to ‘catch’ high levels of emotion and end up acting on the impulses of your fight/flight system.

Training needs to be regular, with regular supervision and with an emphasis on prevention (setting up to succeed) and de-escalation, so that the child has much less chance of losing control and ending up petrified and re-traumatised.

Teachers are stretched beyond capacity so it’s so so hard. I feel for the children and the adults in this situation. Of course, it’s the adults that have to be responsible and accountable for their behaviour though.

My DS has just said that when they came back in the LAC child was laying on the floor with the TA holding her down. I had forgotten that when he came out of school yesterday he had said his class had an extra play time because they had worked hard but now realise they evacuated the class. Apparently the child pinned down was still shouting loads on the floor and was wiggling around once they had come in. DS said it was so hard to concentrate

Your updated matches the concern of PP.

You’ve been given excellent advice on here. You now know what you need to do.

Please could people stop saying ‘you don’t know the situation’

IT DOESNT MATTER

A large number of trained professionals have explained that restraint against a wall or floor is NOT ALLOWED in schools (the police are a completely different matter) and can be very dangerous.

No one is saying the TA pinned a child to the floor for shits and giggles. Clearly they felt it was necessary. But either:

they did so inappropriately and in anger in which case they should not be working with that child
they did so because they genuinely felt it was right. In which case they need proper training and they and the child need to go through a debrief to repair the damage done.

OP: I wouldn’t even mention your child. I’d say ‘ x says y was being pinned to the floor. Obviously I have no way of knowing if this is true and accept he may have misunderstood. However I naturally felt you should know this information as, as I’m sure you know, being held down is not an accepted form of restraint. I would appreciate knowing that this is being appropriately dealt with for the safety of all the staff and children.’

If the Head refuses to engage or admits that the child was held down ‘appropriately’ I’d escalate to governors.

My DS has just said that when they came back in the LAC child was laying on the floor with the TA holding her down. I had forgotten that when he came out of school yesterday he had said his class had an extra play time because they had worked hard but now realise they evacuated the class. Apparently the child pinned down was still shouting loads on the floor and was wiggling around once they had come in. DS said it was so hard to concentrate
Then that's what you relay to the head, using your child's words as much as possible.

In your situation I'd question why the class were brought back in if the child was in a heightened state too. Either the child was so deregulated they were a danger to themselves/others, or they were behaving in a risky way, or they were deregulated and in need of some interventions, but none of that should have been in view of the class.

DC has come home today and told me LAC was walking around the class shouting and then the class went out for an extra play and came back and DC saw LAC was being held down on the floor by TA and LAC continued to shout and he said he couldnt concentrate. Is this correct? I'm just concerned that the class was brought back in and he had to see this. Especially with DC emotions at the moment.I'm worried this is contributing to his anxiety and feelings of being unsafe in school and not wanting to attend.

I understand you cannot discuss the details with me but could I have some reassurance regarding the above please.

How does that sound to the head?

That sounds reasonable OP, assuming you're going to put the child's name in place of LAC.

I might make some changes to make it clear who was saying they couldn't concentrate and also to be specific on what response you're hoping for.

DC has come home today and told me about a situation in class that has upset him.
DC said LAC was walking around the class shouting during lesson, and then the class went out for an extra play. When the class came back, DC saw LAC was being held down on the floor by TA and LAC continued to shout. DC said he couldn't concentrate in class whilst this was going on.

Whilst I appreciate that my child has only a partial view of events, I am concerned for two reasons. Firstly that this situation may have been distressing for LAC, and secondly it has been very upsetting for my DC to witness this incident.

I am worried that situations such as this are contributing to DC's anxiety and feelings of being unsafe in school and not wanting to attend.

I understand you cannot discuss the details of other children with me but I would like some clarification on the school's policy regarding positive handling and how the safety and wellbeing of the wider class, including my DC, is being maintained during these incidents.

Thank you. I changed and tweaked the email and have sent it. I wonder if the head will take another 2 weeks to reply!

And if they do, after a week you send.

Hi Head, just following up on the email sent x date.
As mentioned, I would appreciate sight of your positive handling policy. I appreciate you’re very busy, would it better to contact Govenorsname?

If you still get not reply, email the chair directly

Agree with MonteStory.

If you're breaking up for summer next Friday I might send something by this Friday adding you're now especially concerned because the lack of correspondence on this matter means you (and DC's father if involved) are now left wondering if the school has the capacity to safeguard your child when they return in September.