To ask what should happen now? DD attacked by other students

[RainInNovember]

DD is 15, shes had a few issues with people, got into a few arguments, nothing major and mainly over whatsapp etc, she does seem to get involved in the drama. But a lot of her friends are similar and there are often fallings out but then friends again the next week.

I just had a message from dd at school. she said two girls who she used to be friends with have waited outside her lesson for her and followed her. once she was on her own they put a coat over her head and started punching her in the head and pulling her hair and dragging her about.

she has told school and she said the girls are currently in isolation, I have called school who said they're investigating now and will call me back shortly.

I have never dealt with anything like this before. I just want to know what to expect and how seriously they should take it.

Seriously....This girl really does sound as though she needs taking down a peg or two.
It doesn't surprise me after the so called punishment that she received, it wasn't really much of a deterant so not much of a worry to her.

I do wonder in these cases how concerned, if at all, the parents of these bullies are.
When I Worked in a school I remember complaining to the head teacher about a boy A that had kick another boy B (where it really hurts) and was a bit taken a back when they replied that if they told A off his mum would come in a go mad at them. Is there any chance this head could be like that?

As a pp said if possible take your DH into school and complain and do contact OFSTED, that's probably one thing that the head really won't want you to do.

I would read this re Ofsted. It will not be looked at.

FFS, I’m so sorry this is happening.

This is exactly what I and several other posters meant when we said the punishment given by the school won’t have any impact on them.
People like this literally don’t care if they’re ’put in isolation’.
Not a single fuck given because it doesn’t change their life in any way, shape or form. It’s not a consequence. It’s the equivalent of a doss lesson.

I agree with taking your safeguarding concerns to absolutely everyone you can - LA, Ofsted, you name it.

Oh, and don’t forget the power of a good old Google review! Schools don’t like when their reputation is threatened.

Tabloids always a great option too - they’ll bite your hand off for a story like that because it generates outrage and therefore engagement.
Yes they’re rags, but you can just see the headlines of ‘Child violently assaulted but local school looked the other way’ going viral. The child usually stays anonymous in those articles, so absolutely go ahead and name and shame the school!

School will soon realise they’re got getting out of this with their image intact.

As for the wannabe law student, start contacting local sixth forms and colleges to give them a heads up. It’s not defamation if it can be proven through her school records.

They won’t want her. Bye bye uni!! 👋

You are really just proving the point that the school will not do anything unless it is forced to do so.
And even in forcing a school to do something there are very few routes to take.

That’s because heads have been given power! That’s what they wanted. I just think people should not give incorrect advice and the op should take a sensible route through to achieve more. It starts with the complaints procedure at school. However it is solely the head’s decision to PE or not based on their policies. Ofsted will look at exclusions at a school when they visit and want to see they match policies and are fair. Parents cannot demand another Dc is excluded and keeping social media posts sent by a third party is not helpful unless it’s comments that would lead to suspension or exclusion. We can probably see why good heads are hard to find! Good money but not easy is it! ?

Why have the police said their hands are tied?
your daughter was assaulted and the girls admitted it. Not only that they are continuing to harass her.
If the police can’t clarify I would formally complain. This response isn’t good enough

I am sure that no-one has said that parents can demand PE, (I'm not going back to look).
What posters have said is that schools very rarely PE pupils for this sort of thing, and it doesn't matter whether the violence is against pupils or staff.
And that the root of this is down to the government making it policy not to PE an penalising schools that do.

The screenshots that were sent were homophobic, racist and taking the piss out of a disabled relative, as well as body shaming and bullying multiple girls. I just thought school should get a more rounded view of what these girls are like. One of them (not the original but one that shoved dd) is a senior perfect and is now having that title removed

Anything that proves that these girls are targeting other pupils may help.
But you need to be careful that the school doesn't spin this in to you targeting them.

@RainInNovember stripped of senior prefect?

Hell yes!

Keep on it @RainInNovember

There were 6500 permanent exclusions in 21/22. Schools are not penalized for PE when students and staff need to be kept safe and the law is followed. It’s not true to says schools don’t PE.

To reiterate: the police will not get involved in a school matter of this nature and there’s no possibility of any conviction for anything. Heads wanted to run their own schools and now they do. It’s an academy so not responsible to a LA.

TizerorfFizz

No-one has said that schools don't PE, posters have said that its rare for schools to do. but don't let that change your narrative.

It is clear from what the OP has posted that the school that her DD goes to will do all in its power to sweep this under the carpet. as do the vast majority of schools.

TizerorFizz

As you are so interested in numbers why don't you look up the numbers for managed moves, isolations and Alt provision (including those that are in Alt provision because they have been excluded and those that are manged in to it)?

Following with interest OP as a very similar thing happened to my son on Monday. The other student in question has been in isolation all week and statements were taken from witnesses. The other child has form for getting in trouble and has already had at least 1 suspension if that makes a difference. I am awaiting an update from the school. I hope your daughter is OK, its an absolute disgrace that these kids behave like this, suspension, negative points etc are like a badge of honour for some of them.

I'm so sorry your son is going through similar. School seem to be being very careful now, they seem to understand we aren't going to let this lie.
Girls are in isolation all week during break and lunch. And dep head is keeping us in the loop. Dd has had a lot of support today from school

I'm glad you were able to demonstrate their 'true colours' to the school and made it clear you weren't going away.

Hopefully, a week of isolation instead of socialising at breaks/lunch and one losing her 'prefect' title will have the desired effect and she'll put her head down and keep away from your DD going forward.

They should be in isolation until the end of term.

OP the girls need to know the consequences of what happens if they continue once out of isolation.

Has the school spelled this out clearly to them - and to you?

It must escalate in severity if they continue to harrass your daughter.

What behaviour policy gives isolation as a sanction for months? None. It’s utterly ludicrous to suggest this. If a school wants to be reported to ofsted, doing this would trigger it.

I don’t really care what the stats are on managed moves etc. The facts are heads permanently excluded 6500 Dc in 21/22. That’s a lot. They can and do exclude. Posters have said repeatedly that they cannot and don’t. I’m not bothering to post again because I’ve no doubt if you took other sanctions into a it could be 10,000 pupils shifted. However it’s untrue to say heads don’t PE. They plainly do. Just because this head didn’t deem the offence bad enough doesn’t mean heads don’t exclude.

There are 11 million odd kids in school in the U.K. so 6500 is 0.06% PE per year. A much higher percentage of kids are seriously problematic than that. It isn’t ’a lot’ at all.

So stressful for you and dd. Well done for taking a stand.

Excellent.

Keep being a 'pushy' parent. Headteachers are terrified of them.

I don’t really care what the stats are on managed moves etc. The facts are heads permanently excluded 6500 Dc in 21/22. That’s a lot.

It's not a lot at all. There are a lot more than 6,500 seriously violent kids in schools.

TizerorFizz

What behaviour policy gives isolation as a sanction for months? None. It’s utterly ludicrous to suggest this. If a school wants to be reported to ofsted, doing this would trigger it.

But you posted that ofsted wouldn't get involved!

I don’t really care what the stats are on managed moves etc. The facts are heads permanently excluded 6500 Dc in 21/22. That’s a lot.

It isn't

They can and do exclude. Posters have said repeatedly that they cannot and don’t.

Posters have said that its rare

I’m not bothering to post again because I’ve no doubt if you took other sanctions into a it could be 10,000 pupils shifted. However it’s untrue to say heads don’t PE. They plainly do. Just because this head didn’t deem the offence bad enough doesn’t mean heads don’t exclude.

Fair enough

Well done for backing your DD @RainInNovember

The school initially tried to normalise this and that tells you what you need to know about what's going on in there. Some schools are fast becoming an unsuitable environment or kids, the amount of stress involved for teens is off the charts. There is no way we would expect adults to spend six hours a day locked in a building where they were at physical risk from their peers five days a week and come out mentally and emotionally sound at the end of it.

Children shouldn't be led to believe that this is an inevitable part of daily life for them, it's so incredibly damaging. Your DD is lucky to have you in her corner.