To ask how to handle this teacher situation?

[OutOfMyDepth86]

Before I start this is not a teacher bashing thread, on the whole I think they do an amazing job.

My ds14 in year 10 is having a really hard time with one of his teachers, to the point on days he has this teacher he is not wanting to go to school. He has got upset several times and states the teacher singles him out repeatedly. I have emailed school three times and had no response, rang and spoke to the year 10 student coordinator twice, was promised a phone call, email response and got nothing, my ds him has been and ask to move class of a few occasions. He doesn’t get in trouble or have detentions for any other subject.

The issues are as follows:-
We are out of catchment area by 15 miles, first homework was take 35-50 photos of where you live in away it represents community and the place. He did this, I know he did this as I bloody walked around for 90 minutes in the rain helping him and as always I get him to bcc me into homework emails. She told him he hadn’t done the homework properly and just taken random photos of pretty fields and trees as he lives in x place, he informed he didn’t and this is the area he lived. He received 30 minute detention for not doing the homework correctly.

Had to redo the homework same criteria, which he did redo and got told off again. He told her the criteria was where you live not X place and that’s what he did. Got a 30 minute detention for rudeness but she accepted the homework.

She singled him out and wouldn’t allow him to leave the classroom with a camera to complete the coursework made him sit at his desk for all 3 lessons that week. Then gave him a 30 minute detention for not completing the coursework, this has happened three times since September.

According to ds and backed up by a few classmates she screamed in his face in the classroom in front of the class over not completing the coursework, that she didn’t allow him to take part in.

She shouted at him and gave him a 30 minute detention for not looking at her when she was talking to him. He was looking at her to the best of his ability, he has a squint which has been surgically corrected twice and now he has grown is waiting a third operation, his eye involuntarily wonders/crosses, he can’t control this. School are aware as hospital have written to them about seating arrangements best for board work.

There has been several other incidents but these are the worse of them, I can’t allow him to be bullied by this teacher. She is the adult in a position of authority and I don’t think she should be allowed to abuse that power. What do I do as the school are ignoring all my attempts of communication of this issue.

Shit and rude school

Ask for a meeting with ihs Head of Year. If your DS has friends who also did the ptohograph homework, would they / their parents allow you to take a sample in with you for that meeting. Keep dates and content, but be as clear, cool and factual as you can. The eye thing is unforgivable though.

Turn up and ask to see the HOY. I had to do this when my son was punched in the face at school and no one would respond to my calls/emails.

Aside from the screaming in his face - it sounds like you have a version of her behaviour that simply doesn’t make sense

and she’s frustrated that he is not doing the homework set. Is he the only child not living in X?

I'd not send him in when he has this teacher. The school will soon be in touch wanting to arrange a meeting!

Your poor son, she sounds awful.

@Afteropening

did you read the same post as me? He was to take pictures of his area, which he did so he did do the homework. The Op confirms this.

op she sounds like a real bully. I would now be going into school and insisting on seeing someone that day

@Afteropening I think most children are catchment area children, it’s rated outstanding and very over subscribed.

Her not allowing him out with the rest of the class to do the coursework and then punishing him for not doing it is unacceptable and an abuse of power.

He was to take pictures of his area, which he did so he did do the homework.

OP said homework was 'take 35-50 photos of where you live in away it represents community and the place'.

How did he represent the community?

Sorry OP, this teacher is an incompetent bully who is contravening the standards for registration by being verbally intimidating and abusive to a child. This is not acceptable. I'd present myself at the head teachers office and be very clear about what the actions have been. I'd make an official complaint about the teacher and the teachers line managers if they are unwilling to address. Take it to local authority.

Either:

Go in to school reception and insist on speaking to someone in person as you have attempted all other methods of making contact and your child is in danger of school avoidance/refusal.

or:

Contact the headteacher directly, sharing copies/dates of previous attempts to contact year group team and stress above point about potential for school avoidance/refusal. If this does not get a response (it should) then your final option is to go to Chair of Governors, but I’m pretty sure it won’t get to that point.

At all times, stress that you are concerned about the potential impact on your son’s attendance (I know it shouldn’t have to be this way, but it removes the ‘personal’ element of an issue with a particular teacher at least initially and also emphasises the impact it’s having on your son and ultimately their attendance stats - I’m sorry that you’re faced with a school where this might be your only way to get people to contact you, it definitely shouldn’t be the case). Once you’ve got someone to speak to you, then you can discuss the specifics. If this is an accurate representation of the situation, it’s absolutely appalling behaviour from this teacher (and it could well be the absolutely truth) but I would also be wary of going in guns blazing until you’ve heard both sides of the story. It’s pretty rare, though of course not unheard of, for a teacher to single out a student in this way without there being at least a little bit more to it. It’s not that your son is lying, I’m sure he’s not, but just that he might also not be giving the full picture either.

Regardless of that, the fact no one is contacting you is not good and does suggest that some things are not working in that school, somewhere along the line.

Best of luck, I hope it gets sorted out.

Look up the school's Bullying policy and relate your communications to that. Just because it is normally aimed at peer on peer bullying does not mean it cannot be applied to this situation. Also look up their complaints procedure and set that in train.

If you get no response then write to Safeguarding lead and Chair of Governors/trustees.

Tbh this doesn't sound like a school worth leaving your catchment area for.

If you have made more than 3 attempts to contact the school by way of email/phone call and have been ignored then why are you not just going into the school to speak to them. Stand up for your son, go in and ask for a meeting in person. Be polite but take no nonsense and do not leave until they have confirmed a meeting with you. Show them your unanswered emails, have all your factual information laid out in a concise manner and don't take no for an answer to a meeting.

Unusual then for a child to be accepted 15 miles out of catchment?

Look up the school's Bullying policy and relate your communications to that. Just because it is normally aimed at peer on peer bullying does not mean it cannot be applied to this situation. Also look up their complaints procedure and set that in train.

I like this idea.
OP, I was bullied by a teacher. It started off like it is with your son and became much darker and more abusive. I was absolutely fucking terrified, far too scared to advocate for myself. No-one really understood how bad it was except for other pupils, and they were scared that he'd then turn on them.
He was accused of far, far worse than what he did to me a few years later.

That was nearly 25 years ago and it still affects me- not just what he did, but the fact that no-one did anything about it- I had mentioned parts of it to trusted adults, who said that he had a temper, to ignore it etc. They absolutely should have protected me and they didn't.

I agree

But obviously she wasn’t going to allow him to leave the class and do his homework! She clearly expected him to do it on his own time.

Go to the school in person and ask to see head of year, if unavailable one of the deputy heads. If still unavailable just keep asking for higher until you see someone. It's the way I found to make sure they bloody get back to you! Record all attempts at phone calls and try to email instead, ask head of year for direct email. At least of unanswered it's documented.

Op may have moved in last few years or he may have got in under criteria like former looked after child.
A teacher surely can’t assume everyone lives in catchment.

I’d escalate further. By email setting out attempts to resolve and zero response (attach emails) and note of calls.
There’s an issue in x class and you need to discuss as a matter of urgency now.

I'm guessing from context that this is a photography gcse class.

The coursework for photography is extensive. Students need to produce an annotated portfolio showing how they have explored the theme that they have been set. They are meant to have researched photographers and written that up into their portfolio, researched techniques and written that up into their portfolio, and show the photographs they have taken and explain why they have taken them and and processing of them they have done, either digitally or on the prints.

The coursework takes hours and hours of time outside the classroom and cannot possibly be completed just in lesson time.

It sounds like this teacher is not getting across to your son the expectations for this subject.

She shouldn't be shouting at him and you absolutely do need to have a conversation with a pastoral lead - head of year or equivalent.

However, she is absolutely entitled to not let him out of the classroom to take photos for whatever reason - either because she thinks he'll mess around or because she needs to talk to him about his coursework.

Send an email to the head and person in charge of pastoral care. CC the governors, they've had enough time to respond.

Send copies of your previous emails and demand a meeting with the teacher and the head. Write everything down and have questions written down prior to the meeting.

Follow up that meeting with an email detailing verbatim the conversation that was held.

Inform the school your son will not be attending this teachers class until a resolution is agreed.

Make sure you have a record of your many failed attempts to discuss this with the school, look up the complaints procedure and put in a formal complaint.

This teacher sounds vile. The teachers that use their position to feel powerful are few and far between, but they do exist and unfortunately it sounds like your son has found one.

I almost never agree against teachers but in this case OP YANBU. She is a disgrace and completely unprofessional. Just from that list she isn't meeting the teacher's standards in a ton of places. WTF is she doing in an outstanding school, are they one of these who haven't been reinspected since time began and probably aren't that good any more? Because it sounds like it from the way they've not communicated with you about this at all.

I'd also want to speak to the DSL because screaming in a child's face is emotional abuse and if it was happening at home the school would rightly raise it as a safeguarding issue.

The headteacher won't see you unless you follow the complaints procedure.
Normally this will be
Teacher
Head of department

Head of year.
(possibly) assistant head in charge of department
Then Headteacher
Governors etc.

You may be able to circumvent some of these if you go pastoral, or SEND.
Even then they will direct you back to the teacher.

With regard to not letting him out to photograph things. You do need to find out why the teacher didn't let him go, whether this is due to messing around, trying to get him to finish written work, or bullying you will need ot get the teacher's side.