to ask that my daughter be removed from a certain teachers lessons, but remain entered for a GCSE?

[LolaLouise]

Not that im even sure that is possible?

My daughter has issues with a specific teacher at school. She is year 10 GCSE age. She has zero issues in any other lesson. She regularly gets the class award for most achievement points achieved that week, she got the house leader award for the half term, she is a student voice rep for her house, she has positive feedback, and is working at grade 7+ in every subject, including the lesson being discussed.

My daughter and this teacher had a "falling out" last school year when the teacher, accidentally, opened an email concerning my daughters private life onto the whiteboard for the whole class to see. My daughter was very upset and angry about this, and quite rightfully in my opinion, voiced this upset and asked that the teacher apologised. The teacher took the stance of "Im not apologising to a student" and for the remainder of the year my daughter did the bare minimum for this subject and work in lessons, and her homework was half arsed. This school year, after talking to my DD at length over summer about how sometimes you may feel you are owed an apology, but you wont always get it, sometimes you need to draw a line under events and start a fresh, my daughter tried just that. Her school book is very thorough, very neat, homework was taken seriously, and she is doing extra revision or pre reading as the focus of the lesson changes. However, the teacher has not done the same. She continues to pick my daughter up for anything, handing out detentions etc for minor situations, shouting and screaming at her (and the entire class by all accounts) for no reason. My daughter has come home in tears multiple times over how this teacher has treated her in the lesson. She posted negative feedback on the parent portal that is so unbelievably petty. The only negative behavioural points my daughter has had all school year are from this one teacher.

Despite this, as i said, my daughter does all her work in this subject, homework up to date, and high predicted grades. The teacher has now expressed she wants my daughter removed from this GCSE entirely subject (which i have been made aware of by the head of year) and placed on another she has no interest in at all, and is more vocational than academic, and also doesnt lead into what she wants to do at A level unlike this subject. I have stated categorically that my daughter is not to be removed from this subject against her wishes, when her grades are good, if they cant provide an alternative teacher - ill tutor her myself as it is a subject area i have an MSc in already. It is clear to me the relationship between her and this teacher is beyond repair, if it is causing this much upset for my daughter, and the teacher if she is requesting my daughter is removed from the course, surely having her remain entered, but privately tutored is a workable solution?

It is not enough for the teacher to say it was an accident. Even accidental GDPR breaches are reportable to the ICO, and indeed if the school haven't reported the incident they are also in breach. I would escalate this.

If the teacher is screaming and shouting at her, I would expect the school to do something about the teacher. I’d be surprised if they let her take an exam for lessons they haven’t taught her for in.

Accident or not it is a GDPR breech and the school and teacher are accountable weather they like it or not. I would raise this to the governors and assuming it is an academy as 99%of schools are now I would raise it with the academy Trust.
Unless you daughter is lying to you and I don't think she is (I have a daughter that sounds exactly the same) And she is throwing chairs and insults across the room they have provided no evidence for her to be removed. Ofsted is also an option . It won't spark an inspection but it will put a marker against their name and that dept. Will be vetted more thoroughly on the next inspection.

It does sound like it started with an accident and has escalated so it’s an awful situation all round: I would ask for a meeting with the head of year to begin with. Then propose a mediated meeting with your daughter and the teacher (if that is the only teacher of the subject). I would also use the complaints process. The school have to formally respond and if you reject the response the local authority will be involved. (If it’s a state school)

Too late for an apology from the teacher imo and ridiculous that someone who has breached GDPR (accidentally or otherwise) feels they should not have apologised at the time.

id go straight to see the head teacher now, put in a formal written complaint (hand it to them at the meeting), get the complaints policy and escalate to the governors and LEA as necessary. I’d also ask the head if the GdPR breach was appropriately reported at the time and of not that it should be now (that’ll be fun as they only have so many weeks to do so).

this isn’t about the apology but the poor behaviour of an adult in a position of power - the fact she thinks your dd should be removed from class is astounding.

This is a bit victim blamey- good on OP’s DD for standing up for herself!

This may have already been pointed out but what the teacher has done is a data breach - one that the school should be taking seriously.

If the Data breach was reported within 72 hours and the school can prove that they have tackled the issue (just an email saying don't do it is enough) they don't have to take it further.

Also it is very easy to accidentally put something that you shouldn't up on a whiteboard as they are absolutely awful pieces of kit.

As for what is going on with your DD and the teacher, if you are gong to complain please do it through the school's procedure otherwise it will just get kicked back down the line.

If you talk to the school they may let your DD still sit the exam through the school. Or they may agree to do the paperwork and put her in privately if you pay.

I'm sure this teacher broke the schools data protection policy. It's a serious GDPR breach that could cost the school a lot of money. If they don't care about her feelings they should care about this. I would request a meeting with the head. The teacher sounds like a bully.

The exact same thing happened to my son.

I had emailed his form teacher about a medical issue my son was having at the time and he opened the email in the class and it appeared on the whiteboard. Several of my sons classmates saw the email.

Just one thought is how long is It realistic that you teach her this subject? Ie if the school agree she can use the class times as study time for the whole of the GSCE window you cannot surely continue this into A Level too?

I'd be tempted to complain to the Information Commissioner, about a breach of your daughter's personal data that caused her alarm and distress...

Really, the teacher should be replaced with one who can actually do her job. Your proposed solution is more than fair, OP.

Your daughter has openly admitted that she didn't do work in the lesson as she was annoyed at the teacher. Are you absolutely certain she isn't still misbehaving in the lesson and putting zero effort in?

Like some others have pointed out, you have only heard your daughters version of events.

Ask the school if they reported the GDPR breach.

So your daughter whilst having received 2 sad pieces of news, was then humiliated further by her teacher, then picked on instead if receiving an apology.
She's then decided to work hard despite the relationship with the teacher as the subject is key to her future plans and now the teacher wants her out due to what the teacher believes are misdemeanours. Why should this teacher have such power over your daughter future. It's aborant behaviour by a teacher. She's a teenager who's had some difficulties recently but has tried to buckle down (by the sounds of it). In the meeting its probably best to express your dismay that this is being allowed to happen.

Reminds me of my physics teacher, I was I the first year of gcse, he told me I could only do the lower paper which meant max grade C I said I either do the higher or none, he told me I'd fail. I got a C on the higher paper as he relented, but would have got a lower grade had I taken the lower paper. He still insisted despite having the result he didn't think I'd get a C

Teachers need to own their mistakes and do their best to not to penalise students due to perceived personality clashes.

Your daughter has openly admitted that she didn't do work in the lesson as she was annoyed at the teacher.
No she didn’t - try re-reading.

This is a tricky one.

The teacher sounds horrendous. Yes, accidents do happen, although the teacher will have attended insets where this kind of GDPR risk will have been discussed and warned against.

However, doubling down after that and not offering your daughter a profuse apology (in private) is just not acceptable.

OTOH, you can’t ask to have your daughter opt out of a class. It sets an impossible precedent. Any pupil who has a problem with a teacher will be asking for the same.

So, you need to go through the formal complaints procedure. Talk to the head of year or head of pastoral and explain the outcome you want, which is a meaningful written apology from the school and a guarantee your daughter will be treated fairly from now on.

Mention GDPR breach, appeal to safeguarding governor and subject information access request.

Take this all the way until you get satisfaction,

Yanbu.

I was bullied by a cunty teacher at the same age so I know how stressful it can be and how much it can affect your grades. I went on being on track for an A* in my subject to getting a C.

Please consider also raising a formal grievance against the teacher. My mother did this for me (apparently we were not the first, she was already being dealt with u see school’s disciplinary process despite only working there a couple of months) and the teacher actually didn’t get her contract renewed the next year.

Being able to apologise is a social skill that not everyone has. People like my sibling.

I can’t imagine how the teacher wouldn’t instinctively apologise. There should then have been a quick meeting with all parties for a proper apology, explanation and that could have defused the situation. Instead it has now escalated.

if this happened to me as an NHS worker I would immediately apologise. The school head has not managed this properly. Very poor.

@FrustratedCustom ,

If you lack both the care not to display someone’s personal information on the whiteboard, or the social skills to apologise, I would suggest you shouldn’t be in teaching.

This seems a very one eyed view of this situation.

The teacher made a mistake and your daughter held a grudge. You supported this grudge. Your daughter's work ethic and attitude deteriorated in this class. You supported this behaviour.

The teacher has to teach the whole class and not just your daughter, who I suspect is disrespectful and disrupts the learning of others in this subject so the teacher has asked that they be moved for the greater good of the class. The teacher will not be holding a grudge against your daughter. The teacher probably teaches over 150 kids per week and is not focussing upon your daughter.

The teacher has used the behaviour system, followed policy and tried to gain parental support but you support your daughter's misbehaviour and lack of effort in the subject.

This is main character syndrome and you are being massively unreasonable. You have created this situation and when you decided the teacher has been punished enough encouraged your daughter to work, then were surprised that the teacher didn't immediately rectify their 'bad' behaviour.

It's a lesson for your daughter - people's impression of you matters, especially if they are in a position of power and a valuable one for the workplace as my boss NEVER apologises to me but I don't throw a little baby tantrum and do shit work.

It's a real shame that the school aren't providing leadership on this. If they sat down everyone and managed to repair the relationship - which is clearly at rock bottom now - THAT would be the most pro-education (and educational in itself) thing they could do.

A general problem I think is that a lot of teachers go from school to uni to school and aren't exposed to good professional and managerial behaviours that they can then emulate.
The carelessness with personal info, the distress caused, that merited a private apology that has not yet been forthcoming. And then the teacher failed to follow up on DD's change in work quality and address that by saying "we may have our differences but this work is for YOU not me." A good manager in one of the firms I worked in would have pulled people up on this sort of shit.

Mistakes happen. But a sincere and prompt apology can sort things out quickly.

Same here