Terrible class teacher causing concern amongst parents

[DodgyMcDodgerson]

My son is in Year 2. To briefly summarise, his class teacher shouts at the class frequently, there’s alot of punishments both individual and whole class, alot of putting kids down and responding to them very abruptly.
most of the girls in the class are terrified of her (as in to the point some girls are crying coming into school, another little girl wet herself rather than interrupt the teacher to ask to go to the toilet. When the girls mother suggested her daughter had been nervous to put her hand up in case she got shouted at, the teacher completely dismissed this as unthinkable). There are a few boys in particular who she seems to really
single out to tell off, and these are lovely kids - not unruly or being disruptive. She’s telling one boy off for not understanding the work as an example. The kids are unanimous in their dislike of her. The parents in the class are unanimous in their dislike of her.Literally not heard one positive word about her.
one child has already transferred to a different school and there is talk of more
following.
bearing in mind that this is not even 6 months into a new job and in a class of 28 children there have already been at least 5 complaints (that I’m aware of) - is this teacher likely to remain at the school????

Sorry if you thought I was saying to ignore the children it that they aren’t learning. I was actually saying that the learning will be more intense than the previous year which may be causing issues.

I also said they should highlight their concerns to the head (the teacher’s manager) so it could be looked into. I am not saying to ignore the children, just not to take everything they say as gospel - ie be open to the fact there could be something else going on here too. TBH this doesn’t only apply to children, on AIBU you regularly see comments about how we can’t judge when we are only hearing one side of the argument. The same applies here.

Y1 should be good prep for y2. I don’t think it’s intense - should be a natural progression as dc mature. I think if you are not in a classroom you only have the views of your DC and you advocate for them. However parents who do help in school usually know a shouter. It gets round the parent body and they are rarely wrong. Quite frankly, shouting teachers can be heard!

All you can do is advocate for your children is your child having issues? If so then write an official complaint and mark it as such… write what your issues are, but only the ones concerning your child, don’t write ‘you’ve been told a child wet themselves or anything else you’ve heard… just purely how your child is about attending school.
Other parents need to do the same.

This has been really interesting with all the different views and yes teachers do get reputations based on opinions and the what children go home saying.
However, classes and parents get just as much of a reputation. 😂

Beware of a possible witch hunt. School gate gossip, misuse of WhatsApp groups, parental outrage at a perceived slight to a child and a defensive stance taken by the teacher? These factors could be the ruination of this class group. Believe me you do not want them to become "that class",the one no teacher wants to take as soon as they reach the Senior Cycle. Precious school hours frittered away on "meetings " about unresolved misbehaviour, blatant insolence, the serious erosion of learning outcomes. Talk to the teacher through the agreed procedures which are the fruits of a prolonged and arduous consultative process. Most people, parents and teachers, are decent and well intentioned adults. The "little angle" that can do no wrong today, is potentially the intimidating eleven year old who will think nothing of swearing at a teacher and walking out of the room a few years down the road.

report it. this is why the complaints procedure is there.

@neelhtak Most schools have an off the shelf Complaints Procedure that is not negotiated school by school. It’s usually fairly straightforward about how it escalates. It can feel arduous to follow it and get issues recognised!

This is not a witch hunt. If the DD is saying she is not happy in class for various reasons, and that CAN be unfair class punishment or punishments meted out to others, then it’s valid for the OP to mention it. Plus there’s an understanding that a Behaviour Policy must be followed. That’s a “contract” between the school, pupil and parents and teachers are not free to do what they want regarding behaviour.

If a child has wet herself in school and that wax witnessed by other dc, it is a matter of concern for everyone if DD believes it was stress induced. Children tend to know when something is not fair or right and do speak up.

If school and teacher will not accept there is a problem and take steps to improve the situation, it is too bad if it’s “that class” . It will also be too bad that it’s “that teacher” who drives dc away and the school budget goes down.

I am only familiar with the official parental complaints procedure which was agreed upon by all the partners in education. It is designed to address difficulties while observing at all times the principles of natural justice and fairness. That term witch hunt is possibly dramatic and overly emotive, though it has found its way into common parlance. I was merely considering the possibility that some parents, in their concern for their children, might be very suggestible.

Regarding the concept of "that class", it is thankfully something the average teacher witnesses only a couple of times over the course of a long career. It is usually associated with confrontational encounters and the absence of correct procedure from the beginning. People may become alienated and a wholesome resolution is less likely. The outcome can be very unfortunate. It is unthinkable to remove a teacher from a class without establishing the truth of what is happening. Children wetting themselves is highly distressing, but there are many possible reasons for this. Usually a discussion with the parent resolves the matter. Occasionally a child cannot wait at all and may need to go out without asking. This is acceptable once the parent has discussed it with the teacher and the decision has been documented.

I think the most unfortunate issue was the teacher discussing a child who wet themselves with other parents. Whatever caused the problem for the child, any discussion is not acceptable. It’s that simple. I do not believe a teacher should be “hounded out” by parents and structures are in place to prevent this from happening such as performance management and monitoring by SLT. No teacher is an island with no accountability.

As I said earlier, there is an implied contract between the school, parents and dc. Schools must follow published policies and help staff to do so by training and mentoring. If SLT hear shouting in the classroom it is something that they should deal with. If they are told the behaviour policy is not being followed or the sanctions policy, it is something they must investigate. When they don’t deal with such issues in a timely manner, gossip will spread. So their leadership skills are important in preventing this. Actions always speak louder than words.

I read it as the OP overheard the exchange in the playground as opposed to the teacher discussing it with others.

It’s quite difficult not to overhear things in our school. You try to move away but you are still aware a parent is being spoken to about something as the teacher comes out rather than inviting the parent in.

@sarahd29 It’s not acceptable to discuss that type of incident with a parent within hearing of others. It’s a private discussion to maintain the dignity of the child. It’s common sense and the teacher should be showing a more caring attitude towards the child.

It’s what they do, it’s normal. Same happens in my son’s school. If the teacher makes a beeline for you then the other parents melt away.

I think I’ve said on here happened to my son and the teaching assistant came out with a bag of soiled clothes. I was standing with another mum and she kindly moved away and focussed on her child. It’s not rocket science as a parent picking up to work out you don’t listen in.

You have to realise wetting, bumps, bad behaviour are all in a days work for the teachers and their assistants. It’s not normal to us, but to them it is.

You may be lucky and have a school who would bring you inside to a meeting place I guess..

A Code of Conduct for the staff usually covers such issues as discussing pupils in a non secure part of the school eg playground, corridors where the discussion can be overheard - just checked on the school website where I was a governor.

Don't think the OP said that the teacher discussed the child with other parents. That would be an outrageous thing to do. As someone else here has said already, parents at home time move away if they see the teacher beginning to engage with someone else. An interesting point was made by another person concerning news as related by children. An adult needs to guard against swallowing everything said without a little discernment. I have had to turn a deaf ear to many stories about home (not child protection issues I hasten to add) No, just personal matters which adults might find embarassing, or attention seeking tales with little or no basis in fact.For example, inventing a new baby sibling when a classmate gets one.I think it's all part of growing up.

@sarahd29 I was a governor at a school where the dignity of children was preserved and teachers didn’t speak about children within earshot of other parents. No expectation of “melting away”. That’s just parents going along with poor communication. Look to see if your school has a code of conduct for staff. They should do. It’s sometimes the small things that parents value.

I’ll be honest I’d rather have a quick 2 min chat outside then being called at work to
come in 15 mins early taking a teacher out of lessons to tell me that my son is a lazy little chap (my words not hers) who didn’t want to miss out on forest school.

It didn’t do him any harm to have the teacher come and tell me.

Our teachers also have to do
handover back to parents at pick up. When are they supposed to have time to have these chats
as well.

In our school of there is a concern that is more private the teacher discusses with the head and they call the parent. Wet pants don’t fall in to that category Unless it’s seen as a potential uti or other.

This. Im permenantly emotionally scarred by a teacher humiliating me when i was 10, it needs to stop

@sarahd29 Wet pants does come into the private category if dc found it humiliating. We treat dc worse than adults! Would you like your wet knicker bag held up in the playground? It’s clearly humiliating to discuss this in front of others. You don’t get called in early. Teacher just asks you to come to the classroom. We seem to like humiliating children these days.

How does anyone know what’s in a bag? Unless they are listening in..also, reception is full of wet pants when they first start.. are they all going in together or queuing up knowing why they are going in..or is it just easier to give them the bag outside with a quick handover…

You’re talking about an ideal world where teachers are not having to safeguard children leaving at the same time as dealing with parents who have questions.

I suppose parents of children who have had an incident could wait until handover is done (and that does in some cases happen) but generally it’s not a big deal. They are kids..I’m sure we all wet ourselves at school at some point..

Hmm. This is y2!!! Plus I never saw wet pants in yr being brought out in bags either. You must live in a different area to me. Very few dc wet their pants. It’s unusual in y2. Very odd to think it happens all the time. It truly doesn’t.

I don’t live in an area where huge numbers of year 2 or 3 wet their pants, no..

but it can happen to any child in the same way they are sick in class. As I have said on here my son wet himself in Yr 2 because he misunderstood the new rule about when children were allowed to
go to the toilet. Another persons child might do it because they are scared, have a uti, or another because they don’t want to leave the brilliant game they are playing. It’s not an everyday occurrence but it’s not unheard of when they are learning and developing to navigate and learn what their bodies need.

Im probably less judgemental about it though.

The OP on this hasn’t posted for a long time and I don’t have any more to add, so this is me
parking it here and leaving the room.

@DodgyMcDodgerson Any news?

It doesn't happen very often. It's not such a big deal to rinse out a little pair of undies and squeeze out the water. That way there is no odour and the item can be placed in a tightly knotted bag and brought home discreetly in the school bag.

@neelhtak Discreetly. That’s the whole point.

Don't they just have plastic bags for the kid to put wet pants in to take home.No idea why you think teacher should be rinsing out your kid's pants and handing them over.