To Think That DD School Are Covering Up Teacher’s Unprofessional Behavior

[MrsJLL]

DD is age 10. She bright and sporty. Very sociable, happy at school and doing really well.

I was recently at the school gates waiting to collect her. The mums tend to stand around chatting in little groups.

I was stood close by to many other mums but was just checking something on my phone so was alone but only about 1 to 2 meters away from everyone else.

A teacher approached me and unbelievably announced within earshot of the many of other mums that she has diagnosed my daughter with ADHD because apparently she acts like the “other ADHD” kids that this teacher knows

I was really shocked and upset as we have never had any SEND contact and this teacher is just a class teacher. Other mums definitely heard what the teacher said and also saw me being upset. The teacher then walked off after I got upset and refused to elaborate.

I subsequently made a complaint to the Headmistress about the teachers conduct and the fact she had discussed sensitive medical information in a public place, thereby breaching data protection /GDPR.

The response came back from the head that the teacher was not acting on behalf of the school when she said those things to but was speaking in her own capacity and on her own behalf.

Therefore, whilst it was regrettable, she hasn’t done anything wrong and neither has she breached any data protection laws because the information she gave me about her opinion of my daughter’s mental health was not the “official view of the school” so it doesn’t matter that it was overheard by various people.

The Head then reiterated how confident they are in this teacher’s professionalism.

That is apparently the end of the matter as far as the Head is concerned.

it has really upset me and I feel like the school are covering up for this teacher.

AIBU?

what should I do next?

Yanbu, she was trying to embarrass you and dd in front of the popular mums.

No advice though but I agree x

Edited after reading the post a bit more as I read headteachers response. That's a shame they're not willing to say the teacher was wrong.

Sorry this happened to you. I'm a teacher and this sounds incredibly unprofessional. When this issue comes up, I would typically keep the parent informed of any behaviours e.g. I noticed Sarah was finding it hard to sit still in class today etc.

Then once a picture is built up call the parent in for a 1:1 meeting to discuss further support and the possibility of a referral.

The teacher definitely needs some work on how they deliver this kind of news, hopefully it can be resolved by the SLT and the teacher can learn from this.

It was unprofessional for them not to call you in and have a meeting, however formal or informal, with you.
schools will always back the teacher though. The teacher probably has got into trouble over it, it’s just not shared with you
(retired teacher)

Thank you

as a teacher do you think it’s possible to speak to a parent on school grounds about their child but be speaking in a “personal capacity” and not a professional capacity?

this is what the school are saying this teacher has done and I can’t get my mind around it

it sounds like BS to me but welcome your thoughts.

I would take a look on the website for a copy of the school safeguarding and gdpr policies, and a copy of the staff code of conduct.

Im relatively certain that between the three there will be clear info about what can and can’t be shared. Just because something is a personal viewpoint or shared in someone’s personal time it’s unlikely that the policies don’t apply.

An example of this would be that if a teacher saw a parent hitting a child in the supermarket, they would still be expected to report that as a safeguarding concern.

I would also make an appointment with the senco and ask outright whether she believes that your child has adhd. Adhd is tricky to diagnose in women and girls, but often impacts more at secondary so it’s worth knowing their actual opinion now incase it’s useful in the future.

Really they should have a policy when it comes to this situation. Have you spoken to the SENCO at all? I'd ask what the process usually is for informing parents about concerns around SEND.

Unless the teacher is hard of hearing her behaviour is abhorrent. If she is hard of hearing, the fact that other parents were in earshot might have escaped her. I have a hearing impairment and struggle with knowing when people can hear me.

This should have been discussed privately, since when does teachers diagnose children with medical issues? That's not up to them, they can ask if you have any worries and discuss what they have seen in day to day life at school as a 1:1 meeting but to say "I've diagnosed your child ADHD" is not acceptable.

I wouldn't let it slide it's unprofessional.

I'm a retired teacher, and the head's response is absolutely BS.

I don't normally say this, because most of the time, the governors are not the people to go to with day to day complaints, but as you've already used the complaints procedure to go to the head, and you're not happy, I would contact them.

Thanks for messages

the school do have SEND and Data protection policies and my complaint mentioned that I believe the policies have been breached

the Head’s response was that because the teacher was acting in their personal capacity when she spoke to me, she cannot have breached these policies

I'd book a meeting with teacher and calmly ask her what exactly she has observed to make her think your daughter has ADHD.

I'd ask if she has raised her concerns with the send coordinator or whatever they're called. If not, why not.

I'd ask in future that she be mindful of how she delivers information to parents and suggest that if she has any concerns she invites both parents to a meeting to discuss it.

I'm not defending the way she went about it, but at the crux of it is a professional who has seen something that rings alarm bells. She might not be right, but there's something that's made her do this.

But did she actually say “I diagnose adhd”? The semantics are important here. Was it loud? Performative? Context is everything.

I think tactless and crass but not unprofessional. And have you considered ADHD? What did the teacher aim to achieve? And was it a qualified teacher or a TA?

Go back to the complaints policy and see what the next step is - it’ll be clear how you can escalate your concerns

That's a pathetic response from the school. They should have addressed her conduct issues, if it's as you said. She should not have addressed this in the playground. She is in no way qualified to diagnose anybody with anything. If she has concerns she needs to learn how to raise these appropriately.

yes that’s what she said

it was very performative and loud enough for nearby pekoe to hear .

I know from my DD that her and the teacher don’t get on (she only has her for one lesson: music) and I suspect that something had occurred that day to annoy her.

after she told me, when she saw me getting upset she smiled and walked off smiling. I did put that in my complaint but is was also dismissed. “There is no evidence that Mrs X was smiling when she saw you become upset”

"Personal capacity" is bullshit. A total cop out. It raises concerns about the head teacher to be honest.

It’s unlikely anything will happen, I don’t think a casual conversation is covered by GDPR. I believe it’s only covered if the intention was to record it (such as a conversation as part of a formal meeting)

Not sure if you are LA or Academy .. but either way, this is the kind of thing that would be seen as the Headteachers responsibility to deal with.

You could try Governors , but I doubt they wouid do anything (and I say this as a Governor)

The next step is to complain to the governors

but it’s clear the Head is backing the teacher big time.

this is such a shame because DD is so happy and doing well and that’s why it’s a shock.

essentially I think this teacher was just being vindictive and it was feigned to upset us, because DD and her don’t get on and probably something happened that day to trigger this.

That doesn't make sense! The school are saying 'it's her personal opinion' as if that makes it suddenly a nothing. Surely teachers have a responsibility to chose how and when they share their personal opinions because some opinions might be not be work-appropriate. 'Little Derek is a bit of shit' might be a very understandable personal opinion, but that doesn't mean you can go about sharing it at the school gate. Obviously this isn't quite of that caliber, and is a medical concern rather than an insult, but you can't just apply 'personal opinion' as if it shuts everything down. "Kisty appears to have nits" would also not be appropriate to announce loudly at the school gate. You are right to be annoyed.

Governors complaint is the next step

why do you think Govenors are unlikely to do anything? Is it because they always back the Head?

I don’t see how “speaking in a personal capacity” is a remotely logical defence here. The teacher was speaking to a parent at the end of the school day, in the school playground. By the head’s logic, a teacher could say whatever they like, and they could wave it off as “personal capacity, not a school issue”.

I’m a governor and was recently on a complaints panel and we did not back the school. I was there as a governor from another school, but there was a governor there from the school where the complaint was made, and they didn’t back the school either.

ETA - I’m not saying they’d do anything in this case. Just responding to the idea they always back the school/head.

Completely unprofessional especially if this was your first conversation around a possible ND assessment for your DC.

I would complain to the governors (not sure they will do anything but it would make me feel better).

The thing you would be complaining about is the Headteachers response to your original complaint.
The Headteacher responded to you, in a timely manner, in a professional way.
You might not like what was said, but as a Governor there is nothing in the Headteachers response to you that would trigger any sort of censure or disciplinary. All we would be looking at is “did the Head follow the process”

Even if the complaint of “they said my DD had ADHD” was upheld, it wouid not lead to any sort of disciplinary action, it wouldn’t meet any sort of threshold.

Teachers don't clock off at the same time as the children, there is usually at least 15 mins of "directed time" at the end of each day which is time that they are still working. I would ask what the directed time policy is, as that would show that the teacher was not speaking in her personal capacity. Anything that has been observed in the classroom and shared to a parent is from her professional view and she is not medically trained so should not be making any diagnosis.