Teacher pulled my daughter's hair, do I take it further?

[RingsLikeTinnitis]

So yesterday my daughter (14 year old. In year 10 at school) came home and told me the PE teacher pulled her hair. It was a supply teacher and is covering short term because the usual teacher has had surgery. Apparently she was "using my daughter as an example" of why they needed to put their hair up for PE. She had said something along the lines of "what happens if someone goes like this?" And then fully yanked my daughter's hair. It wasn't a gentle pull, it hurt her and she was quite upset about it.

Anyway I was picking her up early at 10 this morning for an appointment so I spoke to someone about it at the same time. The person I spoke to was the safeguarding lead and already knew about the incident because my daughter had reported it to another teacher and a few of the other students had also said something to other teachers too. She said that she will be having a strong word with this supply teacher and my daughter should come straight to her if she has any more concerns/problems with her. She's probably going to be teaching for the next couple of weeks.

Do you think you'd be happy with the schools response to this?

I think you might be uninformed on this topic. A child has said a teacher assaulted them, other children have corroborated this. The school will be obliged to report that to a LADO, who may then decide it can be dealt with by the school. But every instance of an adult who works with children being alleged to have hurt them gets reported. It isn't optional to report an allegation, and it isn't for the school to judge whether the alleged assault is serious or not serious.

Honestly, it sounds like there does need to be some scrutiny here, if multiple teachers heard the account from the children in the class and none of them have taken appropriate steps to safeguard.

It could be that the school has already made the report and started an investigation, but I'd absolutely want it confirmed if it was my dc.

It's mandatory in this kind of situation.

Teachers are permitted to lay hands on a child only in very limited circumstances, reasonable force, to prevent injury, etc.

What?

Yes. Failing to report is also a contravention.

Many teachers manage to keep children safe without pulling their hair.

On the contrary, I am very well informed, having been safeguarding governor in a primary, a secondary, both receiving Ofsted Outstanding judgements when single number judgements were given, and a music school.

It is for the school to have informed the LADO, as you say. If OP doesn't trust the school to have done that, of course she can check with them.

The post I was responding to suggested that OP herself should inform the LADO and Ofsted, which in my view is overkill when a) OP hasn't spoken to the PE teacher herself and b) she hasn't filed a formal complaint with the school and had a reply.

As with all posts like this we are only hearing one side of the story.
As a pp said, teachers have to put up with a lot, and unless a serious breach of conduct has taken place, deserve praise rather than criticism.

Pointless.

I'm very surprised a governor would opposed a parent ever making a report to a LADO. Parents are free to report to them - anyone is free to report - if they have a concern.

No one, especially people in positions of power, should be attempting to stop or discourage safeguarding reports.

OP must do as she thinks fit. I am not attempting to stop her and never would. I do not oppose parents contacting Ofsted, the LADO or Lucy Powell. You are drawing conclusions about my views that suggest you believe me incompetent and unprofessional, based on scant information from me and considerable extrapolation on your part.

OP has asked for views. I have given her mine. My point now is about the sequencing of what happens next. OP's information is incomplete. It is therefore too early to be contacting Ofsted and the LADO, in my opinion. She will look ill informed. OP has an account from her 14-year old DD, the victim. She has a second-hand account from the safeguarding lead at school that references other pupils who witnessed the incident.

What she does not have is confirmation that the PE teacher has been spoken to, by whom, and how the conversation went. Neither does she have the benefit of a conversation with the PE teacher herself, which I have suggested she consider requesting. She doesn't know whether the incident has already been reported to the LADO by the school as it should have been.

This! Exactly this.

Parents cannot withdraw a child from PE. It's a compulsory part of the curriculum.

My child wouldn't be doing PE if that teacher was allowed to continue in the lesson. Hopefully it wouldn't be the case anyway.

I don't think I remember a PE teacher ever needing to touch me in a PE lesson, and if they did I'm fairly sure it wasn't to pull my hair.

PE teachers are permitted to touch pupils if it's necessary for safegarding reasons and to teach technique eg how to hold a tennis racket. Pulling a pupil's hair in a way that hurts them is quite obviously neither of those and needs to be dealt with by the school, which seems to be in train in the case of the incident you have described.

Really not OK op and I’m astounded by some of the comments on here. If you were in a workplace and a manager demonstrated something by yanking your hair you’d be shocked and upset, especially if it hurt. I wouldn’t be sending my child back to any lessons with that teacher and I’d kick up a huge stink with the school about it. Completely unacceptable from a teacher. There is just no logical reason to do it.

Why would a responsible person want to lay hands on anyone, let alone a minor, like this?

By English law, it is arguably battery. Battery need not be physically forceful. It simply involves aggressive unwanted touch, e.g. poking or spitting.

A teacher committing battery in a 'demonstration' should not get off any more easily than if she pulled a stranger's hair in the street.

The minimisation of the child's experience on this thread, and the adulation for the teacher/authority figure, remind me of pre-feminist dimissal of 'domestic violence' as somehow not so bad because praiseworthy humans (men) just went too far with the lesser humans in their care (women).

Do better, MNetters!

Can't believe people are defending this. I'd probably have slapped the teacher knowing what I was like at that age.

It's like somebody dropping a brick on my foot as a demonstration of why safety boots need worn. The fact several students reported it suggests it was excessive.

Ask to meet the supply teacher, and when they describes to you what the hair pull looked like reach across grab their hair, yank it hard and respond “like this?”. How fucking dare they

Whether or not it hurt is immaterial.

I recall that one of our teachers playfully swatted my best friend's hair long curly hair when she was 12. In Scotland 1972, no one thought anything of it. In Scotland 2026, the same teacher would be in trouble for unprofessional conduct.

They might get away with a warning...but one of the first things you're taught as a student teacher is to keep your hands to yourself.

If you're breaking up a fight, you can lay hands on a pupil in order to stop someone being hurt, but even then you're advised to avoid that if you can.

"You need to stop believing everything your kid says at gace [sic]value"

🙄🙄🙄

Other girls reported the incident as well.

And, fgs, why would we stop believing our kids complaining of being hurt? Should we also deny claims of rape on face value? 🤔

Bet any money the ‘other girls who reported it’ were your daughters friends desperate for a bit of drama and to see a teacher being reprimanded .

When you are resorting to criticising midnight typos, and comparing this matter to rape, you know you have lost your argument!