Year 7 - child assaulted another child - my dd is anxious about the situation

[bodenbiscuit]

My daughter goes to a fairly well known independent girl's boarding school. Last Friday, she came home and told me that a child in her class stabbed another child in the arm with a pencil and made her arm bleed, and caused a hole in her shirt. The child who was attacked was apparently very shaken up and upset.

The girl responsible has been suspended this week but is apparently coming back to school next week. My daughter has asked me to speak to her teacher and ask that she should not sit next to this girl or be partnered with her for anything. This is not the first time she has lashed out - last term she threw something at my daughter in anger and apparently has general behaviour problems at school. When my daughter spoke to the teacher about it she was told this girl has issues.

Obviously, I don't know the girl's situation and that's not my business but I do think that the girls in that class should be able to go to school without fear of being attacked and safe in the knowledge that the school can be sure of their safety.

Does anyone have any experience of this sort of thing? It does seem quite extreme and worrying to me.

Would it be reasonable to ask that my dd does not have to be partnered with this girl?

I would speak to the school and tell them that you expect them to take whatever steps are necessary to keep your child safe and to reassure her that she will be safe, as well as supporting her through her anxiety about the situation.

I would follow up with a letter confirming that.

Yes. She has the expectation to be safe in school. She maybe on a final warning, and teachers will watch her. But yes, at least email and ask.

Ok, thank you. I will email her class teacher. Tbh - I've never heard of anything like this before.

I've never experienced it but it's common sense isn't it?

Your child should expect to be safe. Her school have fair warning that she could be hurt so they have a responsibility to try and manage that risk?

Yes, I did think that Capri.

The school is usuaully very organised and I would think that they will be aware that other parents are going to be concerned about this. This child only joined the school last term.

I'm sure they will be on it for you. It must be hard for your DD if she's so unsettled by it.

My son has ASD and one of the boys at his school was quite explosive. It upset him enormously but the school managed it really well.

Good luck

Thanks Capri