Is this assault? - confrontation between headteacher and 6 year old

[ptangyangkipperbang]

DS1 (age 9) came home from school yesterday talking about what had happened in assembly. He said a class 1 child was misbehaving so the head shouted at the child (loud enough to make one of the special needs children cry) and got him to come out to the front. He then said the child had to go to his office. The child, for whatever reason, refused to go. I know this must have been frustrating for the head and he wouldn't want his authority undermined, but DS1 said the head then marched the child the length of the hall, pushing him in the back to make him move. DS1 said the whole school (nearly 200 kids) sat in stunned silence.
I've had my doubts about the leadership of this head and have heard him shouting at pupils in a bullying manner but do you agree that by doing this he has overstepped the mark?
By the way DS1 is usually a reliable source!

IMO it is assault. Yes, teachers do have to act as they as see fit but there was no need to push the child all the way out of the assembly. It looks to me as if the head 'was losing it'..and I can bet you that if one child had pushed another like that then the head would have told that child off!!

It is assualt (as there was contact of a forceful nature) and if it had happened to my child I would have wanted to speak to the teacher. If I did not get a satisfactory result then I would go to the police.

The law is on the head teacher's side. He is allowed to use physical restraint, however he is risking his career doing so.

A few months back I did an Approach Training course. It was on how to physically restrain a child without hurting them. The reason that two adults restrain a small child is that it is easier to avoid hurting them. Its not bullying.

A few days back one of the kids at the school at work at (with severe sn) escaped, climbed over a fence and tried to run on to a duel carriageway. If physical restraint had not been used the child would have been killed.

The trainer on the Approach course I did told us that he got into troube and suspended when he physically intervened to stop a 15 year old strangling one of his classmates at an ebd school. The victim had lost conciousness and would have died if the teacher had not intevened. The mum of the atttempted murderer formally complained about her son being physically restrained.

Teachers are dammed if they do, and they are dammed if they don't. There are times when reasoning with a child is just not going to work.

I wouldn't want to be a teacher given the amount of respect they are given and posters on here second guessing the situation and calling the head a cowardly bully for disciplining a child.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who remembers my best teachers as the ones who were not afraid of discipline. The useless ones were the ones who couldn't control a paper bag.

My daughter is not at school yet but when she is I will work on the basis that the adults who are in control of the school are respectable, responsible people trying to do a decent job in difficult circumstances. I won't be second guessing their every decision as professionals and hope that they will not second guess every decision of mine as a parent.

And to be perfectly honest, if one of them makes a wrong decision once in a while and comes down a little too harsh on her, it won't be the end of the world. I certainly won't be hotfooting it up to school to protest about bullying.

applauds maggot

Exactly my feelings but more eloquently put thanks!

If it was my child that this had happened to they would have been given a good hiding for defying the headteacher.

Children need to learn to respect authority. No wonder standards of behaviour is so bad in schools.

These stories often got out of hand.

The headmistress of DC's school was coming up to retirement. She lost it in assembly once with a boy who hadn't been listening.

The rumour went round that she had thown a hard back book at his head. DD saw the incident and said she had thrown a paper pamphlet into his lap and told him (probably did shout) if he wasn't going to listen then he should read it himself.

My Sister was a TA in a primary school. At playtime she stopped a fight between to 2 yr1 children.One of them then kicked her in the ankle, headbutted her in the stomach and told her to F* off. He was 5. Unfortunately because of the kick her ankle somehow got an infection in the ankle.
She hobbled into school on crutches and bandaged up only to be confronted by the mother saying her darling boy hadn't done it and it wasn't his fault

If a six year old child is misbehaving that badly, then refusing an adults requests - i too would frog march the wee fucker out of the place too.

I despair when a situation like this is described in terms of the adult misbehaving - i really do.

Kids do exagerate, I had to use reasonable force in my room once and within an hour the tale had been exagerated into me throwing a child across the room.

We have the right to touch children and to use reasonable force, it isn't always advisable. I teach in a school where there is a rather worrying culture of kids making accusations against kids and if it happens to you that could be the end of your career as an allegation even an unproven one remains on your record.

The power balance fascinates me in a classroom, I am a head of year and to mantain the respect and authority that is needed to do my job effectively I need kids to do what they are told. Once word gets round that they don;t need to do what is said it is a slippery slope to failure and an early retirement. I have never had this happen to me exactly as this.

I have had a child refuse to go to our seclusion unit when I have told them and I told her she had ten seconds to move or I was calling home. She did not move so I called home and someone came to get her, you cannot hvae children openly disobeying orders the place will end up in anarchy.

My mum instinct says it would not be my child as she has been raised to know that if a teacher, never mind headteacher, tells you to do something you do it.

But you do have to pick your battles, I have one lad in my year group who is out of control for all sorts of reasons, I would not get into any kind of power struggle with him in front of my whole year group as the awkward little bugger would play to the crowd.

This si why kids are better of being praised in public and reprimanded in private, but this is a rule not always easily followed.

I've not read the whole thread but my first thought was what sort of 6yo refuses to do something when told to by the headmaster - I reckon 99.9% of 6year olds would jump, even if scared. So I'm thining that this 6yo is probably a very naughty kid who is well known as a trouble maker to the staff already

What was the headmaster supposed to do if the kids said no? Say oh, ok, go and sit down and carry on being naughty then while being a bad example to the rest of the kids?

Not assualt.

Twinset, did you see my post re: farmers market? Sorry I cant remember where I posted it now so I havent been able to check back if you responded

p.s. there is one in St. Annes this weekend I think?

yes have replied on the thread.

have been a bit out of the loop so did not know about this weekend, we may pop down

This is the latest guidance on the use of force in schools from the DCSF.

It says at one point
"The types of force to be used could include...active physical contact such as ....ushering a pupil away by placing a hand in the centre of the back"

It states there is no legal definition of when it is reasonable to use force, as it depends on the circumstances, but in the section that gives guidance for schools on creating a policy on the use of force it refers to "the kind of circumstances the schools regarded as justifying the use of force to require a pupil to comply with a reasonable instruction (for example to leave the classroom)"

I agree that the poor head probbably lost his temper and shouldn't have shouted and now is thinkign I could have handled that better. I don#t shout - but do quiet. Much more effective (it doesn't trigger a flight or fight reflex - went on a course about it..)

But he couldn't let a child get away with not coming with him once he had said it - would have sent the wrong message to the rest of the school.

Maybe the head was having a bad day - OFSTED phonecall, stress of the job, personal issues - I am not a good teacher when I am tired or upset about something...