Community Resolution for assault

[Anotheranonymousname]

My 13 year old was physically assaulted during school by a peer who had earlier threatened to kill them. Assault was planned in advance and was witnessed by a number of other students in the class, some of whom egged on the culprit, it was filmed by another.

School has - mostly - dealt with the incident (although not without serious mistakes being made along the way) and police are involved. DC gave formal statement to the police and school passed the video footage to tthem.The culprit has had a Caution +3 interview and I've just heard that the outcome is for a Community Resolution resulting in them writing a letter of apology to my DC.

My understanding is that a Community Resolution is considered victim-focused but a letter of apology isn't something my DC has been asked about. Why wasn't the culprit charged if that's what my DC would have wanted? The video evidence is very clear (my DC didn't fight back so it's a video of one child being set upon and beaten up by another).

Will the letter be checked by someone before it is given to my DC? How will it get to my DC? I would hate for it to arrive in the post or be handed to my DC at school without warning - the repercussions of being attacked at school (there are additional elements to the assault that make it more serious than 'just' being beaten up) have been significant and my DC wants nothing to do with the culprit. If my DC doesn't want to read/receive the letter, will that be supported?

Given the culprit has accepted responsibility for the crime, are there any additional measures I can ask school to put in place to support my DC e.g. ensure the culprit isn't put in the same classes for any subjects? Can schools refuse to take students who have assaulted peers on residential trips?

Sorry for all the questions. The information from the police hasn't been all that helpful and my DC has lots of unanswered questions.

Your child doesn't get to decide whether the attacker is charged. At this age, the emphasis is on not criminalising children and young people unnecessarily.

For a community resolution, the offender must admit the offence and agree to this approach. A police officer should have talked your child through the process and listened to any objections. The police must take your child's views into consideration when deciding if a community resolution is appropriate, but they are not bound by them. They can use a community resolution even if your child objects.

I can't answer the process questions beyond saying that no-one should force your child to read the letter. You need to address those questions to the police.

You can ask the school for additional measures, but you can't force them to do what you want. They may not accept that there is any need for additional measures.

Schools can bar children from trips if they have known, highly challenging behaviour that could jeopardise their safety or the safety of others. However, the fact a child has assaulted a peer does not necessarily put them in this category.

Thank you @prh47bridge. My child hasn't been talked through the idea of a community resolution and had been told by the officer that if the video evidence was clear, the culprit was likely to be charged because of the additional aggravating factors. It has been confirmed by the police that the video footage is clear and that those aggravating factors are evident. Neither my DC or I are interested in the culprit being charged or criminalised but the CR seems quite a departure from what we were told to expect so I'm trying to understand a bit more about the rationale behind the outcome.

The school absolutely accepts additional measures are necessary and have put a couple of things into place but said what else they can do depends on the outcome of the police process. As I only received notice of the outcome late on Friday afternoon, I haven't been able to speak to the officer involved to ask about the processes involved in the letter-receiving aspect (I have contacted them and asked). Because of errors in the way the incident and subsequent process was handled by the police, I am keen to do what I can to ensure the work the school has done to help my DC feel safe at school again isn't undermined by the unexpected appearance of an apology letter.

I would make it a priority to speak to the officer in the case and let them know the letter is likely to cause more distress. Would your son prefer not to receive it?
I’d also speak to school first thing on Monday and explain that you don’t want anything to be passed on without first speaking to you and your son.

If the police have not talked you or your child through the process and listened to your views, you should query this. They should not opt for community resolution without doing this. It may not change the outcome, but it should at least give you a better understanding.

Thank you @Findyourneutralspace and @prh47bridge. I have emailed the relevant senior leaders at the school and asked that any letter is held by them and not given to my DC unless they ask for it. I've also requested that I'm informed of the arrival of any letter so I am able to let DC know it's there - DC had already asked school not to withdraw them from any more lessons for things related to the assault as it means they miss learning and have to catch up. School has been understanding of this request and stuck to it so I'm not anticipating any problems with this.

At the moment, DC is feeling quite cross that the email from the police implies the idea of an apology letter has been discussed and agreed upon, pointing out that the email says it's meant to be a victim-focused approach. We've agreed I will contact the police officer to let them know DC is unhappy with the idea the culprit and their adults may have been given the impression my DC has agreed to receive a letter.

From the moment DC was viciously beaten up at school, they've felt they've had no control over what has happened next and the whole experience has made them physically unwell. Giving a formal statement was a turning point in my DC feeling as though they had a bit of agency so it is disappointing the outcome has been communicated to us without DC being given an opportunity to feel heard.

Update to this is that the letter of apology was decided upon by the evidence review officer and there was never any intention of it being discussed with my DC. The letter has finally been written but was handed in to the wrong person at school. It is very short according to the senior leader who has read it and they've said it, "could be interpreted in a number of ways".

My DC is still determined not to read it and has no interest in what it might say. I'm glad it's been written though.