help me draft a letter please!

[duckyfuzz]

I am writing to the head at DTs' school to complain about the behaviour of a boy in their class. They're in Y1, he has been excluded for 10 days of the last 12 and they have been so much happier. He is violent on a regular basis and seemingly turns it on as and when he chooses. Class teacher is at the end of her tether. Any choice phrases for me to include? Am thinking of things like impact on the learnign of the majority at the expense of one boy etc...

duckyfuzz, erm, sounds like the class teacher and school are on the case. Exclusion in yr 1 is very unusual, and exclusion for that length of time is disastrous for that child, so something must be recognised as being badly wrong.

Just write a short, simple letter stating the direct impact on your child. That's all you can do, really.

The child might be moved to another class - sometimes works.

You can only comment on the negative effect the behaviour of another pupil is having on your child. You are unable to speak for parents of other children IYSWIM?

I'm not sure that the head would enter into any discussion with you about another child tbh and there may well already be various measures in place to deal with this child and his behaviour. It would not be at all appropriate for the head to tell you this though. However, if you really feel you need to write, then maybe something like below might do? All you can really do is state your concerns - but you may not like the reply!!

Dear ___,

Whilst I realise that it is not appropriate for you to discuss other children with me, I feel duty-bound to comment on how much happier my dts have been whilst _ has been excluded.

It has been so reassuring for them to be able to attend school without fearing violence from another pupil and without having their learning disrupted by (teacher) having to deal repeatedly with disruptions and incidents.

Whilst I understand that Every Child Matters and that you have a duty of care to provide a suitable educational environment for all of your pupils, it concerns me as to how much class-time might be being taken up by the behaviour management of one child and how much other children's learning might be being disrupted by this behaviour.

I wonder if it would be possible for you to offer me some reassurance about how the school intends to ensure that all children are able to learn in a safe and secure environment, with minimal disruption?

Yours' ----

I think it soulds like the school are already on the case. Temporary exclusions are rare at primary and most are only for one day. The child sounds like he might have behavioural problems so hopefully these will be addressed.

Of course, if he bullies, assaults or stops your child learning then raise and document it with the head and the governors.

thanks for the advice everyone, yes they are already on the case, part of which is class teacher persuading as many parents as possible to make their feelings know - I wasn't going to do anything, but when I mentioned to her how happy they'd been recently she suggested writing to head! I don't expect a response, but am happy to do it if it adds some weight to whatever course of action they are persuing. DH and I are both secondary teachers so we wouldn't readily do anything like this, we know how hard schools work, but also aware of the negative impact he's havign on the rest of the class. Its single class entry so no moving possible. He has been excluded earlier in the year too, must be about 20 days over the course of Y1, also excluded in reception - mum doesn't care so long as he's good at home

thanks tribunalgoer, I think this is what the class teacher is after

As a teacher I agree, write the letter. Give the school evidence that this child's behaviour is impacting on the learning of others and encourage your child's classmates to do the same.
Then this other child may actually get the help he obviously needs.

The school are clearly handling the situation extremely well as exclusions in year one are incredibly rare. They must be doing a great job at following through procedures etc.

Thanks, it is helpful to know from others how rare it is for Y1 pupils to be excluded - DH and I both work in inner city comps and even we were shocked by it!

Out of curiosity what sort of thing does the boy do?