Headteacher and five staff suspended!

[Educationalshame]

Have name changed so not to out myself. My children go here :(
I received a letter and that is it. Teachers will not really speak about it to me. What do I do?? Reading the attitudes of the other members of staff "What are teachers supposed to do?" Does not reassure me. Advice? Thoughts? Anyone..

It could only possibly - and I do mean possibly- be legally justifiable if it was an unplanned reaction to an extremely dangerous situation.

It's quite clear that this was not the case as the school had designated a room for this very purpose, so was using it as a behaviour management technique.

I wonder what discipline the parents are using at home with these children - it will either be nothing hence the problem, or similar or worse. Why people think that other people should magically be able to control their child when they probably can't I don't know. Maybe the parents can come in and supervise their child to allow the other children to learn without violent distruption?

Oh dear! I put my three year old in her room when she's having a tantrum, it works better than anything else, she calms down very quickly.

Well lots of parents have to work or have other children etc. They don't need their parents in school with them, they need dedicated one on one support.

I know for my dp who works in a home with very difficult children any kind of restraint or physical handling of the children has to be an absolute last resort and requires masses of paper work to be filled in afterwards. everything possible is done to prevent these situations and to diffuse etc. Children are kept safe but sometimes its better to observe and keep them safe and wait for the anger to subside even if that means they are breaking things etc.

In a school its much harder but if they can't remove the child who is posing s threat they can remove the other children from the area? And that seems a logical first step, not ideal I know but it keeps them safe and diffuses the situation a bit.

Op has the Lea sorted out a new ta for your son? Are you happy that they are ensuring good continuity of care? I would be asking what they will be doing to support the children during this period of unsettledness.

exactly Kendodd, as would a lot of people - seperating yourself from them and from confrontation is a very normal thing to do to defuse situations. If that's not what the parents are doing at home, then maybe they should be and then staff might not have to deal with a violent 9 year old. If he is still like that at 15 then society has a huge problem on our hands. Being placed in a room to chill out is clearly very different from beating a child as punishment.

I did a search to find out a bit more on this story, and found this story from the DM in 2009. It's an article about other schools that use this strategy to calm pupils down, so surely can't be illegal can it?

"Oh dear! I put my three year old in her room when she's having a tantrum, it works better than anything else, she calms down very quickly. "

Lots of parents do this. There is a difference between having a three year old in time out for three minutes and locking an older child in a room all afternoon.

It would be reasonable for two adults to take a tantruming nine year old to a calm room and sit with them until they have calmed down. If the child is kicking and screaming then they are restrained to prevent anyone getting hurt.

"everything possible is done to prevent these situations and to diffuse etc"

Everything? Does this include giving the child whatever they are kicking off about?

"Children are kept safe but sometimes its better to observe and keep them safe and wait for the anger to subside even if that means they are breaking things etc."

Really? They don't stop them smashing things up? What happens afterwards? Who pays for the damage?

Genuine questions about how this is managed.

5mad totally take your point, but why should everyone pay for 121 support for a child when it is the parents who have caused the issue in the first place?

Not saying that is always the case, but it is factor.

Not that you would actually want some of these parents in the school anyway, it was a bit of a flippant point on my part.

Something needs to be done at the base level to stop bad parenting and bad parents from continually passing their issues onto other people and children and somehow expect them to be able to sort it out.

oh ffs. The world has gone completely mad. I have not read the whole thread, but if what the daily fail says is actually true, what else were they supposed to do with the little thug?l

LOL at 'teacher-kicking shouty screamy schools'

H works in one of them and expects to be punched, kicked, spat at and have chairs thrown at his head. He deals with it. And he knows the corrrect restraints to use when necceesary. A 'naughty cupboard' does exists but it's not exactly a cupboard and the word 'naughty' is never used about any child (though when H comes home and tells me about his day I have been known to utter the words 'violent little shit' but that's just me and I am not a professional ).

I have every sympathy for teachers dealing with such difficult pupils but locking a child in a confined space is never a solution - the teachers need training in restraint techniques maybe.

but why should everyone pay for 121 support for a child when it is the parents who have caused the issue in the first place?

For a child to have 121 support then they will more than likely have special educational needs.

SEN are not caused by bad parenting.

"I have every sympathy for teachers dealing with such difficult pupils but locking a child in a confined space is never a solution"

It works for me at home, my DD calms down fast.

"SEN are not caused by bad parenting."

Severe emotional and behavioural difficulties are often caused by bad early years experiences. I am sure that if Baby P had lived he would have had bad behavioural problems.

"but why should everyone pay for 121 support for a child when it is the parents who have caused the issue in the first place?"

So what would you do with the damaged child?

If a child has experienced abuse then they need extra help. Severe neglect or physical or emotional abuse can have long term affects on brain development.

Even if the child was born neurotypical; they have developed special needs and its not their fault.

I do absolutely believe that there are children who genuinely have special needs. However, is there some medical reason why there are a disproportionate amount that come from from homes where there are parenting issues? Genuine question, what comes first, the special need or the poor parenting?

Once again, I repeat, I know there are some children who genuinely have issues not caused by their parents.

Its not always the parents and if it is then they should get support to help themselves and their child. If that fails then children can be and are removed from their parents.

We pay as a society because its about protecting the vulnerable, children are the most vulnerable in society.

Do the kids kicking off get what they want? Generally they aren't kicking off just be cause they want something! Whilst them breaking stuff is far from ideal sometimes its better to let them get their frustration out, these are children who have been abused and had awful lives. Unfortunately there isn't a quick fix and rather than place staff and other children in danger it is sometimes better to watch and keep them and others safe until they calm down. I don't know the minute details, I don't work there but my dp does and I have seen the bitemasrks and the bruises and scratches etc he can get when dealing with these children. But when a child literally collapses sobbing at the end if a meltdown and you then talk to them about what triggered it in most cases the staff have nothing but sympathy for the child. No-one condones their behavior and there are consequences but they then all work to resolve issues, to find and avoid the triggers and work on helping them to become functioning adults which is what we all want. One such boy is now doing brilliantly in a foster home, getting good gcse 's, volunteering to help train rescue dogs and doing brilliantly and has a good future ahead of him. But there were years if horribly difficult times to get to that point. Thankfully some people didn't give up on him and the rewards are now being seen. Dp no longer looks after him but has stayed in touch, its outcomes like this that make doing the job possible, it would be mentally exhausting otherwise and still can be at times.

Regardless of the causes of the extra needs these children have, its not their fault and its our duty as a society to help and protect them.

BeerTricks - Thanks for the link, but surely there's a difference between locking a child in a room for 'up to six times every day' and a - presumably - rare and desperate measure after everything else has failed? I'm genuinely interested in whether it's illegal or not, given my earlier link (to DM admittedly) which detailed several other schools who were using the strategy at that time.

Reallytired. I think that there needs to be support at the base level rather than 121 support later on. But wat annoys me is that sometimes people complain about others trying to fix the issue they have caused as if their child is some delicate flower that they themselves lavish with love and affection. They may very well do a lot worse to the child at home but are up in arms when someone else tries to use a perfectly acceptable form of discipline to sort the issue they created.

No, I don't think the chldren should be left to get on with it, however I don't think dealing with the issue on a 121 basis at school while the parents carry on causing further issues and having more children who they raise in the same manner is right either.

I don't know what the solution is.

Would putting them in a 'safe' room harm them?

I do think society as a whole needs to look at why we have these problems, they don't happen in a bubble. These parents were children once themselves. We do have cycles of abuse and neglect and problems of poverty, low self esteem and low attainment and low aspirations. Early years intervention is key and proper support for the parents.

But there are also many fabulous patents who have children with sen, no it their doing, they need support as well. Many of these families are being sadly let down, the current government is not helping.

Severe emotional and behavioural difficulties are often caused by bad early years experiences

SEBD are one type of SN. That may be caused by poor parenting.

There are many children in mainstream schools with SNs, SEBD are not in the majority.

Many more are on the autistic spectrum and as Im sure you know autism is not caused by bad parenting.

I do absolutely believe that there are children who genuinely have special needs. However, is there some medical reason why there are a disproportionate amount that come from from homes where there are parenting issues?

That is bollocks.

'I do absolutely believe that there are children who genuinely have special needs.'

Right, thanks for that.