When a child is bitten should teachers tell parents ?

[RosemaryandThyme]

My Ds was bitten on the arm today by a girl in his class.

Both are age 6 (year 1).

It happend at last break. Ds told class teacher who got girl to apologise.

Round pink mark on his arm, no broken skin.

Teacher didn't mention it to me at colleting time.

Would you expect a teacher to mention this sort of thing or is it just run-of-the-mill stuff to be expected between children ?
Thank you

You should have been told.

This happened to my ds today at nursery. Bite mark left on his arm.

I was informed as soon as I arrived and told that they had spoken with the other child's parents to tell them its unacceptable and needs sorting.

You need to know. Imagine if this was or became a regular occurrence and nobody bothered to tell you?!

When my dd was at nursery she bit a boy and they took it very seriously. We were called in, she had to sit out play, dire consequences explained if she did it again.
All this despite teachers trying not to laugh as they explained the provocation...dd was playing with a doll. Boy who liked her asked her play- she refused as she wanted to look after her baby. He snatched baby, ran to a corner of the playground and started to punch it repeatedly shouting 'I hate babies'. DD ran screaming after him shouting 'my baby, my baby you're hurting my baby'. Flying tackle and bit the boy in the arm that he was using to punch the doll.
Parents of victim sure the incident a reflection on the arrival of his little sister.
Despite everyone's amusement at DD maternal instinct it was still her fault and she lost playtime etc etc
So yes...you should have been told!

Seeker/mrz: even without a mark a bite will disturb the other child and I don't want to have a child suddenly who refuses to go to school and be afraid.

Personally I see a bite more seriously as a push. It often means there are underlying problems or the child has needs it can't communicate. This should be reported as it can mean further problems.

I disagree with Swishswashswoosh. It sounds as if your son is being inclusive. She sounds as if she may have additional needs and needs support not children pushing her away.

I agree BeerTricksPotter - what I was referring to is whether you encourage your child to play or not with a child

sorry pushed button too soon - what I was trying to say is agree that actions by school should be the same whether SN or not

I think however, inclusivity and encouraging positive relationships is a good thing

noramum I think being there when the incident takes place means the teacher is better placed to know if a child is upset by an incident. Obviously if a child is upset by any incident in school the teacher should inform parents.
I always mention biting incidents to the parents of the child who did the biting.

"The school should be recording this as evidence should they need to raise a statement request for or move to exclude the child; one of which will almost definitely happen if the behaviour continues."

Wow.

There's a difference between recording the incident internally and reporting it to parents - like mrz said, I would mention it to the parents of the 'biter' as a minimum. And if it was a 'serious' incident, like a bite, then it would usually be recorded in the accident book if it left a mark or distressed the child.

FWIW, if it left a mark, I would have informed both sets of parents and taken action with the biter - which would probably include education around alternative strategies to biting, rather than steps to exclusion.

Yes, you should be told.

BUT, think about what goes on at home time. 30 sets of parents/carers all jostling to get their children, make sure they get their homework, their bag, their sports kit, their jumper, their hat, swapping invitations, organising playdates, parents trying to talk to the teacher about everything from behaviour, special needs, lunchboxes, excursions, homework, the school play or what perceived injustice they feel has been done this week. It's like herding cats!

I can know who I need and want to see, but sometimes you get caught with someone else, or you get distracted trying to find a lost item, and you miss the parent who slips in and out quietly and goes on their way. I would however call you during the afternoon or evening if I'd missed you, or send you an email to let you know about the incident. But I can't guarantee that I can see every parent that I need to see, or who needs to see me in the course of after school pick up time. Nor are all discussions appropriate for standing in the middle of the classroom among other students and parents, so I may ask you to wait to see me privately, or prefer to have a chat with you over the phone later in the evening.

I think it depends. If there was no mark and the child didn't seem too bothered then possibly not. Unless the parent could be difficult then I would make an exception for an easy life.

If the child had been upset and/or there was a mark then I would speak to the parent. If it was an older child, and the parent did not come to pick up, I would probably send the message home with the child about how it had been dealt with and if the parent wanted to discuss it further, I was available to do so.

If it was a serious bite, then I would call the parent if I couldn't get hold of them.

Same pretty much applies for the biter as the bitee. Depends if it is a new occurrence for them, how old they are etc. etc