Should I alert the head teacher?

[Citytocountry1]

Our children attend a typical village school , 62 pupils so small numbers, but also small building meaning blended classes. Since our eldest entered year 3 this year and is now in the “big classroom” we are becoming a bit concerned with some things of the things she talks about. However this week and last week in particular it feels like it’s gone from a few disruptive children in the years above, to all out chaos. She has come home saying things such as “so and so threw a table, and ripped the whiteboard off the wall” “ another child hit another child in the face” and various other scenarios of things she didn’t witness not talk about when they were in year 2.

Today and yesterday various children have been crying and staff appear very stressed and we found out his teacher walked out of the classroom yesterday leaving them alone as they couldn’t manage it anymore. My child told me this. I then got a text from another parent who I trust implicitly telling me their children said school was scary today. We have no permanent head Teacher which isn’t helping.

what would you do? Do I alert the teacher who apparently walked out of the worried my child is having or go straight to the temporary head who leaves in 6 weeks time?

Think I'd move them to a normal school tbh

Talk to the teacher first?

Go straight to the head and ask what is going on and what the head is doing about it. Ask if your child is safe in their care.

I would be keeping my child away from that unsafe environment and I’d be writing to everyone and his dog - Chair of Governors, Ofsted, my MP, the regional schools commissioner etc, to tell them why.

This is a ridiculous and unsustainable situation - and a health and safety disaster waiting to happen. I suspect a lot of our schools are at breaking point like this and parents need to exert their power.

You do need to question and challenge this. Your child deserves better.

Does this school'a name begin with a B and end in a W by any chance? In a town beginning with H?? If so then this is nothing new and why I moved my child! If it is the same school then there's been no Headteacher since the OFSTED 'Inadequate' rating 5 years ago and the Head walked out!

If not same school then ignore! As you were....

I’m a primary teacher and this does concern me. I think it’s worth meeting with the Head even if they’ve only got a few weeks to sort it out. Email your questions in advance so they have a chance to investigate. As teachers we never ever leave children alone at that age (is there any chance there was another adult in the room as that is obviously very different?)
It does feel that this year the budget cuts are hitting harder than ever before. We have far more children with SEN and fewer TAs than previously. It used to be fairly easy to cater for those children with extreme or violent behaviours because a TA could whisk them off for a distracting task when the warning signs start, but nowadays that’s not possible. Schools really need to go back to the funding they had previously and local authorities need more money to support schools with SEN.

Contact head in the first instance. Then chair of governors if not satisfied.

Is this not a safeguarding issue ?

Hi no not the school you are describing that sounds awful that a school
can have no head for 5 years!

Yes speak to the temporary head. Poor teacher and kids subjected to chair throwing and violence. Teacher must have been at their wits end

Thank you for all the replies.. I was trying to figure out how to reply to some individually! Not very techy! I think having read all your responses I am firstly going to speak to the teacher about the descriptions my child has gave and the walking out of class statement. I’d like to give her a chance to explain.

then I will approach the head to see what we can do to help support. I know there are quite a couple of children with specific behavioural needs, and we have some phenomenal TA in the school supporting the teachers, but yes like everywhere it’s stretched to the max.

We are just a little school in a small community with the next option not feasible to move to as it’s over a 10 minute drive and we only have one vehicle my husband uses for work (he leaves at 7 am) so we logistically can’t move schools as there are no buses.

woke up this morning worried anout what to do and feel a bit better having read responses that I’ve got to do something

@Citytocountry1

I think your kids go to the same school as mine. We have this precise situation, right down to year groups and temporary heads. Ofsted would give it category 4 right now. Not to be outing, but my elder child is moving on next year, so I’m thinking about looking round another school.

Is it the same school or a sorry state of many schools around the country. So depressing. Poor teachers. The stress must be huge 😔

is your child feeling ok about moving schools? We can’t logistically do it unless we can afford another car

It is inappropriate to discuss this with the class teacher. You are wrong to give them 'a chance to explain' - what if they lie to you?

The appropriate course is to raise concerns in writing with the headteacher and ask for an urgent reply.

In this case I wouldn’t talk to the teacher (they sound beyond breaking point) and just go straight to the head. Be calm and polite but says that you are v concerned about what your dc has been saying - take notes with you. Say that you are worried about the teacher too (ie not going in accusing her). Make sure you say that this is a safeguarding issue and you’d like written confirmation of how they will keep your child safe. Follow up with an email outling what was discussed.

@Citytocountry1

I work in the secondary school for catchment, which has an outstanding primary across the road, so I could take DS2 to school if we were to move him.

I think you should request a meeting with the head first, and raise a couple of specific concerns. I should probably take my own advice

Sadly this sounds like many schools I’ve been in.

Definitely raise your concerns with the acting head teacher - if there is one- and ask what is happening. No child should be exposed to that but there’s also such a big age difference that makes it even worse too.

Sadly this is a common scenario, parents of children who are struggling in school get told "try a smaller school they might cope better"
But in fact the smaller school has less resources to cope and everybody gets a raw deal.
Yes do talk to the teacher and head about how you can find a way forward but please don't go in all guns blazing, it sounds as if their plates are very full at the moment.

It's depressing that several other posters "recognise" the school since this is clearly a common problem.

Take it to the Head with an email sent this weekend so they have it for Monday. I’m sure they know about this and the teacher needs supporting too.

I did a short term contact as a supply teacher last year in a school like this. It was absolute chaos and looking back I can't believe that I managed to stay that long.

You need to take your children out. This is not going to magically fix itself.

That teacher is very likely to go off with stress and then you will be in a worse position. I've been doing supply for six years now. It used to be covering for teachers on courses or who were ill.

Now it's walking into a classroom where they have had a different teacher every few days for a month because they can't recruit.

Small schools are finding themselves in difficult positions as they don't have enough staff to do what needs to be done.

If they only have three teachers and a head for example they are all doing an assembly or two a week, three playground duties. One of them is SENCO. And they have to also be subject lead for maths, music, geography, RE and DT. Whilst at a big school one teacher has an assembly every half term, a playground duty a week and one subject to coordinate.

I'd be looking into getting a second, cheap, small car somehow so you could take them to a different school.

Doesn't sound like there will be an acceptable solution anytime soon.

Thanks again all. We moved from inner city living to countryside for work reasons, and naively thought a smaller school in a little village would be better. We didn’t anticipate the challenges small rural schools face. I’ll speak to the head now in the first instance. I really hope the teacher doesn’t leave with stress I want to be a supportive parent as much as possible to the school

I'd try to be a supportive patient to my children rather than to the school. This kind of problem won't be solved in a short period of time. 10 mins drive doesn't sound too much.

We have a school like this not too far from here. Whilst it was possible in years gone by to teach composite classes together, with the ‘challenges’ of the curriculum/Ofsted, alongside massive budget cuts-I think it’s become virtually impossible. That teacher sounds at breaking point already and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they are signed off by Xmas or put their notice in last week by the cut off date. I wouldn’t remain in that situation.

The school I mentioned that is similar has had 6 heads in as almost as many years. The teaching staff change about every two years in its entirely, with different people being drafted in to ‘sort’ the classes but they won’t/don’t stay. They simply have too much on their plate-the KS2 teacher for example is also deputy head, SENCo, leads for literacy, phonics, science, history, geography, assessment, Pupil Premium, teaching and learning and is trying to get Y6 through their SATs. It wouldn’t surprise me if the school near me closes altogether-if parents keep withdrawing their pupils at the rate they are, it won’t be long.