Complaints procedure

[lollydu]

Please can I have some guidance regarding complaints procedure writing to my child's school about concerns I have.

My daughter in in reception, in her class there are multiple children with additional needs and no EHCPs or 1:1 support. She has been hit over the head with a book, grabbed forcefully and screamed in the face and today I have had another email saying she has now been scratched on the face as she was just in the firing line of a child that was dysregulated.

I'm not so concerned about the physical injuries as they are slight and nothing lasting but my child now shows a great deal of anxiety around going to school.

I am of course sympathetic to the children and parents in a difficult situation with regards to additional needs and not having the right support but I am at the point now where I feel I need to strongly advocate for my child as she is suffering too.

Any help would be appreciated with regards to what I need to do, do I just email the school with my concerns? I've had chats with the teachers and it's always been said that they will keep an eye. There are at least 5 children with additional needs in her class and 1 teacher 2 teaching assistants on a normal day so it's physically impossible for them to provide the necessary care for some of these children, a couple are non verbal and still in nappies.

go on the school website and download the complaints procedure / suggest an email, arrange a meeting and then escalate in line with their policy if you arent seeing improvements

As above.

Thank you I will look at the website

Does anyone have any guidance or suggestions with what to say, I'm concerned I don't want to come across as insensitive towards children and parents that obviously have more issues than we do but also feel the need to advocate for my daughter. I also don't want to come across as one of "those" parents that complain, I want to have a good relationship with my daughters teachers and school so I suppose I need to word things very carefully!

Also does the fact it's the last day of school mean this won't be picked up until September?

Yes.

When you write your complaint, remember you aren't complaining about other children.
You are complaining about your child being hurt and scared.
Focus only on the attacks and impact on your child, how many conversations you've had with staff that haven't improved the situation, and request that a plan is put in place to keep your child safe and work on a overcoming her school anxiety.

You can express it in terms of safeguarding your daughter's physical and emotional wellbeing. Often children do not get support in the early years of school but it can add evidence to a case for an ehcp or funding to enable them to provide it.

So in a roundabout way it might actually help the school if I complain, that is a different spin on it and makes me feel a bit better

Yes I would say so.
It may be that school can't meet those children's needs, or that more funding can be applied for.
I mean really it is about supporting those children adequately, but you're not wrong in expressing concern about the impact on your own child.