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Primary education

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Original poster

School safeguarding issue

26 replies

Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:05

Hi everyone
I need some advice please.
I have a daughter in primary school, she’s in year one. She’s speech delayed and has EHCP in place. Her 1-1 support teaching assistant that she’s had since September in the 3 hour mornings has been off sick for over 2 months.

When I asked my daughter just having a normal conversation with her, “Did you see Miss A today”, my daughter said “yes”, I asked her where she replied saying “spoke on the phone”. I brushed it off at first, this was 3 months ago.

Last week I bumped into this teaching assistant in a shop, and she stopped me and asked to go to her house for a coffee and catch up, which I tried to refuse nicest way possible twice. We’re not friends we just have a professional relationship inside of school. Anyways, I went to her house and stayed there just 10 mins.

At the end before I left, she turned around and said to me “I saw your daughter yesterday”, I ask her how as she’s been off school for over 2 months, she said “on a video call, it’s happened a few times where I see her on a video call”.

I decided to leave her house, and the next day I went to the school and spoke to sendco to report everything. What I’m asking is, as a parent please I need advice what more would you do where your child has been put on video calls without my consent to people outside of school premises, by another teacher inside school.

Any advice is much appreciated as this has been very traumatising to me, and it’s a very safeguarding issue for my daughter.

OP posts:
titchy · 23/04/2026 10:10

But she wasn’t on a call with people outside work, it was to her TA. Hard to understand why you’re making a fuss about that and not the fact that presumably your dd hasn’t had the 1:1 support she’s entitled to for over 2 months and you were unaware. That’s unacceptable. Not a staff member Zoom calling the teacher from home.

Obvs I’m assuming here that the call was from her home and no one else was there.

Soloholiday · 23/04/2026 10:14

I'm not sure about being invited to her house, that seems out of the norm. But as a parent with two DC with SEN I feel consistency of TA is pretty important. So I think DC speaking on a video call to them to make sure they remain a familiar person would be a positive for me.

autumn1638 · 23/04/2026 10:17

What did the senco say when you asked her about the video calls? What was the explanation behind it?

Schools use teams and zoom for professional meetings and I see young people using teams to do session work with them if for some reason I cannot physically get to the school. We did this a lot during lockdowns when we couldn’t go in in person. School set up a laptop and I do a remote session. It’s not a safeguarding issue in and of itself.

It’s odd that you were not informed that this is happening and given a reason for this to happen. Are the school attempting to maintain a relationship between your daughter and her 1:1 whilst this ta is off sick? They needed to ask for your consent really unless it is a whole class thing.

GingerLeopard · 23/04/2026 10:21

I'm reading it as they're trying to keep the relationship between the TA and your daughter going, what is it that's traumatised you? Has she been video calling someone else, as you mention people outside of school? But the TA works for the school and is, I assume, your daughter's 1-1? I actually think it's really good of the TA to facilitate that whilst she is on sick leave! She doesn't have to do that. I do find the invitation to her house for coffee odd though.

Original poster
Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:26

Sendco said it’s unacceptable for this to happen outside of school and it’s a breach of safeguarding and she will start to investigate. My daughter has her other afternoon Ta, that’s she’s had for over 2 years she’s been having her in the morning also.

so sendco said there’s no reason for her to even ask to see R on a video call.

this goes against the school safeguarding policies.

OP posts:
GingerLeopard · 23/04/2026 10:31

I'm so confused - is it not the school who are doing the video calls? How else would she be calling? They must have known about this?

Original poster
Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:34

That is what I thought but no, sendco was never made aware of. And I also told the school from the beginning please ask for my consent anything related outside of school things.

OP posts:
autumn1638 · 23/04/2026 10:37

Did the senco say that she was going to speak to people to find out what happened? Do you know who it was who organised the call? Was it a teaching assistant or a teacher?

Why did this TA ask you to go to her house for coffee? What did she say once you were there? I find it odd that you would bump into a member of school staff and then go back to their house randomly for coffee.

what is your concern? So what exactly is making you feel worried? Are you concerned that the TA is pushing boundaries with your daughter and attempting to turn a professional relationship into a personal one?

titchy · 23/04/2026 10:40

Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:34

That is what I thought but no, sendco was never made aware of. And I also told the school from the beginning please ask for my consent anything related outside of school things.

But your dd is at school when the calls are made Confused It doesn’t come under the category of ‘out of school’ things. Otherwise they’d have to ask your permission every time an external speaker came to talk in assembly about their job or whatever.

Wanderlust510 · 23/04/2026 10:45

I genuinely dont understand what your concern is. It seems they are just trying to maintain a relationship with your daughter until they return to school. I cant see how its a safeguarding issue. Please let schools do an already difficult job instead of raising completely unneccessary problems which waste teachers valuable time.

LemonTreeGrove · 23/04/2026 10:48

titchy · 23/04/2026 10:10

But she wasn’t on a call with people outside work, it was to her TA. Hard to understand why you’re making a fuss about that and not the fact that presumably your dd hasn’t had the 1:1 support she’s entitled to for over 2 months and you were unaware. That’s unacceptable. Not a staff member Zoom calling the teacher from home.

Obvs I’m assuming here that the call was from her home and no one else was there.

Yes I'd be more bothered by no 1:1 she's entitled to

LemonTreeGrove · 23/04/2026 10:49

LemonTreeGrove · 23/04/2026 10:48

Yes I'd be more bothered by no 1:1 she's entitled to

Show quote history

Sorry I see she has one

LemonTreeGrove · 23/04/2026 10:53

Why are you traumatised by it? How would the woman be able to video call your dc without other staff being involved?

bigboykitty · 23/04/2026 11:00

titchy · 23/04/2026 10:10

But she wasn’t on a call with people outside work, it was to her TA. Hard to understand why you’re making a fuss about that and not the fact that presumably your dd hasn’t had the 1:1 support she’s entitled to for over 2 months and you were unaware. That’s unacceptable. Not a staff member Zoom calling the teacher from home.

Obvs I’m assuming here that the call was from her home and no one else was there.

It's hard to understand why you find it so hard to understand. There are safeguarding red flags all over this.

GingerLeopard · 23/04/2026 11:02

Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:34

That is what I thought but no, sendco was never made aware of. And I also told the school from the beginning please ask for my consent anything related outside of school things.

But this isn't related to anything outside of school, everyone involved is very much involved with school. There must be at least one other member of staff aware of this, or how would your daughter be making the calls? I assume your daughter doesn't have her own phone or laptop?

Kimura · 23/04/2026 11:05

Raa232507 · 23/04/2026 10:34

That is what I thought but no, sendco was never made aware of. And I also told the school from the beginning please ask for my consent anything related outside of school things.

It's not an outside of school thing though. Your daughter is in school, supervised, speaking to her TA. I can understand why they didn't request consent.

You still haven't said what you feel the safeguarding issue is, or how it has traumatized you.

Kimura · 23/04/2026 11:09

bigboykitty · 23/04/2026 11:00

It's hard to understand why you find it so hard to understand. There are safeguarding red flags all over this.

Show quote history

Happy to admit I don't fully understand! Could you explain?

I'm assuming these calls aren't ad-hoc from the TA, to a personal device or done without involvement from someone at the school.

eish · 23/04/2026 11:18

Unless it is to your home computer I assume that these calls are set up by another member of staff with the aim of continuing having contact so that when she does return she is familiar to your daughter. With the information given I don’t initially see a safeguarding issue.

bigboykitty · 23/04/2026 11:20

@Kimura sure. The staff member is off sick and not insured to be engaging in school work. It was totally inappropriate to invite or push a parent to go to her home. There are restrictions on contact between a school and a pupil. TA may well have breached these. SENDCO was unaware of this contact and should have been involved in or made aware of any plan. Parent should have been involved in or at least informed of any intended contact between her DC and the TA during sickness absence. It's unclear whether anyone in the school was aware of or had sanctioned this contact. If it was an ad hoc arrangement between staff, it's a disciplinary matter for anyone involved. It's unclear whether any protections were put in place to safeguard the child. Worst case scenario, the TA was using her own tech to have unauthorised contact with a child and could have been recording or had others present.

LemonTreeGrove · 23/04/2026 11:32

It's not a safeguarding issue for OP to go to the TA's home. OP is a fully grown adult.
How would the TA be able to facetime the dd without staff being involved ?

InLoveWithAI · 23/04/2026 11:58

How are the calls being made?

Via a personal phone your child has? Or on school tech.

steppemum · 23/04/2026 11:59

for me there is a clear distinction

  1. the 1:1 in school sets up an call with her 1:1 who is sick, is present throughout and it is to help them say connected
  2. the 1:1 who is sick is somehow initiating the call and it is more of a private conversation
The thing is, I cannot see how no. 2 would even be possible?

If it is no. 1, then it is fine.

Thelnebriati · 23/04/2026 12:18

Massive red flag that she wouldn't take no for an answer, and coerced you into going to her house. If that happens again you absolutely must refuse, no matter how uncomfortable it feels - the fact that you felt uncomfortable saying no is the reason you must stick to your guns.

MerryGuide · 23/04/2026 12:22

Are you sure she's not on a phased return of some kind, so working from home?

Lunde · 23/04/2026 15:37

How is your DD making these video calls in school time to the TA without the staff being aware?