head teacher sacked my child..need advice possibly legal advice

[errdunno]

I had a meeting with the head of my childs school to talk about the next year teacher.
I asked lots of questions about that new teacher and the head didnt want to answer any of those questions and had no qualms saying so.
I told her why we were so concerned, why we were to accept,again,for the third year in a row,an NQT,very young,and who had previously applied for a full time position at the school and had been turned down but we were being asked to accept her as a temporary teacher.

That meeting fell apart and we pretty much hated each other!
But all that is by the by because the next day..the last day of term..the head walked in to my childs class and inexplicably asked him to stand up and then announced to his schoolmates that he was leaving the school and could everyone wish him goodbye.?

He is/was stunned and in tears for weeks,and refused to go back to the same school..I coulnt talk to the school or govenors about it-they were on holiday!
so I moved him to a private school that we are vvv happy with.
I have since complained to the school Lea and the govenors but there has been total silence from all of them.
Thing is.I feel this woman is clearly out of control and needs to explain what she did.
I feel so bad for my other half who now has to pay for a private school as there was no room at any other school locally.
Could I sue the school? it is afer all constructive dissmissal?
What do you think?

I think the childminder told her this and then she arranged to see the head bcos she felt strobgly about it.

why is everyone trying to trip her up??

Because elements of her story just do not ring true.

I think they do if you have had previous experience tbh.

Errduno,
FWIW I believe you. I have lurked on Mumsnet for over a year now but joined especially to respond to your post. I'm sorry you have got such an unsympathetic response so far. I don't think it matters what the issue was between yourself and the Headteacher, the way she behaved towards your ds was just unacceptable. Now I'm sure that Headteachers have to put up with a lot, but they don't have the monopoly on difficult jobs. If she went into the staffroom and had a moan at "bloody PITA parents" that would have been a human response, but she should have been professional enough not to take it out on a child. What she did was to make your ds feel uncomfortable and, as another poster said, most well behaved 9 year olds would just sit there and not dare to contradict the headteacher.
I'm afraid that I'm not surprised to hear that the Governing Body have not replied to you. I've had a not disimilar experience and they really do close ranks. There are "bad apples" in every area of life. I don't know why some people (and some governors in particular) seem to think Headteachers are infallible?
Perhap you could make a complaint to the General Teaching Council about the Headteacher's unprofessional behaviour?

I think is is sweet how many mnetters beleive that all head teachers/schools/guvnors are bastions of rationality and sense.

I think the OP sounds just like the sort of mad thing that can happen in real life. I would also have found my ds a new school and not made him go back.

Because the OP has put her child's welfare first she is at a disadvantage as her child is no longer at the school and so they have less incentive to deal with it.

I can certainly understand what the OP wants. She wants her son to feel that it was not his fault

Children often blame themselves when things go wrong. One way to convince him would be to have an apology from the head. Children don't generally believe us when we tell them things aren't their fault because we are their parents and we will often tell them things to make them feel better even if it isn't the truth. Children know this.

Actually, the quickest way for the OP to help her little boy to realise it's not his fault is to accept responsibility for what happened. Surely explaining to him that this is between mum and the HT and not about him at all, and apologising for the fact that he's the one who's paid a price, is the quickest way to resolve it.

How is dragging out the affair and taking it as far as possible going to help her son put it behind him?

I think the OP has moved on in the sense that she has found a new school for her DS. But I don't think it's at all unreasonable to want, at least, an apology. Because of the unprofessional behaviour of a Hadteacher, a child has had to move school, away from his friends, and his mother is now committed to paying for private education.
I fully understand why she would not want to send her son back to his old school and with no answers or reassurance forthcoming over the summer holidays, she had little option but to take the available place at the private school. Midterm appeals often take months to be heard, with no guarantee of success. What was she meant to do? Keep her child at home indefinitely until another state school was found? All because a Headteacher bullied him - and that is exactly what she did!

I still dont get how all this happened based on rumours and the word of a nine year old.

It rings true to me too fortyfab.

However, I don't think errdunno will get an apology from anyone. The LEA will automatically back the school, and the school are unlikely to admit that they were at fault. And an appeal will only really be for deciding if her son should in fact be returned to the school, they won't be able to deal with apologies etc.

I would try and put it down as a bad experience. However, it might be a good idea for errdunno to check the school paperwork sent on to the new school, and any held by the LEA - to correct any inaccuracies!

Haven't read all the replies, but I would speak to the head and say that you understand that she was angry with you, but your DS is suffering as a consequence and ask if she could simply write him a letter to say that is was a misunderstanding and that he has not done anything wrong. If she really dislikes you, you might do well to say that if she does this you will stop hounding the board etc and not look back.
She sounds quite odd though!

Wow, have just read some more of the comments on here and am amazed athow horrible people are being!
"she told the children your son was leaving.

He left.

So what exactly is it you want her to apologise for?

WTF!!?? He left because he was so publicly humiliated that he coudn't face going back! That's OK is it? So bullying is terrible when a child does it to another child, but fine when the perpetrator is the head teacher!
And that's not the worst of the comments here.
Some of you should really be ashamed of yourselves.

Obviously there is more to this story than the OP has posted and because of the trauma she must have been through I can fully understand why she might not want to go into graphic detail here. It is a huge financial commitment to choose private school - £8000 to £10000 at prep school stage and it only goes up. Not sure I'd have made the switch without a battle even if I could afford to. I also think I would have hounded the LEA, HT, governers etc and ensured that my communications were received (email isn't always the most reliable method of communication) and dealt with in accordance with the school complaints procedure and whatever procedure the LEA has.

I do think though that it is important that the OP's child doesn't think he is to blame. She can quite easily pursue her concerns with the LEA without involving him but she really does need to make him understand that this wasn't down to him.

I for one do not believe that a headteacher could not have done what the OP said. I take a jaundiced view of headteachers.

I just feel she is going to find it incredibly difficult to prove afterwards that she did not leave the school voluntarily, since she did leave very quickly and (apparently) without a fight.

I have received a letter off the school,thanks to the LEA complaints officer forcing the school to reply by reminding them that simply because they wanted to ignore me for over 15 weeks dosnt make it legal or right.

The school apologises for (quote)" not strictly following formal complaints procedure " (laughable considering they as said have ignored over 10 emails of complaint to them the chair and the lea since July!)
and have asked me to go into school to discuss the events of the last day of term.
I have informed the school that I would like to move straight to point 4 of the complaints procedure a
(Quote) "govenors independant appeals panel"
This panel should consist of between 3-5 members but the head and chair should not be part of the panel.The panel must be independant and impartial-and decice on a course of action to resolve the complaint.
The complainant will be informed in writing of that decision within one week.

Im wondrering if anyone has any experience of this stage either as a complainee or a panel member?

Im also thinking that,and as I allways feared, its just all going to be covered up and they will just write to me saying that they have now changed procedures.
They just pass the complaint around till it goes back on the desk of the person who the complaint was about,and shes really going to act on that isnt she.
The system,as so many others are to do with our children,is flawed and have no place in common sense.

yes i think the reason we were succesful even tho it took 2 years was bcos ds1 was still registered at that school even tho they often sent letters sking when he would be returning -fortunately our v supportive doctor ws excellent at replying.

Have you got anyone to take with you op?

Im not allowed to go to this meeting,if indeed there is one and its not all done by letter.
A clerk (dosnt say who hires them or pays for them)collects all material and notifys all parties of the decision.
its all a mystery it would seem and im thinking they like it that way!

sounds very stressful. I must admit I was a bit dubious at the start of your op, but I have also been through an incredibly awful experience with my ds1 at a previous school and saw how the head/governors can close ranks to bully parents into submission.

cornsilk then you will without doubt know how this feels,I cant help getting angrier when I think about that few 20 mins that she subjected him to, and the effect it has had on my boy....i havnt written too much about that but it tears me apart having him think what a bad boy he is for her to have done this to him.he still thinks that way.we are changing that for him with lots of support from aunts uncles etc...converstations he is having with us his family...we are slowly turning that around...but Im sure a letter from her saying sorry would help! Id even be prepared to sign something that stops me from disscussing it further if thats what she s worried about..
But i dont want to lets this go and have her gaining in confidence and bullying children and their parents....this is her first headship she needs to learn a lesson

This is a long thread now, and I have read about half the posts. This situation needs dealing with properly in my view, as whatever the truth of the matter is, there is an upset child and mum at the centre.

Things that came to mind while I was reading it:

1. Governing bodies often close ranks and LA's often back them up, even when something is very badly wrong. I know of a school which has had a teacher under investigation by the police for some months for assaulting children, and where the HT has clearly lied to cover it up, and the LA have done nothing.

1. HTs need to use proper procedures to remove children from schools. They can't barge about like this. Whatever is going on here, it's a mess, and she's not showing the right kind of leadership at all.

1. You have the options of a lawyer and also contacting OFSTED and/or the General Teaching Council.

1. This is the problem of the LA now as they are technically responsible for educating your child rather than the school. It would not be beyond the realms of possibility for them to have to fork out school fees for your child eventually, but I wouldn't necessarily bank on this, as it would be highly unusual!

Boffinmum...thanks for your observant and informative post...
Am looking at this right now as have been to see a solicitor ... have officially offerd to be gagged... as said... if I could have the written letter of apology from this Head for appearing in the classroom and bidding goodbye to my boy this way...Cant beleive the govenors havnt just asked to write this...
And even though there was no room without an appeal at any other local LEA school.I will not be trying to recover fees for the private school he now attends as we are so blown away by how great this school is we are now happy to pay...
I just want her to NOT to continue running a school in this way..barging about...bossing parents...telling them secrets and then asking them,not to tell other parents...
Woman is "OUT OF HER DEPTH!" and cant run a school despite being called a HT!!?
Dread to think what she is doing with the budjet....and the poor staff!?
All that said...am looking for the highly unusual outcome to this sorry saga...

Will be having an update soon on this thread...this is a bit of a test case...
Have meeting set with panel...
Thankyou for all your posts,,have taken all the advice and thanks to you all!
I will not aloow anyone including the apprentice head bully my child...or myself!
Kind regards