Primary School Child Referred to Police

[Karatema]

My 7 yr old DS has been referred to the Police for waving an implement at an adult in school. The adult had told my DS a lie last week, after the incident (he would be put in prison) and after I reassured him he couldn't go to prison (he was having nightmares) he promptly went into school and told the adult. Now the adult is insisting the police are called! The adult obviously does not like my DS (no adult would call the police on a 7yr old they liked) and he has been excluded. My DS has special needs. I am at my wits end as solicitors have told me they don't want to waste my money but I need help as to our legal rights.

Any help or advise would be appreciated.

Anyone can call the police but they can't act for a child underage.

Doesn't mean school won't punish him but the "implement" must have posed a danger or risk for an adult to phone the police.

So your 7 year old waved a weapon at an adult and the adult told him he would go to prison and then this morning your son is excluded and the police contacted and no solicitor will give you advice ?

Why didn't the school contact you re the weapon ? Why hasn't your son got an sna/ta ?
Why won't a solicitor give you advice ? Surely as this is now a police matter they can offer you legal advice ? Why on earth has the school just excluded him without any talk/meeting with you ?

OP, you need to start at the beginning and explain what happened first and next and who said what. Presumably the headteacher phoned you to say your DS is being excluded? What did they say?

I think an adult would only call the Police if there was a risk?

I think if the implement had been something harmless no one would have called the Police and the poster would have specified what it was perhaps?

OP, you need to start at the beginning and explain what happened first and next and who said what.

That's not going to happen as the OP thinks it's outing.

So she's not going to get decent information or advice as the rest of us have 25% of the story and are expected to fill in the blanks.

Ok a few things.

Calling the police has nothing to do with liking the child or not. Waving an instrument at someone who feels there's an intent to harm comes under common assault.

Don't minimise what the child did due to their SEND. (My ds has autism)

The child doesn't have criminal responsibility at 7. But they will do at 10 regardless of any send. That's not to say it won't be taken into account but law is law.

And lastly I'd be surprised if the police did anything anyway! My ds had a knife pulled on him in a classroom in heat 7. Police said they just leave schools to deal with school stuff.

The adult may have raised concerns about their safety and the safety of other young people. They may be actively trying to raise awareness of your DC not receiving the appropriate level of support and this incident supports their fears.
They may have needed to contact their trade union and only involved the police after that.
It is a massive assumption to make that they don't like your child. It is traumatic to have an implement waived in front of you when you have responsibility for the safety of 30 young people and yourself. The adult would also have no idea if your DC night in a condition of distress harm themselves .
It is a hard fact if the inclusion agenda (which I completely support) that it is not adequately staffed and resourced and those of us employed in education fear a serious incident and can never assume that it wouldn't happen.

Please don't be one of those mothers who fob everything off with SEN. Your son waved something in front of an adult which wasn't appropriate-SEN or not. It must have been bad for them to be excluded. Schools dislike excluding children. Maybe the adult thought he was helping by explaining the severity of the situation by involving the police.

Surely as this is now a police matter they can offer you legal advice

We don't know that this is a police matter - there has only been a threat to involve them, and we know that the child concerned is under the age of criminal responsibility.

Thank you all, I appreciate the different views expressed and understand your concerns regarding safety of other children as well as the adult. DS has one to one so no other children were in danger. The police are now involved so I cannot respond any further.

Kara I hope you have RL support. It must all be very stressful