DC attacked at school, again

[Jessia0]

In school today, right in front of teacher my DD was physically assaulted. I am talking full on closed fist pounding to the face. My DC was knocked to the ground injured ... Facts not in dispute, it was right in front of teacher but she was to afraid to intervene in case she got hit.

One day exclusion, he is probably quite happy with that. But this is the second physical assault in a year from same boy and after half term he will be back in class. I asked for boy to be moved to a different class last time and he wasn't, now it's GCSE year so they are not keen to move him.

My DC was really affected first time (there was a few attacks from other kids as well) but this time she is ok about it, just seems to accept this is what bigger kids do to smaller kids and there is nothing school can do.

Any advice?

The FIRST thing I would do if my daughter was punched to the ground would be to call the police! She needs to know you're on her side and it really sounds as if you're not.

Far too harsh ManicMechanic

It's quite clear from the OPs posts that she is in turmoil and has exhausted things with the school.

Definitely a police matter. That boy is dangerous and the school aren't handling it appropriately by the looks of it.

Your child - and all the other children at the school - need to be protected.

Maybe telling the school that you are going to the police will jog them into more appropriate action.

Definitely involve the police! Your DD will not be asked to leave the school as a result (if that happened the school would be completely wrong and as PP said illegal exclusion) if anything the vile little shite that punched her in the face should be permanently excluded for repeated physical assaults. If this was a work place setting the police would have been involved at the first incident and the bully would have been sacked. Don't worry about DD's GCSE years being affected by dealing with him, I'd be more worried about her going to school fearing being attacked.
Be strong OP, ring the police!

I agree with ManicMechanic. A child getting punched doesn't make them weak or a wimp, it means that their surroundings aren't safe and their parent's job is to ensure their safety.

Firstly I am going to say that what your DD has been through these past two years is appalling and completely unacceptable.

Then I am going to say that the school really should have done more than they have, there shouldn't have been a first incident let alone the subsequent two.

Academies are accountable to the department of education not the local authority so once you've exhausted school
and governors in complains that is where you go.

I'm not liking the attitude about 'they like to help the really bad ones' with regard to inclusion. It's disablist and I have reported it as such. You have a very valid grievance here, your daughter doesn't deserve the treatment she has received at all but painting an individual with SEN as some kind of monster when in reality it is the school's failure to support his needs that has caused the incident really isn't on.

The school have a duty to meet the boy's needs. If they cannot they should be involving appropriate agencies for support with this. They also have a duty of care to your DD and they've failed in this too. It does not automatically follow that children with SEN cause disruption or harm others but there is a risk that if their needs aren't being correctly met that it could happens s the school should be ensuring it doesn't.

You need to really advocate for your DD now and don't be afraid of consequences - the ones you allude to aren't legal. You need to get it right, though. Rather than demanding removal you'd do better to complain that the lack of support is now impacting upon your DD and the duty of care to your DD is failing. Go up the chain of command complaint wise and to the department of education if necessary.

It may be three assaults in two years, but how much of that two years has your child been in fear?
Imagine being forced to a place where theres a chance (some days greater than others) your going to get punched. Your education is going to be somewhat impeded isn't it?

Call the police, call ofsted, call the bloody queen (well maybe not!) they are failing to keep your daughter safe - this is a basic.
A similar thing happened at my school, a girl was bricked in GCSE year. So parents were clearly conscious of that fact. So the school adjusted the poor girls hours, she had a paid for taxi to and from school, left lessons early and had places she could go during breaks. It can be done if the school give a shit. Three instances, exclusion isn't working.

If this was your childs partner doing that what would you tell them to do?
If this was a stranger in the street what would you tell them to do?

Prayed won't actual help or get involved. The department of education is the statutory body that should be involved.

Ofsted

If the head doesn't give an acceptable response to you, I would be going to the police to have the boy charged with assault. Take your dd to hospital or the dr to have it documented! This boy needs to learn that physical assault is not acceptable!

And if that's not possible, Groovee, the staff need to be preventing his needs impacting on others.

Your poor DD, if someone randomly walked up to you and punched you in the face would you phone the police ?
I really feel like you need to contact the police, I can't see how it would have any affect on her GCSE's, not any more than being scared of being assaulted at school.
The school aren't protecting your DD, how much further does this have to go before there is an appropriate action ?
What next? He could bring in a weapon or anything.
I don't think you can trust the school to sort this so you will have to take matters into your own hands to resolve the issue.
Your DD must be very resilient and brave to continue to go to school dispite being assaulted three times!

Despite **

I don't have any advice to give to you but I didn't want to read and run. It is pretty disgusting to hear that it is boy

The school should have excluded him for more than one day, I'm thinking he must come from a broken family if he thinks hitting a girl is acceptable.

I'm a little concerned for your daughter now, what do you mean by wimp?
Is she shy/ reserved/ small/ introverted?

Why would ofsted not be interested? Genuine question? They still inspect academies? A primary academy near me is in huge trouble because of safe guarding issues and parent complaints?

Because generally they do not deal with individual cases. I'd hate the OP to waste their time going to the wrong organisation when the department of education is actually responsible for academies.

I mean yes they certainly would deal with an institutional safeguarding problem, where it can be identified that there are many children being put at risk through negligence but one family - not going to happen. The OP needs things to be done fast, it's already been two years therefore the dofe is a far more efficient way to get things dealt with.

You say in your OP that the teacher who witnessed the attack was afraid to intervene. This boy clearly has no fear that he will suffer any consequences from the school however bad his behaviour. He is dangerous, and if you cannot rely on the school to protect your DC from him, then you have no option other than to notify the police.

Schools do not have powers to adequately deal with assaults, which is why the police, who do have the power, are the appropriate escalation here, not Ofsted or the DfE or the governors or whoever.

Definitely call the police. The school are useless, they need a wake-up call. For comparison - the girl who was bullying my DD (no violence but sustained verbal abuse and intimidation ) was given a week of internal.exclusion, a letter was sent to get parents and she had to report to the pastoral team weekly for the rest of the school year. That stopped her cold. School is also an academy so that is not a reason for a school not to act. Find your spine and your anger and protect your daughter.

This thread has made me feel really sad. The OP (who isn't coming back) said that her daughter received a full on, closed fist, pounding to the face and she was knocked to the ground injured

She calls her daughter a bit of a wimp and physically weak She also stated that the assailant was bigger than her and male.

It sickens me that the majority of posters are discussing behaviour policies, exclusion, the LEA and Ofsted

WTF are we teaching our girls?

Ofsted will get involved in individual cases where there is a safeguarding element. They can direct the local authority to investigate, even if the school is an academy.