My child was hit by a pen, thrown by a teacher

[Tiredallthetimelaura]

So my daughter who is in year 8 was in a lesson when her teacher 'cold called' her a question. My daughter responded she didn't know the answer and the teacher then threw a highlighter pen at her, hitting her on the arm. The teacher then did it again to another student, also hitting them on the arm. We have reached level 2 of a complaint, but it's always investigated by management within the academy. The school keep down playing what happened and not investigating what we ask. This teacher is still teaching, although my daughter isn't going in on the day of that lesson, which is greatly affecting her attendance. The school said they would move my daughter so she could do a different lesson (double Maths or double English), but we said no! This feels like a punishment to our daughter. She wants to do that lesson, just not with that teacher... and we agree.
Any advice on what/how the school legally should be handling this? Happy to answer any further questions Xx

Well, I throw exercise books back to my students, frisbee style. You need to get a grip OP - no one was hurt, the teacher is presumably doing a good job of teaching your child.
No wonder we have teachers leaving in droves, in part because parents can, in some schools, be such a pain in the butt.
When I was at school in the 90's we were regularly pelted with the then wooden board rubber as a punishment for talking out of turn - and guess what, my parents (and others) didn't complain, we got a good education, we are still alive!

The thing is, the outcome you want is very important here and probably why you’re going round in (frustrating) circles .

Would an apology and explanation actually be enough alongside abiding by your DD’s adjustments/care plan (like no cold calling)? Would it also help DD to restore trust and start working on rebuilding the relationship? This is what should’ve happened as soon as , without it having to take weeks and escalating complaints and everyone whipping themselves up into a frenzy.

It is not just a reasonable and achievable outcome, but one that focuses on a positive relationship going forward.

What is the outcome you are hoping for? To be honest it sounds like it's been handled badly all round but your dramatic language and actions ie the traumatised, keeping her off school, gathering witness statements gives the impression you are not prepared to move past it for the sake of your daughters education.
The only person who is going to lose out is your daughter most schools only have 1 or 2 music teachers so it's not as easy as just switch the teacher they are usually fully timetabled.

the teacher is presumably doing a good job of teaching your child.

No, the teacher was in her home country for the last six months. A little tidbit dropped in that was presumably supposed to get more of a reaction than it has.

I had noticed that as well..

It was quite telling. It

If they flicked it messing around they'd likely get a warning. If they did it as part of a game at break then it's not going to be an issue.
It might have been slightly poor judgement and an apology, but definitely not worthy of skipping lessons and full out complaints.

This ^^
I was at school in the 60’s & 70’s. It was a regular occurrence that blackboard rubbers were thrown at boys’ heads! (It was usually boys who were being disruptive.)
We just used to roll our eyes, the boys would snigger and life moved on.
Im not saying it was a good thing but never did us any harm. 🤷‍♀️

You don’t know it was "in anger".
It wasn't done just to the OP's daughter, so there is no question of victimisation.
The OP chose to "investigate" this terrible crime in a ludicrous way.
The OP raised it with the school; personally I wouldn’t even have done that, but the school has investigated and offered that her daughter need not be taught by that teacher any more (because she apparently doesn’t "feel safe" - how ridiculous!)
The school rightly cannot tell OP details of their investigation or conversations with the teacher.
I don’t understand what the OP wants as the outcome. The teacher to be fired?
It's all a huge overreaction.

As for the world of work: the relationships are completely different. I wouldn't expect a work colleague to tell me to stop staring out of the window and get on with my work, or stop chatting and pay attention, either. But there will be things that happen at work that OP's daughter doesn’t like, and will feel aggrieved about, and she is being encouraged to think that when such things happen she should make an enormous fuss every time.

So OP has chickened out? No answers to the questions that have been repeatedly put to her.

Ah I missed that bit and yes very telling cough Reform cough cough, sadly the teacher could have been in her home country as perhaps she had a relative that was very poorly and needed looking after op.

We were. We also got rulers/sticks on the palm of the hand(often leaving marks). The thing is, it was expected, it happened to everyone at some point or another and it was a thing so not particularly upsetting or humiliating when it happened. Sometimes it was even funny.My parents did complain though when a male teacher slapped me over the face in front of everyone. That WAS upsetting and humiliating even if I wasn’t scarred for life.

I was joking.

I thought about saying that last night but then I saw how cuckoo some of these responses on here have become and I no longer felt safe so I thought I'd leave it.

In fact I stopped reading every 5th comment as a proportionate response.

Your daughter replying I don’t know because we have had a cover teacher for 6 months is rude. You and your daughter have no idea what has been going on in that teachers life. She could have just said she didn’t know the answer, the add on is rude.

For all you know she could have suffered a family bereavement or had poor mental health. She doesn’t need to be reminded that she hasn’t been there to teach her students by an entitled child. She already knows.

I would have been tempted to throw the pen myself!

I haven’t read everyone’s comments but I find it very peculiar that teachers are lobbing objects around a classroom. Must ask DD if this has ever happened in any of her classes.

Something about the OP’s writing makes me think she might not be British, so perhaps that’s why she doesn’t have quite such a laissez-faire attitude to an object being chucked at her DD by a teacher, not having been though the charms of 1970s and 80s British schooling.

We thought it was quite good fun. But it did quieten us down.

Your daughter will be happier if you get back to normal asap. Teacher has apologised. It won’t happen again will it?

that old saying - you can be right or happy but not always both. It sounds like you won’t be happy until you get the teacher sacked but that will scar your kid for life - that will be what everyone at school remembers her for. Don’t do that to her.

Based on the subject there won’t be other teachers available. What are you expecting them to do about that? Do you want the teacher fired? What is it you want?

It’s not ideal by today’s sensibilities but your dd being shook up and the whole school talking about it (must be the blandest school in the country) all seems very dramatic. Do you think your dd has been influenced by your drama llama tendencies over the years?

Has the teacher apologised? Must’ve missed that bit.

Guess this is what happens when the snowflake generation gets old enough to have snowflake children. Is this a state school whose time you're wasting with this complete non-issue? Shame on you.

It feels like you are the one emotionally shook up.

You’re expecting too much. School aren’t going to remove this teacher from her lessons when it’s easier to move your daughter from the lessons. Whether you think it’s fair or not, it won’t happen. So you need to reevaluate what you want to happen. Something like the school agreeing to remove throwing things as part of questioning unless it’s a soft ball etc. You can keep pushing it, but you’ll get nowhere. LADO won’t go further with it, and your statements won’t count for anything. So as I say, you need to shift your expectations of what will come from this.

OP I think you were very out of order to do your survey asking parents to ask their children’s opinion, you really had no right to do that and should have left it to the school to sort out, it was not up to you set up a vendetta on the teacher.
All that you have done by doing that is made your daughter the focus of humiliation, how embarrassing for her to eventually have to go back into that classroom knowing what you’ve done. A quiet word with the school was all that was needed, the pen touched her blazer on the arm, it’s really not the crime of the century. The longer you drag this on the worse it is for your daughter, I hope you take advice from the many posts on here telling you to let this go. There’s every chance this post will soon be on Facebook or The Daily Mail and it’s so identifiable from all that you’ve said. Move on quickly and quietly or your daughter will be the one to suffer.

Camp. There should not be any camp.
Don't throw objects at people.

A restorative could nip this in the bud. The school haven't dealt with it well by the sounds of it.

The school has dealt with it fine, it’s op that wants blood