What would happen in your school?

[Corneliawildthing]

All our infants get free school lunch. After lunch they play in the playground. One parent, who claims other kids are hitting her child (they are not - in fact it's the other way round), now comes and stands in the playground, watching her daughter every lunchtime. There are always 2 playground supervisors in the area who "don't like to say anything to her" and the HT avoids confronting parents.

The management team would call her in for a meeting. She would be told in a polite but firm way that if she doesn’t trust the school staff to keep her daughter safe then she should move elsewhere.

I'm not sure.

I'm a teacher (disclaimer) and my dd has had a tough couple of years at primary. Many incidents have happened at school involving physical violence. My dd has come home with shoe marks up her back and bruises to her face.
The supervisors never see anything.
My dd hit back before Xmas. Of course all hell broke loose and she ended up being punished. Again, no supervision (despite 'supervison').

I am.lretty sure my dd has some kind of SEN. But she can't kick herself in the back etc. The teachers and staff would definitely say similar to what you've said in your OP. I wouldn't go and stand blatantly at the gates (I don't think) but I'm always working. I can see why she would if she thought her dad was being targeted and the school wasn't taking it seriously.

I work as a midday lunch supervisor (but more looking after a medical needs child) we are expected to kindly shoo people along and/or explain to them about taking/watching the children.

She isn't watching from the gate- she is actually in the playground amongst the children. She has only been here since September and is from another country, so maybe that sort of thing is acceptable there

How is she getting on the yard???

I'm concerned at the lax security

We had a mother who used to stand and look through the fence because she thought her child was being bullied. Our head had many meetings with her, and eventually she moved her child to another school... then another. I felt desperately sorry for the child, and the mother actually- her anxiety gave her child real social issues.

That may be a safeguarding breach. Who is safeguarding lead? How does she get in? How did the HT run a school if doesn't like confrontation.

Standing IN the playground? She'd be called in by the head or deputy, and told that this is not an option. Safeguarding reasons would probably be invoked, and gate security stepped up.

She'd probably also be given the opportunity for an appointment with the family worker to try to get to the bottom of her worries about her kid.

I wouldn’t be happy as another parent that this was happening.
Presumably she’s not dbs’d Etc?

The head needs to grow a pair and nip this in the bud forthwith,

She shouldn't be able to get in the yard! That's shocking.
Also, the HT is in the wrong job.

How the hell is she even getting on to the playground?

We would NEVER allow parents to stand in our playgrounds like this! I presumed you meant on a public pavement or something looking in!

Madness.

At our school, she would be told to get out and go home...simple as!!

I'd think the main issue is surely how an adult who doesn't work for the school is able to access school premises during the day when there are children there?

Regardless of who she is, surely that's a massive safeguarding fail?!

I'm not a teacher but you cant get onto my childrens playground at all even reception is locked down

How on Earth is she getting into the playground?

Our playground is secure so this would not happen. If this parent was concerned she would be spoken to firstly by support staff and if she was still concerned then her child would be spoken to for bigger picture and she would be contacted with outcome...

Safeguarding is terrible!! How and who is letting her in the playground?? That's really bad. Our school would get them in and explain they can't do this. Headteacher needs to get a backbone!!

The playground has an open gate. We don't have a safeguarding lead (Scotland). If told about it the head would just say "Oh dear she's being a bit over-protective"

If the playground is accessible from the outside then that is a major safeguarding concern and should be addressed immediately .

If she is let in, then someone authorised it (even if it's by default because no one stopped her). You need to have a meeting with the head and find out what is going on.

Tbh the whole situations sounds bonkers.

Sorry x posted

Another school where playgrounds are gated. A parent could in theory stand at the chain link fence looking on to the junior playground but the layout means they couldn't even get next the infant's playground let alone on to it. In practice O would like to think that a parent watching the playground daily would be invited into the head's office for a chat PDQ.

I’m in Scotland too. This is clearly inappropriate and a child protection issue. Is this woman DBS checked? Does she have permission to be there! Would the schools insurance cover her being there if there was any kind of accident?

I’d be raising this urgently with the designated child protection officers. If they don’t take it seriously raise it with your union. This woman is not on! Whatever next - will she garb a chair and observe her kid in class?!?