Should I expect more to have been done?

[rivian]

Need some advice please!

After a cover lesson last week, I was followed out of the classroom by a boy from the class and his friend, who had not been in the class. (I have issues with being used for cover as a subject teacher, but...)

The boy who hadn't been in the class followed me and started to kick my bag on purpose. I asked him to stop, to which he replied 'Oh, calm down, miss'. I walked a bit faster to try and get away from him, and he ran to catch up with me and kicked my bag again. This time, he was seen by a Senior Leader, a Deputy Head. He asked the boy if he'd been trying to intimidate a member of staff, to which the student replied 'I wasn't hurting her though.'

Deputy Head took student to the isolation/behaviour room and I went to my next lesson.

I later emailed to ask what had happened and had been told the student had written me an apology letter. This student regularly comes into the back of my room at the end of lesson and disrupts things if he has already been let out, and this bag-kicking was another incident from him.

Should I expect more to be done, especially as a member of SLT had witnessed the behaviour? The student is in Year 9.

Help!

I walked a bit faster to try and get away from him

I’m sorry you had do go through this OP. But as an aside why did you just try to leave rather than pull him up on it properly the first time?

Not judging as I wasn’t there to see how fast it all played out and to know your exact wording. But from your OP rather than ‘asking’ him to stop I would have told him I’d be reporting him to SLT if he did it again.

@RedRed9 The first time, I told him to stop it. I said 'Stop that, right now'. He then said 'alright, calm down, miss'. He's a regular for behaviour issues, which SLT can't seem to deal with.

I was at a loss as I knew I would not win.

If we say we will report to SLT at my place many students laugh in our faces,,,,

You clearly work somewhere where SLT has an impact and actually cares red!

Arguably it also makes a teacher look weak if they use that line too often : the 'wait til your father gets home' equivalent.

That sounds awful. The sooner you’re out of there the better. I really hope you find a better school soon.

@Piggywaspushed sounds like you're in a similar situation to me, in terms of school!

@RedRed9 it's a mat leave contract that ends on the 31st March. Currently looking for other jobs, so hopefully things will start looking up!

In a school where children think they can kick the teachers in the corridors, “I’ll report this to SLT” clearly isn’t a deterrent. SLT don’t have control, or (99% certain) this wouldn’t have happened to begin with.

Fucking hell.

You were kicked at by a kid and he was allowed back to class?? This is absolutely mental.

At my school, he would have been externally excluded and he would have had to have a restorative meeting where I had it out with him before he was allowed back to school.

@FuckingHateRats that sounds very cathartic!

Update: Been over a week since the incident. No apology letter received, nothing else has happened as far as I know.

The school can't handle behaviour issues, it's honestly awful. Glad I'm getting out in April.

Good for you for getting out.
The schools reaction was not sufficient or appropriate.
Even in my school (which God only knows has its issues) he’d have received a FTE for that.
Weak and unhelpful management of behaviour erodes everything in a school.

I'm really interested in wondering why you think an apology letter was sufficient?

A student committed a crime most likely, and in theory, it could be reported to the police.

I'm assuming the teacher was wearing the bag, therefore it is assault.

Obviosutl it depends on the facts, but iny school this kind of behaviour is likely to lead to discussions about this child being moved out of the school permanently,and I work in a rough area!

If an apology is acceptable in context, fine, but this is a serious incident. You can't have kids kicking teachers in the school, that's madness.

In my school, this would be taken very seriously. I'd personally probably have out school assigned police officer speak to the child and put the fear of God into him, but then again, I really don't tolerate physical touching of others against their will. Wearing a bag is still a part of your body in my view.

If this child does this again, he is not in an appropriate environment and needs to leave the school and go somewhere where he can be managed properly.

Maybe that's me, but how I see it anyway

That's awful. It sounds like you are being targeted and bullied. I would definitely want more to be done.

I also agree with pp that your school sounds terrible. Have you thought about looking for a new job?

Sorry, just read that you're leaving soon. Well done!

Is there any way you could be 'ill' for part or all of the next half term?