The Year Six pupil has been taken out of St Peter’s CE Primary School, Darwen, by her mum Johanne Elsworth after the incident.
Headteacher Victoria Weddle and Blackburn with Darwen Council have declined to comment on the matter.
But yesterday parents picking up their children said they were supportive of the school’s stance.
Hmmm, tell me more?
Ms Elsworth is now trying to find a place for her daughter at another school in the town after vowing not to return to St Peter’s.
She said: “She is not an angel by any means and I’m fine with her being punished but not like this.
“This is not appropriate at all and is nothing short of Dickensian.
“It has made me very angry and I just can’t believe that they made her do this.”
Ms Elsworth, who lives with her three children in Ratcliffe Street, said: “I did not believe her when she first told me.
“I think that she may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but her teachers do not think so. She has had behaviour problems before and I have no problem with her being punished by the school when she needs to be.
“But I do not think that children should be punished in this way.”
Ms Elsworth added: “I have never heard of a school taking this kind of action against children.
“We are both very upset about it all and I hope that this incident will make the school rethink it’s behaviour policy. I hope it never happens to anyone again.”
This awful, ‘Dickensian’ punishment?
Scrubbing the pavement, would you believe…
According to the latest behaviour guidance from the Department for Education, headteachers must decide the standard of behaviour expected of pupils at the school.
They must also determine the school rules and any disciplinary penalties for breaking the rules.
The document also lists the sanctions that schools can hand out if children are disruptive, which includes school-based community service or the imposition of a task such as picking up litter or weeding school grounds.
The tasks also mentioned include tidying a classroom, helping clear up the dining hall after meal times or removing graffiti.
QED. Suck it up. Consider your daughter's early training as a scrubber as ... well ... ummm ....
She has had behaviour problems before ...
ReplyDeleteNote how easily even uneducated people learn these sly circumlocutions: rather than making the more natural - and honest - simple declarative statement 'She has misbehaved before' she implies that her daughter is the victim, not the source, of behavioural problems.
I remember receiving a similar punishment as well, this going way way way back to when I was a young child, probably about seven at the time. I don't recall the 'crime' which led to the punishment but me, and another boy as I recall, had to scrub the floor. I've only recalled this after reading this story, and it's a vague recollection, so it really couldn't have been that distressing. What I do know is that I didn't tell my parents of the punishment because, of course, that would have meant getting further punishment from my mum. How times have changed, eh? Parents now run bleating to the papers instead of reinforcing the need for discipline.
ReplyDeleteAh, discipline. After the means to discipline are prescribed there is little scope to apply; "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime". This was one occasion when it did. At last, I can tip the brim of me trilby to the school.
ReplyDeleteI thought you were being a bit harsh on the child, until I saw the picture. Dear God, the eyes, how do you get eyes like that by year six. Then I saw the mother, and the other stories in the paper. There is no hope.
ReplyDelete"Note how easily even uneducated people learn these sly circumlocutions..."
ReplyDeleteOh, indeed!
" I've only recalled this after reading this story, and it's a vague recollection, so it really couldn't have been that distressing. "
Are you sure? Call 0800-We-Sue! and you might be eligible for compo!
"At last, I can tip the brim of me trilby to the school."
I wonder what the other parents think, when they see these stories in the local rag?
"I thought you were being a bit harsh on the child, until I saw the picture."
Truly, 'like mother, like daughter'! There's no hope for her by now, is there?