At the last governing body meeting there was discussion regarding a rising number of incidents when school staff have been subjected abusive or intimidating behaviour from parents and other family members, whether this be face to face or online. This is never acceptable and governors are determined that all staff should be able to come to work free from the threat of this kind of behaviour. During the past few months there has been more than one incident which has resulted in police involvement and visits to the school in order to investigate incidents and make arrangements to protect staff.

Having said this, the relationship that we have with the vast majority of our families is positive, productive and friendly, and we appreciate this and wish to keep it so. We all understand the benefits of working together for the best interests of children and all staff are appreciative of the positive feedback that you give us on a day to day basis.

As a result of the discussions the governing body has decided to adopt two new policies:

1. Policy on managing aggressive behaviour from parents and visitors to our school
2. Social Media Guidance Policy

They can be found on this page of our website: https://www.hollinsgrundy.com/our-school/policies-and-procedures/

The content of each policy is also copied below.

Policy on managing aggressive behaviour from parents and visitors to our school

Statement of principles

The governing body of Hollins Grundy Primary School encourages close links with parents and the community. It believes that pupils benefit when the relationship between home and school is a positive one. The vast majority of parents, carers and others visiting our school are keen to work with us and are supportive of the school.

However, on the rare occasions when a negative attitude towards the school is expressed, this can result in aggression, verbal and or physical abuse towards members of school staff or the wider school community.

The governing body expects and requires its members of staff to behave professionally in these difficult situations and attempt to defuse the situation where possible, seeking the involvement as appropriate of other colleagues. However, all members of staff have the right to work without fear of violence and abuse, and the right, in an extreme case, of appropriate self defence. We expect parents and other visitors to behave in a reasonable way towards members of school staff.

This policy outlines the steps that will be taken where behaviour is unacceptable.

Types of behaviour that are considered serious and unacceptable and will not be tolerated:

• shouting at members of the school staff, either in person or over the telephone;
• physically intimidating a member of staff, eg standing very close to her/him;
• the use of aggressive hand gestures;
• threatening behaviour;
• shaking or holding a fist towards another person;
• swearing;
• pushing;
• hitting, eg slapping, punching and kicking;
• spitting;
• breaching the school’s security procedures.

This is not an exhaustive list but seeks to provide illustrations of such behaviour.

Unacceptable behaviour may result in the local authority and the police being informed of the incident.

Procedure to be followed

If a parent/carer behaves in an unacceptable way towards a member of the school community, the head teacher or appropriate senior staff will seek to resolve the situation through discussion and mediation. If necessary, the school’s complaints procedures should be followed.

Where all procedures have been exhausted, and aggression or intimidation continue, or where there is an extreme act of violence, a parent or carer may be banned by the Chair of Governors or the head teacher from the school premises for a period of time, subject to review. In imposing a ban the following steps will be taken:

1. The parent/carer will be informed, in writing, that she/he is banned from the premises, subject to review, and what will happen if the ban is breached, eg that police involvement or an injunction application may follow
2. Where an assault has led to a ban, a statement indicating that the matter has been reported to the local authority and the police will be included
3. The headteacher/Chair of Governors will be informed of the ban
4. Where appropriate, arrangements for pupils being delivered to, and collected from the school gate will be clarified.

Conclusion

The local authority itself may take action where behaviour is unacceptable or there are serious breaches of our home-school code of conduct or health and safety legislation. In implementing this policy, the school will, as appropriate, seek advice from the Local Authority’s education, health and safety and legal departments, to ensure fairness and consistency.

Social Media Guidance Policy

As stated on our website the school expects that “Whatever your place in our community, whether that be a pupil, a family member or a member of staff we believe that you should accept and reflect our ethos and values wherever you are. This means behaving respectfully to all, modelling good behaviour in person and online and supporting everyone to do their best and achieve their full potential.”

Parents should adhere to the following guidelines when using all social media platforms and groups:

• The group should never be used as a platform to air views/grievances regarding a teacher, child or parent in the class or school
• The group is not a political platform for airing opinions on current affairs
• The group should be used keeping in mind mutual respect and cultural sensitivity between all its members

We expect parents, carers and other visitors to:

• Respect the ethos, vision and values of our school
• Work together with staff in the best interests of our pupils
• Treat all members of the school community with respect – setting a good example with speech and behaviour
• Seek a peaceful solution to all issues
• Correct their own child’s behaviour (or those in their care), particularly in public, where it could lead to conflict, aggression or unsafe conduct
• Approach the right member of school staff to help resolve any issues of concern

Please note, the school considers the following online activity inappropriate:

• Abusive or personal comments about staff, pupils or other parents or any member of the school’s community
• Displays of anger including swearing, or using offensive language
• Bringing the school into disrepute
• Posting aggressive, defamatory or libellous comments
• Emails circulated or sent directly with abusive or personal comments about staff, pupils or any member of the school’s community
• Using social media to publicly challenge school policies or discuss issues about individual children
• Threatening behaviour, such as intimidating staff, or using bad language.

The school takes safeguarding responsibilities seriously and will deal with any reported incidents appropriately.