My 9-year-old daughter was threatened at Blackpool's Marton Primary Academy because we are Gypsy
A mum in Blackpool is scared to send her daughters to school after one was verbally threatened by a staff member.
Mum of two Kathleen Smith says she was “appalled” to discover that her eldest daughter, nine-year-old Crystal was “a victim of violence whilst in class and under the care of someone who was supposed to be a responsible adult with a duty of care for her.”
The 35-year-old mum, who is from the travelling community, says whilst in an afternoon class at Marton Primary Academy in Blackpool, her daughter “was being dissruptive and naughty” but that this was not “out of the ordinary for Crystal as staff know she can sometimes be difficult”.
What was out of the ordinary however was the reaction from a staff member who reportedly, in an outburst of anger, said to a colleague “Get her out before I kill her!”
Mum Kathleen said she knew something was wrong with Crystal the moment she picked her up as she was not acting like her normal self.
“Crystal told me she got very scared after hearing this and she didn’t know what the staff member was going to do next to her. This made me sick to my stomach”, says Kathleen who after hearing the story, immediately went back into the school to try and speak to the staff member in question but was refused contact.
Later that evening, Kathleen was able to meet with Marton Primary’s head to discuss what happended but this failed to resolve the situation and instead angered the family more.
She explained: “The head teacher was more concerned about my childs behaviour - which I can assure you was just silly things that all children can be like- than the member of staff’s.
“I’m not saying that my child is correct for being naughty but this really wasn’t enough to cause such an anger outburst. Instead, my children are disliked because we are gypsy, I know hatred towards my culture when I see it.
“I worked as a teaching assistant years ago with vulnerable children and I wouldn’t even think about losing it in front of a child -never! We were taught if we felt overwhelmed to take five and tell another member of staff to take over.”
Hoping to appease the situation, Katheleen says the headteacher promised that this staff member would have no more dealings with Crystal, but she would continue working in her class with other children.
“There was no mention of my child feelings and thoughts, no form of disciplinary, nothing”, Kathleen added.
Unhappy with the school’s reaction, Kathleen reported the incident to Lancashire Police who said their enquiries could go one of two ways: either the staff member accepts wrongdoing and is handed a community resolution order or they do not and instead the police can investigate it as a public order offence.
When the police found the staff member to be very apologetic, Kathleen says she assented to them being handed a community resolution order as she did not want to drag the case out any further.*
But whilst the incident has been resolved legally, Kathleen has taken both Crystal and her seven-year-old sister Eileen out of the school explaining “if I can’t send one child to school confident that she’ll be safe, I can’t send the other.”
The mum of two confirmed that if Marton Primary Academy does not apologise to her daughter or discipline the staff member, she will be moving the girls elsewhere.
Kathleen added: “They have been let down immensely and I’m pretty sure if it involved anyone else in the community that was not from the same race as us, the staff member would of been dealt with properly. I am heart broken by how my poor child has been treated.
“I have made the unfortunate decision to remove my children which is such a shame for my girls as they have friends and members of staff they feel comfortable with but they’ll now have to start again. I am appalled by the head teachers actions. She now has a staff member working with vulnerable children who has a comunity resolution order on her record for wanting to kill a child. It’s barbaric.”
A spokesperson for Bright Futures Educational Trust said: "This is an internal school matter, the Trust is happy with how it has been dealt with, and school is looking forward to welcoming the children back."
A Lancashire Police spokesperson added: “The matter was reported to us, and enquiries were conducted. It has since been resolved with a community resolution.”*
*This story has been updated as the community resolution order has now been withdrawn. See the full update here.