General Chat

I owe my grandsons school some money.My grandson goes to special needs school.In Sep when he went back he had a new head and no-one was notified.Grandson played up a bit and threw a stone outside at a window.He chipped the window.He was then bought in and restrained.He then slammed a door and broke a lock.I spent 7 hours up the hospital as head had fallen on grandson and bruised his ribs.The head has sent me a letter with a deadline of the 28th oct to pay £130 for damage.I got a letter 2 days ago reminding me to pay or they are taking me to the small claims court.I dont mind paying but should i get a proper invoice with the repairs on it.Grandson says that the 12inch by 12 inch window has not been changed? Annie

I would certainly want paper work Annie.

S

Ditto to what Sue said Annie.

Ask for a breakdown in costs & you will settle the bill.

I would imagine the window has not been replaced because -

A. Its evidence until you pay up
B. They cant afford to replace it out of the schools budget until you pay up.

Any damage willfully done by a child, special needs or not in a mainstreem school (dont know about special needs school ) I think will have to be paid for by the childs parents / carers.
I'm afraid they have to treat the naughties kick offs & the special needs kick offs the same, or they would have to foot the bills for repair themselves each time for anything other than accidental damage.

They might be waiting for half term to replace the window, and the costs are based on a quote. I'd have thought that the price is about right for that and a new lock (which the caretaker ought to be able to replace). I'd agree that you are right to ask for a copy of the paperwork.

While it is unfortunate that your grandson, with his known problems, has caused the damage, its heartening to hear that the students are being expected to face up to the results of their actions.

If you have problems finding the cash, you could offer to pay so much a month, or see if you have a home insurance where you can claim under the 'personal liability' clause'..............after you have a breakdown of the costs!

Were you told at the time of the incident that they would be billing you?

I cant see why they would send another letter as the deadline for payment hasnt been reached yet,its only after failing to pay by the 28th Oct that they can issue another notice of none payment.

if it was my grandson
i would pay the bill as soon as possible
and then it can be put to rest
nit picking is only making the matter worse

he did the damage so it should be paid for
then you should deduct the damage
costs out of his pocket money to teach him a lesson

you have to in force to the child his behavior is unacceptable

Personally, I'd want to know whether the bill was replacement of the window (which you say is only chipped) and the lock.
Then I'd phone around a few locksmiths/glaziers and ask how much they'd charge.

I'm intrigued at how the head managed to fall on your grandson!
You say your grandson was restrained - was this when the head fell on him?

if the child was restrained it was for one of two reasons
either he was in danger of hurting himself
or even worse hurting another person
which is not acceptable behavior


also if somebody damaged your property
you would want it putting right and rightly so

and the price seams cheep to me
so maybe the school are footing some of the costs
it cost my friend £140 for a new lock
and somebody to come out and sort it for her

I would want the paperwork. At least two quotes and I wonder as the window is only chipped whether or no it could be repaired rather than replaced(I'm thinking if it can be done with windscreens then why not windows). Also couldn't the caretaker install a new lock shock could be bought from B& * or homeb*se

schools dont do two quotes
they have to use the education authority's prefared contractors
and none of them are cheep
the window will have to be replaced its school rules


somebody broke a lamina-tor at our school
it could be repaired

but school rules say it has to be replaced
school rules will also say
they have to be replaced by a prefared trades man

How ridiculous to replace something that can be repaired?  No wonder education budgets are soaring. 

In this throw away society we are going to lose skills which in turn will stifle invention.  We are on the cusp of  H G Wells vision of the future in the Time Machine where the Eloi are a childlike society who lack curiosity.  

I understand that the education department have preferred tradesmen but surely they would want to get the best price for any work and as such get more than one quote, if not how foolish.  I thought a caretaker  was a handyman and as such well able to do small jobs like changing a lock.

Hahahhahahah sorry but what the hell!!!! who made this nutter head??

Right the law says your child should have been suppervised properly and even more so with this being a special needs school
brought in and restrained which sounds like it ended in THE CHILD being injured which can also been claimed under the childs rights and has been done in the last few months.
sorry but you really need to take this to your local LEA to make sure you are doing right else this could turn into a balckmail situation for all other parents at the school .......NEVER have I heard of a parent paying for damage to school in this way !!!! a chipped window!!!
please get more paperwork and make sure this job is done and even do it yourself if you are able ..even with half term the LEA is open check with them
I dont think that children should damage school stuff BUT atr the same time HOW has your child been damage and nothing has been done about that!!??
good Luck and take care

It has been school policy that damages are paid for by the parents in every school I have ever taught in.

Schools have to have damages repaired by specified cotractors, as Elaine said.

Frankly, I wouldn't be quibbling. If my son caused damage I would insist on paying for repairs. Then I would make him pay towards it by way of punishment.

Children can be restrained if they are presenting a danger to themselves or others and teachers have a right to restrain them. Or maybe the last poster thinks we should just stand there and take it? You can try taking it to the LEA but they make the policy, so I doubt you'll get very far.

Gwynne

KEM if the damage was done deliberate
then the parents or guardians of the child
can be made responsible for the damage
its not as if this boy is a little child
special needs or not he need to be taught responsibility

as for the boy been hurt
maybe he was hurt by his own behavior
teachers do not restrain a child for no reason
its just not allowed
there will of been an internal esquirey if this child was hurt
and there is solid evidence of this

if granny is not happy about this
she could always remove the boy out of the school
thats her right

i myself would pay up soon as possible and forget about it

I would still be asking HOW and WHY did the child become hurt!!??

i am sure granny has been informed of how and why

if granny was in any doubt
she would of brought the police into this

As Annie knows I work in a primery school.

I have seen, in the past children with special needs, and children without, having to be restrained before they hurt someone or themselves.

This is often done at the adults risk as often they are kicked out at or hit.

I would imagine an 11 year old or older could be quite a handfull when kicking off. My daughter is 11 and she could pull me over if we were in such a situation (& we are not)

Chances are during the kick off Annies grandson & the restraining adult accidently over balanced & the adult fell onto him causing the injury to Annies grandson .

It seems pretty obvious how & why the child was hurt.
I also feel irritated that the head is called a "Nutter" when he is just doing his job.

While not wishing to comment on this particular situation, having worked in a Secondary school in a similar post to Mildred Honkinbottom, I concur with her views.

When a student can only see through a red veil of anger or frustration, they are not open to discussion or persuasion. The only way to avoid harm to themselves or others is physically restrain them.

Having been knocked to the floor, and punched by accident on different occasions, I can confirm that Secondary school students can be volatile and strong even at the younger end of the age spectrum.

DET

I don't see it as any different than holding a small toddler when the child is having a tantrum.

Although the rules may be different here in Australia - I had to cover part of the cost of a new window when one of my boys was a secondary school. They kicked a ball at a wall and it hit and broke a window. We paid our share and our son worked it off at home.

Don't forget - Annie said she's happy to pay it she just asked if she should have an invoice.

S