THIS IS HYPOTHETICAL can a teacher physically obstruct/man handle

[2shoes]

a pupil.
say by blocking the door physically at bell time
or by grabbing said pupil and moving them

I REPEAT THIS IS HYPOTHETICAL

[Blandmum]

You can put a hand on a child, if you can show that it was reasonable, than no excess force was used.

the usual example would be separating children who are fighting, or removing a child from a dangerous situation.

[2shoes]

so can he push pupil out of the way?

[Blandmum]

This is from the times ed on the use of force

'At a glance: restraining pupils

Teachers can use reasonable force to prevent a pupil potentially harming themselves or another person, damaging property, or disrupting the good order of the school. There is no universal definition of what constitutes reasonable force.'

[2shoes]

sorry should have said.. to stop them getting to the door.

[Blandmum]

i think it would rather depend on the circumstances, the age of the child, the degree of disruption caused etc

[Blandmum]

I have stood in front of the door to block a child from absconding. Fortunatly the child then backed down

[TheFallenMadonna]

I pulled a child once when he was about to lean backwards into a bunsen flame.

And I had to physically remove a child who was throttling another on the second day of my first job . Was terrified my career was over before it even began. Unnecessarily of course. That was an acceptable restraint.

[TheFallenMadonna]

Ah now MB, a colleague did that to a pupil of hers and was told by his (solicitor) mother that that was unlawful...

[Blandmum]

Child was absconding from social services, I felt I had a duty of care

[TheFallenMadonna]

Ah.

[2shoes]

in my HYPOTHETICAL story. the bell has gone and school is over teacher is insisting that persons stays. teacher says he can stop them by using force.

[TheFallenMadonna]

Your hypothetical example is awfully specific 2shoes

[2shoes]

it hasn't happened
teach was talking to some pupils and said he could do this. create a discussion in the 2shoes house.

[harleyd]

french teacher tried to stop me leaving classroom once
i went through her

[2shoes]

well i told you what ds did

[TheFallenMadonna]

No, he shouldn't stop them by force. But of course, if they are told to stay behind for a few minutes, or if they have received 24 hours notice of a detention, they should stay without having to be physically restrained...

[harleyd]

he was lucky he was on the ground floor

[2shoes]

it is all very complicated. feel for said teacher as he teaches humaties to yr 11's.

[Lulah]

If teachers were allowed to grab , hold posssibly headlock!!!! the kids today perhaps our society of youths would have some manners to the point where if a teacher asks a child to stay put they say Yes Sir!!!!!

[TheFallenMadonna]

Yikes! The laswt thing I want to do is put a 16 year old in a headlock.

But I would like him to do as he is asked...

[roisin]

If I instruct students to stay behind at the end of the lesson occasionally some smart alec might say "you can't make me" and I might reply "watch me!" But they do stay when I tell them to - but just from force of personality, not physical force.

I do position myself physically to dominate a classroom and ensure I am in control of an orderly exit. However, if a student were physically intent on leaving I would not even stand between them and the door, let alone mandhandle the student at that point.

A colleague of mine did this - stood in the doorway to prevent a child leaving - and got pushed by the child. That is then a dreadful situation to be in, and a whole nother scale of confrontation/issue to be dealt with. Obviously the student was in the wrong, not her; but in the grand scheme of things it's a scenario that's better avoided if possible.

If a child is that intent on walking out, I would remind them of the consequences and allow them to leave.
But the students don't know that's what I think

[janeite]

I would also remind them of the consequences, repeat my request for them to stay, then allow them to go if they were still intent on doing so. I would then make sure I followed it up PDQ.

I wouldn't attempt to grab a pupil unless they were in danger, or fighting.

[2shoes]

roisin you summed it up well.

[cory]

Roisin, you sound like a brilliant teacher. I bet they do as they're told!