Islington primary school suspends staff member over claims boy, 10, 'hit several times'

Met police investigating claims member of staff assaulted the pupil at Christ The King Catholic Primary School
The alleged incident is said to have taken place at Christ the King Primary School in Islington
Google Maps
Lydia Chantler-Hicks7 December 2023

A council is investigating claims a 10-year-old boy was pushed and repeatedly hit by a member of staff at a north London primary school.

The boy's family say he had to go to A&E following the alleged incident at Christ The King Catholic Primary School in Islington.

Islington Council has confirmed on Twitter, formerly X: "We are aware of these reports and are taking them seriously. We're working with the school to investigate."

The school confirmed a member of staff has been suspended.

The boy's father told the Standard his son had been standing in a hallway inside the school, when the incident happened on November 10.

"There was an incident that was happening in the playground involving another pupil getting into trouble, so he was looking at what was going on in the playground," he said.

"He just noticed a strong push which took him off balance, and that push came from [a member of staff] - an adult.

"He turned around and said 'don't touch me', and then she pushed him again and then this time confined him to a space - against a wall or frame or something, and started hitting [him] back and forth - neck, chest area, and stuff.

"[He] was trying to fend her off to stop."

The father said his son was initially suspended over the incident, but the suspension was later rescinded. A suspension letter given to the boy's mother at pick-up time, and seen by The Standard, said the boy was suspended for three days "for an act of aggression towards a member of staff".

The letter, dated November 10, says the boy "injured a member of staff today in the playground". "He hit her several times knocking off her glasses and breaking them. He also pulled a clump of her hair out. The member of staff required first aid and is very upset about the incident."

The father said the school's head teacher called the family around half-an-hour after home time however, rescinding the suspension.

The father says a supply teacher who allegedly witnessed the events approached the headteacher and corroborated the boy's story.

"We are stressed out now," he added. "I was unable to sleep because I was imagining what my son was going through at that time the incident was happening to him. I've not been a happy person."

He added that on the afternoon of the incident, his son was visibly upset and complaining of "a lot of pain" in his chest and neck where he had allegedly been hit. He was taken to A&E for a check-up, but had no visible signs of injury.

The boy's parents called the police on the afternoon of the incident.

James Potts, Chair of Governors at Christ the King RC Primary School, said: “An allegation was made about an incident at the school in November.“As soon as the allegation was made, we took the matter extremely seriously and took all appropriate actions.

“A member of staff was suspended at the time, pending a full investigation.

“We are working closely with the Metropolitan Police, Islington Council and the Diocese of Westminster.“

As part of our continued partnership with parents, carers and the wider community, we take the safety and well-being of our pupils extremely seriously, and are committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all.“It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst an investigation is ongoing.” A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "Police were contacted on Friday, 10 November following a report that a ten-year-old pupil had been assaulted by a member of staff at a school in Tollington Park, N4.

"There were no reports of any serious injuries. Safeguarding children remains our priority and we treat such allegations very seriously.

"Those involved in this incident, along with several witnesses, are being spoken with and the investigation is ongoing.We are working with partners, including the local authority and the school, to progress this matter as swiftly as possible."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in