THE DILEMMA

A primary school pupil is disrupting the class but concern about how thechild is punished at home is preventing teachers raising the issue withthe parents.

The pupil's teacher explains how she tried to balance her concerns aboutthe child's home life with the need to address the behaviour.

I was teaching a class of five-year-olds in my first year as a qualifiedteacher. One child kept disrupting the class and was not working as hardas he could.

My instincts told me there was more to his behaviour than was firstapparent and I feared that if I spoke to his parents they might beathim. I'd spoken to other teachers about the situation and we were neverquite sure what discipline for this child was like at home. We all had afeeling that it was very strict but we never had any proof.

Nevertheless, at the next parents' evening I decided I couldn't avoidthe issue of this child's behaviour in class. The child came with bothparents and as we discussed progress the father asked how his behaviourwas in class.

I replied honestly that we did experience some disruption from the childand the father listened very attentively. Then he just looked at me andhis child and said in a stern and slow voice: "I can assure you thatthis behaviour will not happen again." The tone of his voice convincedme that his child would be severely punished and probably beaten when hegot back home. A couple of weeks later the father approached me afterschool and asked me whether his child's behaviour had improved. I saidit had, even though it hadn't really.

If the same thing happened again I would go straight to the headteacherand talk through my concerns. I regret not doing this in this particularcase but it was the first time I'd experienced such a dilemma.

I now work in a school where domestic violence is common. We see parentshitting their children in the playground and dread to think what happensat home. However, sometimes you just have to talk to the parents becausetheir child's behaviour has been so appalling.

This is why I would like to see a code of conduct developed on the issueand more training on such scenarios introduced at teacher trainingcollege.

These incidents might seem small but can be symptomatic of childprotection issues, which require other professionals to step in.

- Have you ever faced a tough professional choice? Call Stovin Hayter on020 8267 4767 or email stovin.hayter@haynet.com.