Mum assaults child in front of classmates in Tynemouth

Dec 22 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

A MOTHER was given a police caution after she attacked a five-year-old boy at her son’s school in Tynemouth, police said.

The woman was arrested following an incident at Priory Primary School earlier this month. Northumbria Police confirmed the 44-year-old woman had accepted a police caution.

In a statement the force said: “At around 9.10am on Thursday, December 11 police received a report of an incident at Priory Primary School, Percy Park Road, Tynemouth. A 44-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and received a caution.”

It is understood the woman walked into a reception class at the school where her son is a pupil and struck the boy in front of other children. The woman accused the pupil of bullying her son but he was able to return to lessons later that day.

The cautioned mother won’t be allowed onto the school property from January, and will only be allowed to drop off her two children at the school gates.

The school received a glowing report in its last Ofsted inspection. It was placed in the top 11% in the country for its academic achievements and was judged as “outstanding” in every category in the inspection. According to Geoff Ogle, chairman of the governors, letters have been sent home to parents to allay their fears.

He said: “We have told them that after the upsetting incident, the governors have taken a series of steps to ensure the issue of child protection has been fully addressed, and I have had no adverse reaction from parents. When you have any issue at school, such as a child having an accident, we always look at the improvements that can be made, so we always focus on what we can do and the safety of children is paramount.”

A North Tyneside council spokeswoman added: “We are taking this incident extremely seriously and can confirm that the we are doing everything to ensure that the school, child protection officers and police work together to ensure the matter is resolved appropriately.”