The father of a seven-year-old whose tooth was knocked out by a playground bully is furious – after his son was given a ‘I lost my tooth’ badge by the school.
Chris Turner, 34, says son Dylan was punched three times in the face following a two-year campaign of bullying.
But when he arrived to collect him he was horrified to discover they had been put back into class together – and Dylan was wearing a badge suggesting his tooth had simply fallen out.
Furious Chris claims the badge was an attempt to play down the severity of the incident – and has now removed Dylan from the school for his own protection.
Tech expert Chris, of Blackburn, Lancs., said: “When we got to school the pair had been put back in class and Dylan was given a ‘lost my tooth at school’ sticker.
“I thought that was disgusting – it was just a blatant cover up for the fact a GBH [Grievous Bodily Harm] attack happened at their school.
“The school called my wife and said that Dylan had been punched and he’d lost a tooth.”
“But his tooth had actually been knocked out by this boy and the school were just trying to cover it up as a bit of rough and tumble.
“We’ve since been to the dentist and had an x-ray of his mouth and his baby tooth wasn’t wobbling, there was no big tooth showing to push it out.
“His tooth had been knocked out by three punches.”
Father-of-two Chris says Helmshore Primary School near Blackburn has repeatedly failed to take steps to prevent the bullying.
After being alerted to the incident on July 14, Chris and wife Kay, 34, then went to the school to pick up Dylan.
He said: “I saw my son, a scared little boy, walk into the headteacher’s office with his arms by his sides, he looked me in the eye and started crying.
“He has become victim of a bullying campaign – which had gone on for two years.
“The headteacher simply refused to implement any sanctions that would go on record, even though they are necessary to ensure the safety of my son.
“In fact, when I questioned the teacher about being able to guarantee his safety, she replied ‘I can’t’.”
Headteacher Christine Myers has refused to move the bully out of Dylan’s class because it “would count as an exclusion”, he claims.
School bosses confirmed the incident had taken place on July 14 – but refused to comment as the matter was being investigated by governors.
Lancashire Police said they had been made aware of the incident but due to the children being below the age of criminal responsibility no further action would be taken.
Dylan and his five-year-old brother Connor have now been removed from the school.
Chris said he is “disgusted” with the response from teacher and is hoping to find the two boys another school.
He added: “The safety of our children is obviously our number one priority.
“We have run out of road – we have no where left to turn.
“In the absence of any more sensible suggestions, or any support from the school whatsoever, we have had no alternative but to do as she has suggested and take them out of school.”
Chris added: “It’s been such a difficult time for us all – we don’t know what to do, it’s too late to find a new school by September.”
According to the school’s anti-bullying policy, ‘bullying of any kind is unacceptable and would not be tolerated in the school’.
It also states ‘all incidents of bullying are taken seriously’.
A statement released by Helmshore Primary School read: “The incident that took place in school recently is a matter for the governing body to investigate and the process is ongoing.”
