A five-year-old boy who was suspended four times in his first year of school has been permanently expelled – for kicking his teacher in the face.
Logan Steed was kicked out after stealing fruit, throwing school equipment and hitting, biting and punching pupils and staff.
On one occasion he forced the evacuation of an entire classroom at Powers Hall Infant School in Witham, Essex, for the safety of other children.
But the final straw came when Logan was sitting on a chair and kicked his teacher in the face as she bent over.
His parents, who are separated, say he is an “angel” at home and claim the school has “thrown him on the scrap heap” rather than give him the special attention he needs.
Dad Cameron, 27, a care home manager from Witham, Essex, said: “They said they had to exclude him to ensure the safety of the staff and other pupils.
“But I don’t understand how a five-year-old can pose so much of a threat.
“The school deserves some credit because they have worked with us, but they should not have given up on Logan. Not so soon. He is only five.
“They must have been able to help us find an alternative. Once you expel such a young child it is with them for their whole life.
“It feels like the school has not stuck to their end of the deal.
“At home Logan is a happy, polite kid. He helps me with the cleaning. He is a happy little lad.
“Logan used to come home and tell us about what he had enjoyed at school that day – now he has been thrown on the scrap heap.”
Logan’s unruly behaviour became apparent on his first day at primary school in September 2011 when he was aged just four.
During his first year he was suspended four times after being accused of violence and throwing fruit around the classroom.
The youngster, who splits his week between his parents’ homes, was placed on a report system with daily monitoring emails exchanged between the head and home.
Logan’s parents took him to psychologists on the advice of teachers.
He was tested him for a number of conditions including Asperger’s Syndrome – but the results were all negative.
He was also sent to doctors when teachers feared his preoccupation with fruit was related to hunger.
But medics found no problem with his health or diet.
A head teacher’s report dated November 20 states: “Logan’s recent behaviour has involved him kicking, biting, pinching and punching adults and children and throwing school equipment or threatening to throw school equipment at staff and children.
“School records show that on the first day in our school (06/09/11) he hit, kicked and pushed other children and threw things around the room.”
The letter also explains that Logan had a good relationship with his reception teacher, but she could no longer be in charge of him when she fell pregnant for her own safety.
The report details the incident where Logan is said to have kicked a teacher in the face on November 13.
It states: “[…] he was sitting and the member of staff was holding his arms. He kicked his legs up straight into the member of staff’s face.
“She let go of his arms and he ran off to the library.”
The school took several steps to avoid expulsion, including one-to-one support from the head teacher, sticker charts, allowing him to do his activities in any order.
But Logan was permanently expelled after kicking a female teacher – who has still not been identified to Cameron and Laura.
Laura, 22, a chef from Braintree, Essex, said: “Before Logan started school we did no know he had this side to him. It is like we are talking about two completely different boys.
“At home he does exactly what he is told and we have never seen him do any of the things that school say he did.
“He is a really clever boy and now that is being wasted. We would do anything for him.”
Logan is now receiving just one hour of tuition a day at a specialist school.
But his parents believe he should be at a mainstream school, learning to socialise properly with other children his age.
Cameron and Laura have the right to appeal the decision to expel Logan but plan not to because they are worried about the reception he would now receive at the school.
Headteacher Claire Edwards yesterday (Thurs) said her staff and pupils “deserve to work and learn in a safe place.”
She said: “The decision to permanently exclude a child is never taken lightly and one I take with great sadness.
“This school takes a firm stance on the safety of pupils and staff and assaults on either cannot and will not be tolerated.
“The school has been supportive of this child’s needs and we have tried to work with the parents of this pupil to accommodate his behaviour.
“However, I have a duty of care to all the pupils and my staff, and they deserve to work and learn in a safe place.”
An Essex County Council spokesperson said: “We cannot discuss individual cases.
“All pupils who have been permanently excluded are entitled to a full time programme based on their age, aptitude and ability; however, it is likely that provision will be built up gradually, particularly for very young pupils.
“Essex would wish to see any pupil excluded from primary school supported back into a new school as swiftly and as successfully as possible and we are committed to working with parents to achieve this aim.”
One of the suggestions for dealing with Logan’s behaviour put forward by Powers Hall Infant School was to remove the other children from his class when he acted out.
In the headteacher’s notes under the sub-heading “steps taken to avoid exclusion” one of the bullet points is “Removal of other children from the classroom in order to ensure their health and safety.”
It is unclear in the school’s records whether the teacher who Logan is said to have kicked in the face was restraining him when she was holding his arms.
The headteacher’s notes describe Logan throwing number bond beads [counting beads] around the classroom, punching another pupil’s legs and stealing apples when he returned from a break at 10.45am.
He is then said to have hit a member of staff before he was moved to another class.
The records say Logan was punching and kicking a member of staff on the way to the new class.
When he arrived in the new class he was sitting and a member of staff was holding his arms.
The notes state: “Logan arrive back in the classroom but couldn’t do the hand gel […] so he started throwing the number bond beads.
“He was given a warning. He hid under a table and punched a child in the leg. He was given Time Out (sic).
“He ran off, took some apples and walked around eating them. He hit a member of staff who was with another child and started throwing things. He was removed to another class.
“On the way he was punching and kicking the member of staff.
“In Class 9, he was sitting and the member of staff was holding his arms. He kicked his legs up straight into the member of staff’s face.
“She let go of his arms and he ran off to the library. He ran back to the other end of Class 9, punching, kicking and shouting “stupid idiot, go away.
“He was removed to the library area by two members of staff.”
When asked if the teacher was restraining Logan, headteacher Claire Edwards said: “The parents have all the information. You have the school’s statement.”
MP for Witham, Essex, Priti Patel said it is a “significant concern” when an expelled pupil is “not getting the education they need”.
She said: “I need to look in to the background to support the young child and his family. He may need support at school, but I will not know until I have worked with the family.
“I am really happy to help they just need to call my office and we can work out where to go from there.”
What a brat!