Last updated on April 17th, 2018 at 02:57 pm

Like any other 12 year old, Maltby resident Jed Winfindale was studying in class on 14 October last year, but for another pupil in the same class, studying was the last thing on his mind.   Disruptive and verbally abusive towards Jed and the teacher, Jed’s fellow pupil (apparently well known for his outbursts and abuse) was taken out of class by his teacher, who then went to locate a stand by (a teacher who is trained to deal with disruptive pupils), leaving the class unattended.

During the teacher’s absence, the disruptive pupil had other ideas about waiting outside the class and re-entering, he picked up a wooden drawing board and assaulted Jed with it, hitting him several times before going back out of the room.   The class – and a very distressed Jed, were eventually dealt with when the teachers returned.

Jed suffered injuries to his arm and shoulder and had to attend hospital.  Also, as is often the case when children are subjected to such incidents, he still suffers from nightmares and flashbacks.

Jed’s mother was of course distraught but also very angry with the school, which she feels did not properly supervise the children on this day, exposing them to the danger that could – and did – arise from being left with a boy who was known to be disruptive and abusive towards children and staff, and who had already verbally abused her son.

She contacted Graysons Solicitors to see if she could gain any redress from the school and personal injury solicitor Lucy Flynn took up the case and pursued a claim for breach of statutory duty and negligence.  Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council admitted liability and Lucy was able to win an undisclosed amount of compensation for Jed.

Lucy says “Of course we all expect that school should be a safe place for our children, and in the main it is, but sometimes things do go wrong and we must not forget that any school owes a duty of care to our children and should not expose them to unnecessary risk of injury.  If they do, they may be in breach of their duties and open to action being taken against them.”

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This case was reported in the national press.  You can read the Daily Mail’s report here.