Bus driver grabbing child on school premises

Matrix · 9 Jan 2024 at 14:58

Afternoon

I'm posting here to see if I can get any more information on an incident that happened the Thursday ( 21st ) before Christmas .

My Son (13 years old) had just got on the school bus (he suffers from ADHD and the school have been working with him on this along with sensory issues. ) He was standing talking and was asked to take his seat which he did while they still loaded up then the main bus driver who owns the company came up to him and asked him to get off the bus.

My son replied why what have I done and again he was told get off and if you want to get home you best get on the other bus (which wasn't his normal school bus)
My son was upset and then went to step on the other bus while he was looking at the this bus drive who was eye balling him and as he was about to step on to the bus he was then grabbed and pulled back and told from the driver/ owner your not getting on. To which my my son said get off me you ******* k***head .

We was called by the school could we pick him up and our son was in a right state . We got the school and spoke to the head of transport at the school and the head and said this wasn't on and he shouldn't have sworn at the driver but after being grabbed and pulled back it could be a reaction of some people ( it would have been mine) .Myself and my wife were both mad as the driver/owner said he grabbed him etc to which he was told he shouldn't have done and then started making up things that our son was rolling around the bus floor and causing chaos . The bus has CCTV and we asked if it could be looked at to clarify what the hell had gone on.

Later that night the head of transport teacher at the school told us he wouldn't be allowed on the bus in the morning after speaking to the bus driver/owner so could we get him there but we will sort it out and get him home and have the owner/ driver of the bus to sit down with our son to calm everything over . We said that's fine and explained to him that he need to say sorry for swearing etc and be polite . We we're both seething that a person has grabbed / assaulted him but was willing to let it go if we could make head way and both partiers sorted it out and moved one.

School was finishing midday as it was Christmas break around 9.30 that morning we got phone from this head of transport at the school saying the owner/driver didn't want to meet our son and that he wouldn't be allowed back on the bus until the new year. The teacher was calling the driver blind a saying our son was being grown up over it and the driver was being a baby and he's making a rod for own back and he shouldn't have grabbed him etc

We left it over Christmas but did speak to some parents and family and they were shocked and have said that the school should have called the police as it happened on there property and have a duty of care. We both went in school this morning after debating what to do over the holidays and swapping emails with the teacher yesterday on there training day.

They have pretty much said it's not our problem and your contract is with the bus driver/owner to which I've pointed out if I grabbed a student on there premises surely I get a call from the police and banded from there grounds so what's the difference here and more so he's admitted to doing it and has refused to show anyone the cctv he claims to have ? And a person in the position of a driver should know better not to do this ? .

We are awaiting a meeting with the head of academy when they get back to us but after this mornings run-in with the head of transport it felt like he'd been told to say were not interested from here and went back on stuff he'd said previously.
This just feels all wrong.

Its like banging your head against a brick wall with the school it seems and we are really not sure what to do next , Do we call police and ask there advice where we stand on a legal matter as from what I've read while searching online that the incident happened on school grounds it's for them to get this reported and sorted not us.

Any help advice would be fantastic sorry for the long post.

Thank you

cyber69 · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:08

As long as your son can still use the bus service at the moment then i'd drop it and move on. You can argue that grabbing someone is like a physical assault but without a third party witness or cctv then it cannot be proven and by swearing at the driver it just made things worse.

Mujja · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:12

Do you pay a fee for the bus service and if you do who to, the school or the transport company?

Seems like the bus driver is refusing to drive if your son is on the bus.

If a teacher "assaulted" a student they would be suspended while the matter was investigated, the student wouldn't be banned from school.

Matrix · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:14

cyber69 said:
As long as your son can still use the bus service at the moment then i'd drop it and move on. You can argue that grabbing someone is like a physical assault but without a third party witness or cctv then it cannot be proven and by swearing at the driver it just made things worse.

Yeah he been removed from that bus put on another one he needs to walk further too same company .
The letter did say after reviewing cctv he wasn't allowed on the that bus , Which to be fair I'd like to see myself as if he was out of line we'd come down on him like a ton of bricks but people have said he didn't do anything wrong and when the driver/owner got on the bus with a child's bus pass the teacher said that wasn't our son and someone's else's bus pass.

Just seem like that the story keeps changing from the bus end all the time . If it was me and i had nothing to hide I'd show the school the cctv and say this why and that's why I removed him

Moothead2 · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:15

cyber69 said:
As long as your son can still use the bus service at the moment then i'd drop it and move on. You can argue that grabbing someone is like a physical assault but without a third party witness or cctv then it cannot be proven and by swearing at the driver it just made things worse.

Good thing buses are covered in CCTV cameras then.

I'd keep pushing for the CCTV footage and threaten to go to the police if they kept witholding it. Teenagers are dickheads so it's possible OPs son was most at fault but if someone grabbed my son and threw him off the bus I'd like to see for myself who was most at fault.

Matrix · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:15

Mujja said:
Do you pay a fee for the bus service and if you do who to, the school or the transport company?

£600 a year to this company ( school year Sept to July)

Matrix · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:17

Moothead2 said:
Good thing buses are covered in CCTV cameras then.

I'd keep pushing for the CCTV footage and threaten to go to the police if they kept witholding it. Teenagers are dickheads so it's possible OPs son was most at fault but if someone grabbed my son and threw him off the bus I'd like to see for myself who was most at fault.

Agreed and thats one reason I'd like to see what has gone on as i said in a post above he'd be in huge trouble if he was playing up !

Mujja · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:19

Moothead2 said:
Good thing buses are covered in CCTV cameras then.

I'd keep pushing for the CCTV footage and threaten to go to the police if they kept witholding it. Teenagers are dickheads so it's possible OPs son was most at fault but if someone grabbed my son and threw him off the bus I'd like to see for myself who was most at fault.

Didn't any of the other students film the incident? Maybe they are hiding what really happened. But if your son was in the wrong why would the school and bus company not show you the CCTV footage they have.

Matrix · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:21

Mujja said:
Didn't any of the other students film the incident? Maybe they are hiding what really happened. But if your son was in the wrong why would the school and bus company not show you the CCTV footage they have.

No we've asked it happened like in seconds . The bus company haven't even shown the school the cctv and thats another issue we have with them and keeps making us feel somethings not right here.
Though some of his friends said he hadn't done anything on the bus when accused and were meant to be speaking to teachers today over it

Mujja · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:22

Matrix said:
£600 a year to this company ( school year Sept to July)

If you pay the company directly and not through the school, then your contract would be with the bus company. If they refuse to let your son on the bus then you need to look at which rules have been broken.

Also make a complaint to the police for the "assault", find out what they are hiding by not sharing the CCTV video with you.

tom_e · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:23

If no one is forthcoming with any evidence then I'd be reporting it to the police and let them sort it. If the bus driver has a habit of pushing kids about then he probably shouldn't be working for a school and if your son was being a bell then like you say you can then deal with it.

radderfire · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:42

To me it sounds unlikely your son was doing nothing, as a driver wouldn't do something like this for no reason, they would rather get on and do their job.

It doesn't sound like your son has actually been assaulted, he has just been pulled back, with no major injury occurring.

For this incident, I would let it lie.

I would then get the school to say to the bus driver to tell them if your son is misbehaving in future, as you want to know about it, and to provide CCTV evidence. You could then take appropriate action.

Moobert · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:44

I would be contacting the police straight away.

midweek · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:52

If your son has been recorded on CCTV then he has an right to see that recording. Put in a subject access request to the bus company. https://www.gov.uk/request-cctv-footage-of-yourself

cyber69 · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:54

Matrix said:
Yeah he been removed from that bus put on another one he needs to walk further too same company .
The letter did say after reviewing cctv he wasn't allowed on the that bus , Which to be fair I'd like to see myself as if he was out of line we'd come down on him like a ton of bricks but people have said he didn't do anything wrong and when the driver/owner got on the bus with a child's bus pass the teacher said that wasn't our son and someone's else's bus pass.

Just seem like that the story keeps changing from the bus end all the time . If it was me and i had nothing to hide I'd show the school the cctv and say this why and that's why I removed him

The bus company are siding with their driver and taking a zero tolerance approach. Either leave it as is and use the other bus or go official, give bus company one final try to review the cctv or go to the police and file a complaint. The latter option is if you would want your child to be seated on the orignal bus with that driver again of course.

tom_e · 9 Jan 2024 at 15:55

radderfire said:
To me it sounds unlikely your son was doing nothing, as a driver wouldn't do something like this for no reason, they would rather get on and do their job.

It doesn't sound like your son has actually been assaulted, he has just been pulled back, with no major injury occurring.

For this incident, I would let it lie.

I would then get the school to say to the bus driver to tell them if your son is misbehaving in future, as you want to know about it, and to provide CCTV evidence. You could then take appropriate action.

Simple way to solve the issue is for the bus driver to show someone other than himself the CCTV which backs up the need to physically remove their son from the bus (which they claim to have).

You're right though it's actually battery if there was unlawful force applied rather than just the threat of.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jan 2024 at 16:00

Without seeing a video of what happened or listening to the bus driver's account we only have half a story....it is difficult to take sides without being biased.

You said that your son has ADHD...not really an excuse from a health and safety POV, and you said he was talking, how loudly and in what manner? You said he was asked to sit down, meaning he needed to be told to sit down, and not by his own accord, meaning he wasn't "just" talking.

To me, there is part of the story that is missing here. Without it, can't really pass judgment. I know you are the parent, so you are taking your son's side, naturally but what is the other side of the story?

Kenai · 9 Jan 2024 at 16:02

Matrix said:
when the driver/owner got on the bus with a child's bus pass the teacher said that wasn't our son and someone's else's bus pass.

I'm struggling to figure out what this means or the relevance to the owner removing your son from the bus

tom_e · 9 Jan 2024 at 16:02

Raymond Lin said:
Without seeing a video of what happened or listening to the bus driver's account we only have half a story....it is difficult to take sides without being biased.

You said that your son has ADHD...not an excuse, and you said he was talking, how loudly and in what manner? You said he was asked to sit down, meaning he needed to be told to sit down, and not by his own accord, meaning he wasn't "just" talking.

To me, there is part of the story that is missing here. Without it, can't really pass judgment.

That's what the OP is saying though that they want the full story so if their son was playing up they can deal with it, the problem being the bus driver/company don't want to provide the other side of the story and would rather paint themselves in the wrong light which seems a bit weird but people can be strange creatures.

Moothead2 · 9 Jan 2024 at 16:06

Raymond Lin said:
Without seeing a video of what happened or listening to the bus driver's account we only have half a story....it is difficult to take sides without being biased.

You said that your son has ADHD...not really an excuse from a health and safety POV, and you said he was talking, how loudly and in what manner? You said he was asked to sit down, meaning he needed to be told to sit down, and not by his own accord, meaning he wasn't "just" talking.

To me, there is part of the story that is missing here. Without it, can't really pass judgment. I know you are the parent, so you are taking your son's side, naturally but what is the other side of the story?

I mean read the thread, they're refusing to show the other side of the story. I'm less willing to trust the bus driver, who in my experience are more likely to be ***** than any other profession outside of maybe taxi drivers, when they're refusing to show anyone the CCTV.