An angry mother has hit out after police were called to her son’s primary school when he was caught using a ruler as a pretend sword in a playground game of ‘knights and dragons’.
The teachers at St George’s Bickley CE Primary School, in Bromley, south London have been accused of overreacting after asking officers to speak to Kyron Bradley, who waved the ruler around as he played with two friends.
The Mail Online report:
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The youngster’s mother Natasha Bradley said she burst into tears after hearing police were being called over a ‘stupid game’.
Miss Bradley, a 27-year-old carer and mother-of-two, said she had attended a meeting with headteacher Geraldine Shackleton following the incident on April 27, and had assumed it had been ‘dealt with’.
However, she was then told that police officers were coming to the school to speak to her son, a pupil in Year 4, about his behaviour, on April 29.
Miss Bradley, from Orpington, said Kyron had only been doing ‘what boys do’ – playing at ‘swordfighting’ with a pal in the playground.
She said: ‘I explained to my son that it was a stupid game to play as he could have fallen with the ruler. He cried, but he understood.
‘I had already dealt with Kyron myself. Why the police were involved I haven’t a clue.
‘I was so disgusted with the way he was being dealt with I burst out crying.’
Miss Bradley told the News Shopper, a local newspaper in South London: ‘I am quite a strict parent. I am not saying my child is an angel, but he has never been in trouble for anything more than being a bit chatty.’
Another parent at the school, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘These boys were just playing knights and dragons in the playground.
‘They could have been using a stick, a ruler or their imagination – the whole thing is totally over the top and a waste of police resources.’
The school declined to reveal precise details of action taken against Kyron but Mrs Shackleton said: ‘Sometimes having a gentle conversation with children, with parents or guardians present, can help young people fully understand possible consequences of actions they have taken.
‘I am expected to use my judgement and act appropriately to ensure children and staff in my school are safe.
‘It would not be appropriate to discuss individual situations, but in general terms schools work closely with local police as a matter of routine to gain help and guidance in these matters.’#
The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers from the local neighbourhood team had been sent to the school in the wake of the incident – but the force said it ‘does not comment on individual incidents involving under 18s’.
