“all you people that are commenting on my son should perhaps find out what really happened and then maybe put yourself in my position as a parent!!!!!!!!! my son did not have any behavioural problems and was not disruptive infact my son was a placid little boy who wouldnt have hurt a fly and may i add my son was theone who was being attacked by 5 other children and was also being tested for cancer from lumps in neck and she chose to grab him from under the 5 children around his neck and drag him up a flight of stairs.would be different if it was one of your kids im sure.how dare any of you judge my son ????????????????? clearly you know NOTHING about him and she deserves all she got yshe should have goneto jail for the mental damage my son has suffered”

“It seems that it has been treated as a common assault one party said stop and the other party did not. That's the way the assault law works.
Sounds like an easy conviction not justice being served. The police officer probably tried to justify the time spent investigating the case and CPS said yes we can get a conviction to add to our statistics.”

“I feel 22FARAWAYFOX is about right here. I have never heard of a member of staff being 'sacked' over the mishandling of a child before now. I feel the person in question (who was sacked) was not a popular member of staff and they were looking for a reason to 'sack' her and this was it.

Did she receive any training and what does 'grabbed' mean in this case? Did she 'bear-hug' him or just grab his arm in an attempt to stop him hurting another child, this needs to be defined. Overall I am very sad to hear her losing her job, she might want to take this case further? The evidence is not clear (but then again it never is in the Leicester Mercury)!”

“I think she was sacked because the Head Teacher and the Governors could feel a shed load of heat coming their way and sacking her was the easy way out stating it was the right thing to do. Any parent who has had a 'spirited' 9 year old would know they can be a real handful, and if you've got a couple of them going at it, arms going like windmills, you could easily get a whack on the nose when getting between them. I think the Teaching Assistant should have got a pat on the back and an apple from the Head for showing the kind of guts that most Teachers up and down our Land wish they were allowed to display. I know we have heard only some of the facts, Did the Teaching Assistant change her plea because she couldn't afford further Legal Representation? We won't ever know there may be all sorts of reasons, but one day that 9 year old oik, will look for trouble with the wrong person, when there may not be anybody about to stop HIM getting a whack.”

“@Jaurodnjo

You misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting that staff shouldn't break up fights, where did you get that idea from? I also made it clear that I don't think that this teacher should have necessarily been sacked.

In fact without having witnessed the incident or hearing the evidence in full I find it difficult to catagorically fall on either side of the argument with absolute certainty. It may be a 'joke' of a decision but she seems to have admitted culpability rather quickly so doesn't that suggest that she herself feels that she could have handled it differently?

By that I don't mean do nothing. Its just that if you are going to physically restrain a child it shouldn't be done in anger - it should be measured and controlled. The fact that so many people feel this child 'deserved' rough treatment because of previous behaviour tells me they have no respect for the law in general. This was a fight yes? Do you know that it was caused by the boy? Did the teacher know at the time? Was it her role to hand out some sort of summary justice?

When all the details of the case emerge I may well agree with you that this woman had done nothing wrong but right now how can anyone be certain either way.”

“@MacMonkey74

behave yourself, most parents would want fights breaking up to prevent serious injury to their children, as the article states the child had no lasting injurys maybe that would have been different if she had stood and watched.

as the artice STATES the child was a problem child and has been in trouble before, as others have said this is a joke”

“@Clifton bank studios

With no-one on here actually witnessing the alleged assault it's a bit presumptuous to assume that the teaching assistant couldn't have handled this incident differently.

In the news recently a man rugby tackled a mugger to the ground, he was commended not charged with assault. I assume that is because he did what was necessary to halt the muggers progress and then held him until police arrived.

I'm pretty sure if the same have a go hero and gone a little further a dished out a little extra rough treatment he may have got himself in trouble with the law himself.

Now I'm not saying that the woman in the story did this as the details are pretty vague, I'm just pointing out that her only other option may not have simply been to 'stand by and do nothing' it might have been to deal with the incident in a way that stops the fight but didn't involve the possible disproportionate force she is accused of.

To that end I think that teaching staff do need specific training in what is appropriate in the restraining of a child and even if this woman had used too much force I still think its harsh that she was sacked because of a heat of the moment action that she presumably carried out with the best of intentions.”

“@Homesickalien. "Has the world gone mad?". Yes, it happened some time ago and I am hoping against hope that this new government will grasp the nettle and re-introduce the common sense that has long been absent in many areas. It has already decided that if a burglar enters someones home he leaves his 'human rights' on the doorstep, here's hoping they tackle the classroom next.”

“Quite simply, the message is "Stand by and do nothing," If some child gets injured, so be it. That's the choice society has now made. I feel so sorry for this poor woman who has been sacked and I'm also appalled that this happened before the court case. So much for 'innocent until proven guilty'. An exercise in covering one's backside if ever I heard one but again, the head is looking after his/her job first of all.”

“Seems to be a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. Scenario's well known by social workers nd some medical staff”