Teacher held crying 6-year-old on ground despite pleas to let him go

When a pupil went to collect his bag from his classroom at the end of the school day, his teacher saw red. 

The 6-year-old had been misbehaving moments earlier and had been told by his teacher to sit on a grass area. 

When she saw him collecting his bag, she took him back to the grass area and, despite his father standing nearby to collect him, grabbed him by the neck area and pinned him forcefully to the ground. 

The boy’s father and the deputy principal told her to let the boy go, but she refused and the student showed signs of distress. 

The teacher, who has name suppression, has since failed to take full accountability for what happened, telling the Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), which investigated the incident, that she was trying to keep other students safe. 

“Whilst that day was a series of micro decisions made by me, many of which were good and for the benefit of keeping many of the children in my care safe, some of my actions negatively impacted on others.” 

Now, the Teacher’s Disciplinary Tribunal has censured the woman after finding her guilty of serious misconduct. 

Tribunal chairwoman Catherine Garvey said in a recently released decision that the teacher used unjustified and excessive force against a young learner and was not fully remorseful for her actions. 

In regard to the incident, the teacher was convicted of assault by a jury and in August 2024 was sentenced to 100 hours of community work. 

“The seriousness of the offending is reflected in the Sentencing Notes, in which Cameron DCJ referred to the conduct as being a ‘gross breach of trust’, with an extremely vulnerable victim who suffered a ‘profound negative effect’ as a consequence of the respondent’s conduct,” Garvey said. 

“Further, the Judge made clear that he rejected the respondent’s characterisation of events and found her not to be remorseful for her actions.” 

The incident occurred on March 2, 2023, at the end of a half-day at school. 

According to the Crown summary of facts provided to the tribunal, the teacher had told the student to sit outside on a grassed area with two other pupils after he misbehaved. 

When the student’s father arrived at the front of the school to pick him up, the pupil went back into the cloakroom near his classroom to get his school bag. 

The teacher saw the pupil inside and grabbed him by his left arm with her right hand. She then dragged him outside to where he had been seated with the other two pupils. 

The pupil started to resist and pull back. 

When they reached where he had been seated, the pupil pulled away again. 

The teacher reached behind the pupil’s neck with her left hand and continued to pull him. 

She then threw him towards the ground, causing him to land hard on his back. 

The teacher then got on to her knees, held the pupil down on his back and pressed down on his arms and chest. The boy was distressed, crying and trying desperately to escape. 

The pupil’s father, having seen what had taken place, went over and told the teacher to let his son go and stop fighting him. 

She replied that she was not fighting him and continued to hold him down. 

The deputy principal then arrived and asked the teacher to get up, but she did not. 

The deputy principal then asked the teacher several times to take her hands off the pupil, which she eventually did before moving away. 

The pupil saw a doctor the next day and was diagnosed with a neck strain. He also had trouble sleeping, experienced nightmares and wet the bed. 

The teacher told the CAC that she used a “familiar wrist hold to guide [the pupil] back … ” and asserted that she was attempting to de-escalate the situation and protect other pupils. 

“Whilst I hold concerns about how my defence was conducted at my criminal trial and the basis upon which I was convicted, I accept the prosecutor’s submission that censure in the circumstances is appropriate, as I have not appealed my conviction.” 

The summary of facts also recorded that the teacher denied throwing the pupil to the ground and said they had gone to the ground due to “momentum”. 

She told the CAC she was disappointed the incident took place as she misread the situation and exercised poor judgment. 

“I am living with the consequences of the actions that unfolded on the date of the incident. 

“I will continue to reflect on those actions, wishing I could have handled the incident differently for both my sake and the sake of the child involved. 

“The court outcome made it clear that the teaching career I loved so passionately was over.” 

The tribunal understood the woman did not intend to return to teaching. 

Brianna McIlraith is a Queenstown-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the lower South Island. She has been a journalist since 2018 and has had a strong interest in business and financial journalism.