Young children dragged and hit
Three teachers have been barred, and a fourth reprimanded, for using physical force against young children.
Preschoolers were smacked, force-fed, dragged by their arms, and their hair pulled by three of the teachers. The other, a primary school teacher, grabbed a 4-year-old child with Down Syndrome by the face, twisted her nose and scratched her neck.
Dr Sarah Alexander, chief executive of early childhood education organisation ChildForum, said the judgments, released by the NZ Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal last week, highlighted the need for better recruitment and mentoring processes in early childhood centres. ‘‘When you hear cases like this it’s a sign that things are not all well within the early childhood system. It’s no excuse for a teacher hurting a child but there are very high stressors out there,’’ she said.
All the behaviour addressed in the tribunal’s decisions occurred in 2015 and 2016.
Loisi Janene Finau was dismissed from her job at Community Kindy in Otahuhu, Auckland, after pulling the hair of four boys who had pulled plants from the centre’s garden.
‘‘In the course of dealing with the children’s behaviour, she would grab them by the arm, pinch and shake them or drag them by their arms ... She used abusive and sarcastic language around the children,’’ the tribunal’s decision to censure Finau said. She denied the allegations but ultimately took responsibility. But the tribunal said the deregistered teachers – Joanne Hosking, Yvonne Te Peeti and Michelle Griffiths – showed little remorse. Hosking denied claims she smacked, dragged and forcefed a child, and swore around children at Best Start Edukids Shirley in Christchurch.
Te Peeti, who manhandled the child with Down Syndrome, ‘‘demonstrated no insight’’ into the seriousness of her actions and believed she had been ‘‘unfairly targeted’’, the tribunal said.
The tribunal was concerned the school’s board of trustees had investigated two other instances where Te Peeti used physical force against students. The name of the school was not disclosed.
Michelle Griffiths, who pushed a ‘‘challenging’’ child to the ground and pulled him back up by his arm, also ‘‘continues to maintain that she has done nothing wrong’’. Her conduct at Child’s Play Preschool, Ashburton, was ‘‘accompanied by anger and emotion’’, the tribunal said.
Alexander also said an independent body for reporting providers was needed.
‘‘It’s a sign that things are not all well within the early childhood system.’’ Dr Sarah Alexander, chief executive of ChildForum