Teacher sues school after beating from Year 5 pupil
Staff member was trying to protect reception-age child from older student when she was attacked
A PRIMARY school teacher who was beaten and kicked by a Year 5 pupil is suing her former employers for £25,000.
Jacqui Overfield was attempting to protect a reception-age child from an older one in the school lavatories at Francis Askew Primary School when she was attacked in 2019.
Mrs Overfield says she suffered a “sustained” attack by the older pupil, leaving her injured and traumatised and claims the school was negligent towards her.
She has subsequently retired from teaching and is now suing The Constellation Trust, which runs the primary school, for up to £25,000 compensation. Lawyers for the trust deny liability.
Before the alleged assault, Mrs Overfield had been a veteran primary school teacher of almost 20 years, describing herself online as a “passionate and creative primary-based teacher”.
According to documents filed at Central London County Court, she was set upon around lunchtime during a July day in 2019, a few months after she started at the school.
“During the course of her employment as a teacher at Francis Askew Primary, the claimant was in her classroom when a pupil rushed into the room, saying that ‘a Year 5 pupil was trying to get a reception kid by climbing over the toilet booth’,” say her lawyers.
“Whilst going to the aid of the younger pupil, the claimant was repeatedly kicked and punched by the Year 5 pupil in a sustained attack lasting several minutes. As a result, the claimant sustained injuries and losses. The incident was caused as a result of the negligence and/or breach of statutory duty of the defendant and/or the defendants employees or agents.”
In a pre-trial hearing at the court last week, it was revealed that Mrs Overfield sustained orthopaedic and psychiatric injuries, having been traumatised by the assault.
According to her online profile, Mrs Overfield, who lives in Hull, retired from the school, which has around 430 pupils aged between three and 11, in January last year.
No date has been set for a full trial of Mrs Overfield’s compensation claim.
The Constellation Trust includes 10 primary and secondary schools in the Hull area, as well as alternative provision for more troubled young people.
Writing on its website, Dr Cathy Taylor, the chief executive, says: “Our focus is on continual school improvement to ensure that all children are afforded the best possible opportunities to achieve and exceed their potential.
“Our trust prides itself on providing a friendly, caring, family of schools where everything we do is for the benefit of the children and families that we serve.
“We encourage pupils to have a ‘love of learning’ so that they become lifelong learners and achieve to the very best of their abilities.
“The Constellation Trust is a forward thinking and innovative organisation where a passionate and dynamic team work together to maximise opportunities in the best interest of our pupils.”