A WOMAN said her six-year-old was left with ‘purple bruising up her arm’ following a reported assault involving her school teacher.

Kirsty Colarelli said her daughter Sienna’s behaviour became “very odd, and she clammed up” after she came home from Kings Park Academy on Wednesday, September 25.

Another teacher informed Kirsty of Sienna’s ‘out of character’ behaviour, and she decided to ask her daughter what happened.

Kirsty said: “The story she told us was that while she was lined up, a teacher told her off for talking.

“After she went out for playtime, the teacher found her, grabbed her by the arm, lifted her off the floor, and screamed at her to stand up.

“My little girl said she tried to get the teacher off her and said, ‘you’re hurting me’."

Kirsty explained that following the incident, Sienna is ‘absolutely petrified’ of going to school.

“My daughter should not be intimated by staff, she should be scared of consequences to her bad behaviour, but this should be missing a break or lunch not that somebody is going to physically harm her,” Kirsty added.

Kirsty said the school had not suspended the teacher involved; however, has ensured her that Sienna will not ‘bump into’ her as she has been moved to a different class.

The incident was reported to the police, who said: “Dorset Police received a report at 3.09pm on Monday, September 30, of an assault at King’s Park Academy in Ashley Road in Bournemouth.

“A child sustained bruising to her wrist. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the incident.”

Kirsty said she is ‘appalled’ by the school’s response to the incident.

“If my daughter arrived at school with fingerprint bruising up her arm, then I’d expect them to report it to social services and the police.

“Why are they protecting a teacher that hurt my child.”

King’s Park Academy spokesperson said: “We take the health and wellbeing of our pupils very seriously and have robust policies and procedures in place to ensure they are always well-cared for. 

“All our staff receive regular safeguarding training and are fully trained in handling approaches and de-escalation strategies which encourage positive behaviour in our school.

“We thoroughly investigate all allegations and will always act in the best interests of our children and their families.”