Mum’s fury at Derbyshire school after seven-year-old son ‘searched for knife’ without her knowledge

Melisssa Clark, 24, says she is appalled with staff at Swanwick Primary School who she claims pressured her son into admitting he had brought a plastic knife into school.

The incident took place on Wednesday morning, with the Year 2 pupil being taken out of class to have his coat and bag searched following allegations reportedly made by another parent.

Melissa and her husband Cameron are now looking to move their son from Swanwick Primary following the ‘traumatic’ ordeal.

“I got a phone call off the headteacher, Mandy Fogg. She told me that a parent had rang up to say that my son had taken a knife into school,” Melissa said.

"They said they’d brought my son out of his class and they’d looked in his coat and bag but there was nothing on him. I was just shocked, I didn’t know what to say.

"The search was without my knowledge or my consent. They rang me after they’d done that, baring in mind he’s seven-years-old. He’s in Year 2, he’s been in no trouble at all at school, he’s the most sensitive little kid ever.”

She added: “He got home and he was very upset, he was traumatised by it. It was like shell shock. He wasn’t wanting to say anything and he was just so confused about the situation.

“I don’t want him to go back and I’ve told the school he’s not going back. We’ve applied for a move.

"I’m just so angry. He’s such a good little kid. We go in his bag every morning and go in his coat as I put his snack in there.”

Melissa said her son had a toy plastic knife but had not taken it into school.

According to the Department for Education, schools can have a statutory power to search pupils or their possessions, without consent, where they have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the pupil may have a prohibited item such as a knife.

Mandy Fogg, head teacher at Swanwick Primary School said: “We followed the school’s procedures in dealing with this incident. We did not search the child, but searched his coat and bag without the child being present and didn’t find anything on that day.

“I’d like to reassure all our parents that our investigation found that a plastic toy knife was brought in to school earlier in the week accidentally by one of our pupils, but at no time was any child in any danger.”

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