Head teacher sacked for tapping own child’s hand with fingers wins tribunal case

An experienced primary school head teacher sacked for assault after tapping her own son’s hand to stop him playing with a bottle of hand sanitiser was unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Shelly-Ann Malabver-Goulbourne was reported by a colleague for allegedly hurting her son unnecessarily while working late in her office.

The complaint resulted in the head teacher being suspended and a police investigation.

But the mother argued all she had done was tap the three-year-old with two fingers to get his attention and stop him from injuring himself with the substance.

Agreeing with the head teacher’s version of events and upholding her claim of unfair dismissal, an employment judge ruled her actions could not be considered “unnecessary physical contact”.

Ms Malabver-Goulbourne was head of Northwold Primary School in Hackney, east London, which is run by the Arbor Academy Trust, having joined in 2005 and been head since 2017.

In January 2022, she was working late in her office after a meeting with fellow teacher Samantha Bhagwandas, who was the designated lead for safeguarding, an east London employment tribunal was told.

The head’s three-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, both pupils at the school, were in her office with her waiting to be taken home, the tribunal heard.

The tribunal hearing was told Ms Malabver-Goulbourne had been trying to stop her three-year-old from playing with a bottle of hand sanitiser after he had squirted some of the liquid on the floor.

Two weeks earlier, the boy had ended up with sanitiser in his eye after playing with a bottle.

After watching the interaction, Ms Bhagwandas told the head teacher she should “not have hurt her son”, to which Ms Malabver-Goulbourne replied that all she had done was tap him with two fingers to get his attention, the tribunal heard.

Two days later, Ms Bhagwandas reported the incident to the CEO of the school trust, saying she had seen the head “smack” her son on the hand, the tribunal was told.

The head teacher told a subsequent investigation by the school trust that her son had not cried from her tapping the top of his hand but started “whining because she took the bottle away from him”, the tribunal heard.

She also pointed out that her action in tapping her son’s hand was “not chastisement as it was to remind the child of the dangers of playing with the sanitiser”.

After a meeting between the local authority and school trust, the decision was made to suspend Ms Malabver-Goulbourne who was not given any details of the allegation that had caused her suspension, the tribunal heard.

After speaking to Ms Bhagwandas, Ms Malabver-Goulbourne and her children, a police investigation concluded the mother’s actions were “reasonable chastisement” by a parent and amounted to a “minor incident”.

But after a further investigation and disciplinary hearing carried out by the school, officials sacked Ms Malabver-Goulbourne for gross misconduct.

Upholding the head teacher’s claim of unfair dismissal, employment judge Julia Jones said Ms Malabver-Goulbourne’s physical contact with her son came within the school’s code of conduct and could not be considered “unnecessary physical contact”.

Her son was “engaging in an activity that could have caused him harm”, and there was “no evidence that she had committed physical chastisement or an assault”, the judge added.

The amount of damages Ms Malabver-Goulbourne will receive from the academy trust will be decided at a later date.