Stage 1 - "There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats!"

Returned to school from a training course I attended yesterday and asked Helena, the classroom assistant allocated to cover my lesson with a class how things had gone.  She told me that she had arrived for the lesson to find the class waiting outside of the classroom and Michael, a junior colleague, in the room with another class group.  She explained to Michael that the class were normally taught in the classroom and that in my absence, I had given her work to undertake with the class.  The work required the resources located in the classroom.  Helena got increasingly upset as she explained what happened.  In front of the class, Michael had responded rudely and insisted that she take the class to another room while he stayed where he was.  She was upset at Michael’s treatment of her and was worried about my reaction to her not being able to undertake the work with the class that I had requested.  I told her not to worry and that I would see Michael.  As a senior manager, I felt justified in seeing him to explain the effect of his response on Helena and ask him for an explanation.  Michael responded by sticking his chest out with his shoulders and arms thrown backward and his face very close to mine and said aggressively “What is it to do with you?”  Shocked, I replied that his response was aggressive and inappropriate.  He replied again aggressively and adopting his aggressive stance “What are you going to do about it?”

I left and found Philip, the Headteacher, told him that I was angry and shocked at Michael’s response to my reasonable request for an explanation and informed him that I had been physically threatened.  I mimicked Michael’s actions and the words he used.  Philip replied that he would see Michael and deal with it. 

Lessons learned/What I could have done differently

• Asked Helena to provide a written report of Michael’s behaviour towards her
• Submitted a written report of the incident, including Helena’s report, to the Headteacher rather than relying on a verbal report (Philip later denied any knowledge of the incident being reported to him)