A headteacher who suffered life-changing injuries after a notoriously violent student hit her with a desk chair has won a six-figure payout.
Michelle Stone was left in a wheelchair after being attacked by a special educational needs (SEN) student – who had previously attacked two other teachers.
The 50-year-old had been stepping in to protect colleagues but was hit in the spine, leaving her with chronic pain, broken ribs and psychological trauma.
The ‘highly trained’ staff, including Mrs Stone, had repeatedly warned the administration of the SEN school that measures needed to be put in place to protect staff and other students.
But her suggestions to transfer the violent student to a more specialised school were ignored by Clay Hill School in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, leading up to the attack.
Mrs Stone, from Bournemouth, Dorset, sought legal actions as she believed the school’s alleged failings contributed to the assault in May 2019.
Before the trial went to court, she received a six-figure settlement.
The ex-teacher, who has had to give up the job she loves, has now spoken out to help ensure ‘no one else goes through’ a similar ‘deeply troubling’ case.
Michelle Stone, 50, was left in a wheelchair after being attacked by a special educational needs (SEN) student who hit her with a chair
Mrs Stone had been stepping in to protect colleagues but was hit in the spine, leaving her with chronic pain, broken ribs and psychological trauma
Mrs Stone (pictured with her family) sought legal actions as she believed the school’s alleged failings contributed to the assault in May 2019
After having to give up the job she loved, Mrs Stone has now spoken out to help ensure ‘no one else goes through’ a similar ‘deeply troubling’ case
Mrs Stone said: ‘I loved my job and worked hard to support my students and staff. But I was placed in an impossible situation – one that was preventable. I want to make sure no one else goes through this.
‘This was a specialist school where every pupil had a range of additional needs, and it’s important to make clear that staff were highly trained and experienced in managing challenging – and often dangerous – situations, but the behaviour of this particular pupil went beyond what we were equipped to manage safely and that’s why I raised my concerns.
‘I was worried not only for my staff, but for the safety of the said pupil and the other children in the school.
‘I felt that the most appropriate solution would have been to transfer the pupil to another more specialised facility, which was also run by the same company, but my concerns were ignored.’
Joanne Soccard, a workplace assaults specialist at Thompsons Solicitors, who represented Mrs Stone, said: ‘This is a deeply troubling case. Our client followed every procedure, raised concerns, and asked for help – but the support simply wasn’t there.
‘Schools must act on known risks and take responsibility before serious harm occurs, not after.
‘Where safeguarding measures are insufficient, it can have serious implications for the staff, and for the pupils themselves.
‘There are teachers all over the country working in increasingly complex environments without the protection they deserve. If schools are serious about staff wellbeing, they must learn from this – and act.’
A 2024 Ofsted report ranked Clay Hill School as good, saying that ‘this is a happy school where pupils achieve well, despite the complex barriers that some face’.
Clay Hill School declined to comment.