The Teaching Assistant
By 
Matt Watson
A nine-year-old girl becomes increasingly distressed as subtle changes at school begin to isolate her from her friends.
A note from Erika's mother
A note from Erika's mother
I don't know who's going to read this, or whether it will do any good. But I've spent the last few months trying to piece together what actually happened to my daughter, because nobody at that school, or that company, seemed interested in giving me a straight answer.
What follows is everything I've managed to gather - some of it through the police, some of it through complaints I made myself, and one thing I found that I still don't fully understand, but that I think matters.
I'm not a journalist. I'm not an investigator. I'm just her mum, and I wasn't going to stop asking questions.
I've put it together in the order that made most sense to me as I tried to understand what happened.
Emergency Services Call Transcript
Witness Statement - J. Farrow
I want to say first that I like her. I want that on record. Whatever this looks like, I like that little girl. I really do.
I've been asked to explain the seating plans.
We use an app called Greenleaf. It's meant to optimise classroom dynamics - who sits where, who partners with who for group work, who gets picked for which activity. The school adopted it in January. Every morning it sends me a plan. I follow it.
I didn't choose where Erika sat. The app did. I want that understood.
At the start of the year she was in the middle table, with her two best friends, in the top reading group. I remember that because I remember thinking it was a nice group - they got on well, they helped each other.
By half term the app had her moving constantly - a different table most weeks, in and out of different reading groups. I remember seeing her name in different places, but there were plenty of other kids being moved around too, so it never struck me as unusual.
I noticed. I did notice. I told myself the app knew things I didn't. Reading levels, personality assessments, whatever it was measuring. I just assumed it was for her benefit.
I was keen to do it properly. We were being told Greenleaf was best practice, and with Ofsted coming I didn't want to be the person ignoring the system because I thought I knew better. I suppose that meant I kept following it longer than I should have.
Her mother came in. She said Erika didn't want to come to school anymore. She said she'd stopped talking about her friends at home. I told her we were keeping an eye on things. I meant it when I said it.
You've asked me whether I ever questioned a single one of the app's instructions.
No. Not once. Not all year. I thought about it, but I didn't question it.
You've shown me the seating plans printed out, side by side, January to now. I can see how often she was moved when they're laid out like that. I couldn't see it one day at a time.
The other children moved around and then ended up back with their usual groups. Erika didn't.
I need to ask something. Is she alright? Nobody will tell me if she's alright.
Letter to parents - ██████ Primary School
I am writing to you directly, as I understand rumours have been circulating and I want to let you know that we are acting as transparently as we possibly can.
As many of you will already be aware, one of our Year 4 pupils has not been in school for two weeks, and her family has taken the difficult decision to withdraw her from our roll. I want to be clear that this is a private family matter, and out of respect for the family's wishes, I will not be sharing further details.
I understand the school community talks, and of course this is human nature. I would ask, gently, that you be mindful of what is said in front of children, and mindful of what is said to each other. Speculation helps no one, least of all a nine-year-old girl and her family who are going through something none of us fully understand.
What I can tell you is that the school takes the wellbeing of every child extremely seriously. Following this, and in the interests of being fully transparent with you, we have begun an internal review of our classroom management practices - including the digital tools we use to support teaching staff. This review is precautionary. I want to stress that.
If your own child has expressed any concerns about changes in friendship groups, seating arrangements, or how they feel in class this year, please do get in touch with your child's teacher directly. We are listening.
I know this letter raises more questions than it answers. I'm afraid that, for now, that's the most honest thing I can offer you.
With thanks for your patience and discretion,
Internal School Note - Welfare Referral
Family Support Line referral received regarding welfare concerns raised by parent. Reported: pupil withdrawn at home, reluctance to attend school, reports of change in friendship group and general low mood.
Discussed briefly with class teacher and TA. No specific incidents identified. Pupil's attendance and behaviour in class noted as unremarkable by teaching staff.
Recommend monitoring. No further action required at this time.
Internal Staff Memo - Classroom Management Compliance
Following our recent Ofsted preparation review, all staff are reminded that Greenleaf classroom management recommendations should be followed consistently and without deviation, in line with our commitment to data-driven best practice.
Staff are reminded that deviations from Greenleaf's recommended seating and grouping structures must be logged and justified in writing, and may be reviewed as part of ongoing performance monitoring.
We understand some staff have raised informal concerns about specific placements. While we welcome feedback through the proper channels, please be mindful that unstructured deviation from the system risks undermining the consistency Ofsted inspectors will be looking for during our upcoming visit.
Thank you for your continued professionalism during this period.
Non-Emergency Support Line Call Transcript
Email - L. Shaw to H. Bradley (class teacher)
Hi Mrs Bradley,
Sorry to email so late. I've been meaning to raise this for a while but kept thinking it would sort itself out.
Erika started the year sitting next to Amelia and Sophie. She talked about them constantly - Amelia especially. Around March she stopped mentioning them. When I asked she said they didn't sit together anymore. I assumed it was just one of those things.
But then last week she came home very upset. She said she's been moved to a table by the door and that the girls she sits with don't like her. She doesn't know why it keeps happening. She said it feels like she's done something wrong but she doesn't know what. Has she been disruptive at all in class?
I asked Julian Farrow and he said the seating was set by the school system and he couldn't change it. He did seem a bit uncomfortable to discuss it.
I managed to get a copy of the term's seating records through the office. I've been looking through them. I don't really understand what I'm looking at but something doesn't look right to me. Her score next to Amelia's name goes from 93 in January to 9 in June. No one has explained what that means or why it's dropped.
Erika hasn't wanted to go to school for the past few weeks. On Friday morning she wouldn't get out of the car.
I just want to understand what's happening to my daughter.
Personal notes - Greenleaf / Verdant connection
Looked up Greenleaf properly tonight. Their website says "built by teachers, for teachers." The About page has stock photos.
Found their Companies House entry. Registered February 2023. Registered office: Unit 4, Halcyon Business Park, Reading. Looked up the address. Four other companies registered there:
Verdant Solutions Ltd
Halcyon Data Services Ltd
Northgate Infrastructure Ltd
Halcyon Leisure Ltd
Googled Verdant Solutions. Website is basically empty. "Data-led community development." No names, no team page, nothing.
Searched Verdant + ██████ Council. Three procurement contracts in the last two years. Transport. Housing. Schools.
I don't know what any of this means. But Erika hasn't been in school for eleven days and no one has given me a straight answer.
Going to call the council tomorrow.
A final note from Erika's mother
A final note from Erika's mother
I still don't have all the answers.
A company called Greenleaf made decisions about my daughter's life for months, and nobody at that school ever asked why, or who was behind it.
Erika still won't talk about what happened. Not really. She's getting better, slowly.
I don't know what Verdant really is. I don't know if anyone will ever be held accountable for any of this.
I just wanted it written down.
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