Isabella’s bruise - a mock interview

Hi darling, how was your day?

Hhhmmmmh.

What?

Isabella, can you reach my sunglasses?

They’re in my bag.

Oww.

What happened?

Did you hurt yourself?

Can you show me where it hurts?

That’s a nasty bruise.

What happened?

Mrs Grey. Don’t say anything.

Me tienes que decir que pasó, si no, no te puedo ayudar! (You need to tell me what happened, otherwise I cannot help you!)

I’m going to talk to someone at school about this.

Here you are, James.

You asked to see Isabella.

Oh hey Isabella! Thanks for coming to see me.

Could you see that we’re not disturbed?

Good to see you again Isabella.

One of my jobs at school is to talk to children about things that may have happened.

We’re going to have a talk, and then I’m going to take you back to your mum.

Can you come back and teach us?

I’d love to. But I can’t this week. Soon, though.

So Isabella, we’re going to have a talk.

But before we do, I need to tell you a few things.

When you talk here today, you can use any words you want.

I’m going to write down what you say because it helps me remember.

I might ask something you don’t understand.

Just say ‘I don’t understand.’

I might ask you something and you don’t know the answer.

Just say ‘I don’t know.’

It’s important that you say only what happened.

Is that okay?

Sure.

Sometimes when I talk to children, it helps to talk about something fun that happened first.

Is that okay with you?

Sure.

Tell me something fun you like to do.

Reading and going rock climbing.

Oh cool. I’ve never done rock climbing before.

Tell me everything about the last time you went rock climbing.

I went with my dad.

Uh huh

And when we got there I had to put rock climbing shoes on.

Uh huh

And I climbed the wall with the grey rocks first.

What happened next?

My friend and I climbed all the really hard walls.

And we had ropes and harnesses. And then she belayed me.

Uh huh

And then we did boulder climbing, some games, and after that we went home.

Tell me more about the part where you put the rock climbing shoes on?

Well they’re really tight on your toes and over time they can shrink your feet.

What happened when you climbed the really hard walls?

We talked along the way and the rocks were really far apart.

Mmm hmm

You have to bend your feet a lot and make sure you don’t fall off.

But I didn’t. I love it sooooo much.

Now, let’s talk about why you’re here.

Tell me what you’ve come to talk to me about today.

Because I brought chocolate to school?

No. It’s not about that.

I heard that you have a mark on your arm.

Oh.

And I can see that you have a mark on your arm.

Do you know how you got that mark?

Yes.

Tell me everything that happened, start from the beginning.

Thomas... rang the bell. And everyone started to put things away.

Uh huh.

I put my work away real fast.

Uh huh.

And I went to line up by the door.

And what happened then?

I wanted to be first in line so that I could get the guinea pigs first.

Then what happened?

Mrs Grey said that I couldn’t be first in line.

Because I hadn’t put my work away yet.

Uh huh.

I told her it wasn’t my work on the floor.

What happened after that?

She said it didn’t matter, that I had to put it away anyway.

Mhmm.

She grabbed me up by the arm.

Grabbed you?

Yeah, really hard.

What happened then?

I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let go.

And then?

She dragged me to the table to put the work away.

You said Mrs Grey grabbed you Isabella.

I wasn’t there, so it’s important that you tell me everything that happened, in as much detail as you can remember.

Mrs Grey said “Come back and put this work away!”

Uh huh.

But I needed to be first in line to play with the guinea pigs.

Mhmm.

Mrs Grey grabbed my arm like this.

What happened then?

That’s all.

What happened when she grabbed your arm really hard?

She just dug her fingers and pushed hard.

It really hurt.

Mhmm.

And I said ‘Ouch’ and then she stopped.

Stopped?

Yes, she pulled her hand away.

I was really mad.

And what happened after she pulled her hand away?

She said that we could all go out and she would put the rest of the work away.

That’s all.

Tell me more about the part when you went out to play.

She said we could all go out to play and she would do the rest of the clean up.

I got to hold the guinea pigs and then we had art class.

We had art class with Miss Beck.

Thanks for that.

Now we’re just going to have a quick break.

You can stay in this room.

I need to check my notes to see if there’s anything else I need to ask you.

Is that okay with you?

Okay.

Do you need anything? A drink?

Thank you, Isabella.

Isabella, thanks for waiting.

I just have a few more questions to ask you.

Is that okay?

Okay.

You said that yesterday Mrs Grey grabbed your arm.

Is that the same place as the mark or a different place?

The same.

You said you were in a classroom when she grabbed your arm.

What classroom were you in?

Just homeroom.

Who else was in the classroom when she grabbed you?

All the other kids.

Other kids?

All the 3B kids.

Have you had a class with Mrs Grey since this happened?

Mmm… No.

Did Mrs Grey say anything to you when she grabbed your arm?

Yes.

She said “Come back and put the mess on the floor away”.

But it wasn’t my mess.

Has there been another time when Mrs Grey has grabbed your arm too hard?

No. She usually thinks I put my work away.

Well thank you for talking to me today, Isabella.

Is there anything you want to ask me?

No.

I’m going to take you back to your mum now.

And while we’re walking, I’d love to hear more about your rock climbing.

Can you tell me all about it?

Yep.

Alright. Let’s go.