A COURT case over a pupil hit by a school secretary could have been avoided, the victim’s family said.

As previously reported, Jane Farmer, 57, of Brook Avenue, New Milton was found guilty of hitting a pupil on his arm at Arnewood School, New Milton, in January this year.

She was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates’ Court earlier this week and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

But the family of the victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said the court case was avoidable and claimed the school could have done more to avoid it.

The father of the victim said: “I’m disappointed. As parents we never wanted it to go to court but we had no options but to carry out an investigation. The school is more responsible than Mrs Farmer.”

He said a formal letter from the school acknowledging the incident and apologising for it along with Mrs Farmer’s apology would have been enough.

“Nothing involved in this incident was put on paper. The school should have acknowledged the incident. There was not need to take the case to court. We would have done everything we could to prevent that,” he said.

The victim’s father said the experience has been traumatic.

“Our son suffered four months of anxiety because he was worrying about the court case. He is finding difficult to trust people. He always said she was the last person he thought would hit him. We are trying to let him understand it was a one-off incident. We are just trying to move on.”

The court heard how Farmer was of previous good character.

“She has already paid a huge cost because she has lost her job and her career and it’s a shame that happened because none of this should have happened”, the victim’s father said.

In a statement the school said Farmer was formally suspended pending an internal investigation.

After a disciplinary hearing it was decided that a final written warning was “a suitable punishment for what was a one-off incident in an otherwise 12-year unblemished record at Arnewood.”

In the statement the school said Farmer undertook further safeguarding training, but a police investigation was opened following a request from the victim’s family.

Farmer was suspended in May as she was facing criminal charges and according to the school she resigned after her conviction.

When asked if the school acknowledged the incident sending a formal letter to the victim’s family, a spokesperson from Arnewood School said: “We do acknowledge that no formal apology was issued but all due processes were followed.

“We provided support to the student at the time.

“No further comment will be made.”