Toronto mother speaks out after 5 year-old-daughter says teacher taped her to chair

Shelly received an email in late May that took her completely by surprise — a parent had written that their daughter had said something alarming at home.

Later, in a phone call, that parent said her child told her she'd seen their teacher tape Shelly's daughter to a chair in their classroom to prevent her from getting up so much.

"I was in shock," said Shelly, which is a pseudonym. CBC News has agreed to not use her name to protect the identity of her daughter, a kindergarten student.

"I kept replaying it in my head. And at first, you just want to believe that a teacher would never do something like that."

Shelly says she later spoke to her five-year-old daughter, who told her the teacher did tape her to the chair.

"She told me she was supposed to be sitting in her seat and kept getting up. And so the teacher told her that she was going to have to put tape on her so that she wouldn't get up any more.".

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) says the teacher at Seventh Street Junior School has been put on home assignment. The board has also confirmed it's investigating allegations that two children were taped to chairs. It's not the first time an Ontario teacher has faced allegations like this. Early childhood experts say the practice should never be employed and warn it could have long-term impacts.

Shelly says trying to talk to her daughter about the incident was challenging. She says every time they tried to bring it up she got "visibly agitated" and asked to talk about something else. But she says she was able to get her to demonstrate what happened.

"I sat down and she showed me that a piece of green tape was placed across her thighs on to the sides of the chair."  Her daughter told her it happened more than once, Shelly told CBC News. 

Shelly says she immediately notified the principal at the school and the Children's Aid Society.

The TDSB told CBC News it contacted its Employee Services department, Children's Aid Society and the Toronto Police Service.

But Shelly says one of her biggest frustrations is that other parents weren't immediately alerted to what happened.

"I felt really conflicted that I was told to be discrete about the situation and not talk about it … These parents — what if it was happening to their child as well?"

A month later, a letter was sent home to parents informing them that the teacher had been put on leave.