Thanks girls Just an update: the junior headmistress rang back later that afternoon (I had made the appointment with her assistant). She said her assistant had mentioned my concerns (I had to briefly explain the nature of the meeting which was hard in itself!) and the headmistress didn't want me dwelling on it all weekend so said we could have a chat about it then (it was 6.45pm! I felt bad that she was still at work!). So I told her what my daughter had said. I said I felt extremely uncomfortable "putting down" this teacher on the phone but she was very encouraging. She acknowledged that Ms R has a very "dynamic style" (hmmm) and that she had also received a lot of positive feedback from other parents this year (I know the way team leaders always support their staff... so took this with a grain of salt). However she heard all my concerns and asked if DD might like to have a meeting with her too. I said she would, and i think the teacher meant just one-on-one but I think I'll sit-in on it just in case! The tricky thing about the scenario is that a lot of my daughter's more "*****y" (for want of a better word) friends are in the other teacher's class so I don't want to necessarily push for a change either.

I agree with being a little more outspoken though girls... I'll monitor DD's situation very closely and be on MS R's case next year. Perhaps we can turn a negative into a positive and the teacher will evetunally make sure (just like you said naomi) DD feels extra comfortable in her class. I probably need a lesson in assertion myself and maybe this is why this is happening too! (Just me being philosophical) Thanks for your advice again girls... I feel a lot more confident tackling this issue now