Lily, your story made me want to cry. We had a similar situation last year when my DS6 was being treated badly by a teacher. It started with him getting into trouble for reading during library time and not getting up when called (he was engrossed in his book and hadn't heard her). She then made fun of him sucking his thumb in front of all his classmates and told him "You are in Year X now and don't need to suck your thumb like a baby" - he sucks his thumb when he is thinking or needing comforting. It escalated when she shoved him into line after swimming lessons one day as he didn't move forward fast enough, my DS said that he was just leaving personal space between him and the boy in front of him. We removed him from the school immediately and emergency home-schooled for a few weeks and then moved area to a school that could cater for him. Like in your case the teacher disputed what DS said (although our DS would never make up a story like that, and this teacher is known for being hotheaded) and the Head was very confrontational with us - there was a total breakdown of trust and I couldn't let DS continue there.
He is now really happy and we have no problems at all. He still doesn't go to sleep well at night and isn't quite skipping into school, but we are getting there. It is amazing how much their personality can change when there are problems. Our DS became very upset about the smallest thing and stopped wanting to see friends. There has been a lot of upheaval for us but it has been worth it.
I hope that your change is also working out well for you, what a mean thing that teacher did to your DS! I totally agree with you that children need to be aware that adults are not always right/fair etc.
X Tiz
