Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine arrested - The vindictiveness of the school and police overreach

This is really good to read. Hopefully more schools will follow their example in reporting abusive parents, and abusive parents will realise their actions have consequences.

Yes, both now at 6th form, DD about to turn 18.
Shows how long schools have been behaving in a disagree and you're for it way.

I find an eye roll to myself and clicking out of a thread and carrying on with my day without further ado deals appropriately with any messages on group WhatsApp threads I either am not interested in or don't agree with. It's very simple and easy. No need to go running off to tell tales and create drama.

It would be interesting to hear how he thought the school were 'evasive' in their initial reply to him.

After all, he wasn't a governor anymore and really, some LA jobs don't have to be advertised.

Maybe the school's finances were in trouble and they could no longer afford a deputy, so appointed them as head to save their job. Perhaps they didn't want to share that information.

I mean, he does sound like a dog with a bone and there was probably bad feeling all around.

Maybe the school were going down the route of 'cease and desist'. How it got to this point though seems very odd.

He makes a compelling case though, that's for sure.

I really think his 'crime' was taking politics about the school onto a WhatsApp group mainly dedicated to packed lunches and non-school uniform days. Some people took umbrage at him being 'no better than he ought to be' (or: full of himself).

He comes across as very focused and involved and due process matters to him. Maybe his soft skills are lacking and some people (certainly whoever dobbed him into the head) felt uncomfortable at being asked to have an opinion.

That said, his partner was also implicated, but it certainly sounds like someone thought they had overstepped what is appropriate for a parent's group. It's the 'what happened next' that is concerning.

disagree.. i don't want to post on that thread, its full of teaching staff ripping two parents apart and blaming them and cheering on a school that seriously overstepped their rights.

parents have EVERY right to hold public services to account, and to talk about them with friends however they like on whatever platform they like. There is nothing that family did that was illegal.

Definitely agree that the public need to be able to hold public services to account - and that often involves talking to others, whether it’s positive or negative.

and absolutely the police need to consider up front whether an offence is likely to have been committed before turning up. Sometimes the police are a bit too keen to support other public sector organisations (I work with them so I have this from first hand experience) and on occasions need to engage their small p political antanae before rushing to act. As the force has done themselves no favours with this publicity.

What powers do they think they have to stop people have private conversations about them?!

It's insane that they even think they can do this. Not even the government can exert that kind of power. Nor should they, of course.

Any school head or governor who thinks they can do this is worryingly controlling. Or deluded. Or both. And likely unfit for the office they hold.

I agree there is a concerning lack of accountability in schools. I found the report about that couple absolutely shocking.

They made a statement claiming he had sent them a large number of emails so they reported him to the police. Obviously he sent the emails as he was banned from contacting them on any other platform.

That’s nuts and very similar to what’s happened here. It’s incredibly authoritarian that anyone in public services thinks that they can ban people from having a private conversation about them, negative or positive. We need to see major reform here.

I appreciated the link to the Heretic video which I think was first highlighted on this thread.

Also, I don't think he was 'poor us' at all in that interview (it's the only one I've seen). In fact, he was very clear in saying that this wasn't a 'life-changing' moment. The interviewer tried to lead him down the 'how has this affected your 3 year old, sad-face' route and he shut that down pretty quickly, actually.

Obviously I've only heard his side, but if the school is as measured and focused in their response as Mr Allen is, then it would make the whole incident much more nuanced. It would be interesting to hear from them (have we? I don't know!)

Also people talking to other and/or the press is literally how lots of important scandals are brought to light! Winterbourne, mental health hospital abuse, maternity scandals, spy families etc etc.

'Put up and shut up' is not always the right thing to do.

Eh? Home educate your kids if you want to have opinions about public services?

You keep saying these things, everyone who says anything in favour of people not being arrested for their opinions is biased according to you. what evidence do you have that the couple have done anything wrong at all never mind unlawful?

I think everyone needs to accept that schools / teachers are not always the righteous pillars of community we expect them to be. All institutions have the potential for corruption, dishonesty, bad cultures and abuse.

One of my DC's schools sent a letter out trying to ban parents from talking to each other about anything to do with the school at all. It was completely delusional, people will talk about whatever they want unless there's an actual law against it (confidentiality etc).

Dad is a very articulate journalist I gather.Handy when you want to cause trouble. Home educate your kids if you have that many issues with the school or move them. Stop being dicks on social media and whipping up a frenzy in WhatsApp. I’m not a teacher and nor would I ever want yo be one if it means dealing with people like this.

His “oh poor us” rhetoric is not fooling me, more fool you if taken in by it.

Needs reviewing but ffs who would be a teacher these days?

Gobby parents disparaging them on social media, this couple clearly so OTT they were not allowed on school premises.

Whether this action was proportionate remains to be seen but I suspect a good part of the review is due to the fact it’s been printed in newspapers.

High time schools had some bite back.

Don’t agree. This thread has a different tone to the other.

Kind of makes it clear that there’s not much substance in the idea that standards in state schools will improve when the ‘mouthy middle class’ parents of ex private school kids engage.

If the school management is toxic and governors captured, looks like nothing can be done, especially where supposedly independent organs of the state like the police will do their bidding!

There’s already a massive thread on this topic. I think it might be time for MN to have an anti-duplication thread policy.