Page 26 | Police arrest parents who slate school on class WhatsApp

noblegiraffe · 2025-03-29T09:29:43+00:00

A primary school sought advice from the police after '“a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts” that had become upsetting for staff, parents and governors.' and the police response was to send 6 officers to their house to arrest the couple making the posts and put them in a cell all day. Although the couple sound like an absolute pain in the arse who should pack it in, 6 police officers seems like a teensy bit of overkill, particularly with the amount of crime currently going uninvestigated. But with schools faced with spiralling numbers of vexatious parental complaints, ^something^ needs to happen. I think some unions are starting to offer legal advice and template solicitor letters for this situation. [[https://www.thetimes.com/article/d8c8566b-99b1-45c6-814b-008042d74a3a?shareToken=6deab807d148cf7695ed4d9d3664c51e https://www.thetimes.com/article/d8c8566b-99b1-45c6-814b-008042d74a3a?shareToken=6deab807d148cf7695ed4d9d3664c51e]]

Firethehorse · 31/03/2025 16:12

This case is shocking and was not the one to choose to garner much needed support for schools and teachers.
We are told there will now be a police investigation into why this saga was ever allowed to take place with valuable police time being taken away from actual crime solving.
I hope the relevant school SLT will also be investigated, they appear to have overreached to an enormous extent. That’s so sad at a time when teachers need more respect, and even protection.
No-one is a winner here.

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 16:23

TheCastleDoesNotReply · 31/03/2025 15:50

Thank you for posting this. It is definitely worth watching and clears up much of the incorrect supposition/ conjecture on this thread. The statement from the school in particular was very interesting, stating that they “sought advice from the police because of a high volume of emails/ messages in conversations with other parents on social media and this was becoming upsetting for staff.”

Firstly, don’t snoop on other people’s private conversations if you don’t want to hear what they’re saying. Secondly, the police don’t investigate something if no allegation has been made and you have simply “sought advice”. And thirdly (and most importantly), someone being “upset” about something you said in a private conversation is not a crime. It’s also astonishing and rather hilarious - if it weren’t for the impact on these parents and their child that resulted from this incompetence - that the police didn’t even know the legal definition of the alleged crime for which they had made an arrest, or understand the distinction between civil and criminal offences even if any evidence of either existed, aside from them not being able to produce any evidence to substantiate any offence at all.

The interview also makes very clear that the emails the couple sent to the school were almost entirely about their child’s medical needs, the impact on their child of the school’s illegal “communication policy” which was preventing the school from complying with the Children and Families Act 2014 and the statutory SEND Code of Practice 2015, and was totally disproportionate and actually quite vindictive to this disabled child, to frogmarch her to and from the gate every day and to prevent her parents even attending her school play. The interview also, as I suspected, confirms that of course a large volume of emails was necessary because the school had banned the parents from communicating with the school in any other way and therefore it was the school’s own illegal policy that necessitated such a high volume of emails because the school had deliberately obstructed all normal, informal communication channels and this made it impossible for the care of a disabled child and her medical treatment during the school day when the school staff were in loco parentis to be co-ordinated properly. So the school effectively accused this couple of harassment due to a situation created entirely by the school’s own behaviour.

The parents appear to be very reasonable people and I find it very unlikely they’d have been prepared to publicise this matter in the way that they have if there was any evidence of any wrongdoing on their part as it would likely destroy their own reputations if any such evidence came to light. This appears to be a very clear case of school staff bullying the family of a disabled child to try to force her parents to withdraw her from the school which, as I’ve said several times on this thread, is much more common than many parents who don’t have disabled children might realise. It’s disgraceful and I feel so sorry for these parents and even more so for the vulnerable 9 year old whose life has been disrupted like this by this appalling and illegal behaviour from the staff at this school.

School staff should be aware that they also have personal safeguarding and duty of care responsibilities to all children in their care during the school day, and additional ones to disabled children, as well as the code of ethics and professional standards set by the TRA that they must follow, and that “my boss told me to do it” is not a valid legal defence if these matters ever come before a court. Likewise many school Governors don’t seem to understand their legal responsibilities.

I hope that an effective regulator is put in place to stamp out this kind of disgusting behaviour and these brave parents should be thanked for having the courage to come forward and expose the disgraceful behaviour of this school to public scrutiny. One can only hope it will make other teachers and schools think twice before behaving similarly and disabuse them of the mistaken belief that they have a legal right to prevent parents having private conversations about the school even if they find this inconvenient, that merely being criticised doesn’t constitute “harassment”, being “upset” about something doesn’t make it a “crime”.

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A tv interview by the same group that the person works for which has already put out a supporting piece in their paper for one of their managers.

Hardly a show of unbiased reporting.

saraclara · 31/03/2025 16:51

A tv interview by the same group that the person works for which has already put out a supporting piece in their paper for one of their managers.
Hardly a show of unbiased reporting.

Exactly.

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 16:58

zenactive · 31/03/2025 09:32

This is an interview with the parents. It is worth watching in full. I have to say I found the whole situation really distressing and incredibly depressing. The parents had moved their child to a different school one week before they were arrested. The child had epilepsy.

Having heard the parents speak, as an ex primary teacher I can see how these parents have been wrongly accused and treated terribly and quite honestly none of that surprises me in the least.

I can’t speak for secondary schools but having worked for 3 primary headteachers, none of this behaviour by the school surprises me at ALL. Senior leaders in general think they are untouchable. And very often they are. They answer to next to nobody and can get away with so much without any recourse. Yes schools have a governing body but their ‘powers’ are VERY limited and often they are specially chosen to be ‘yes men’. One of the reasons I quit teaching was down to this very type of behaviour by senior management. They bully, the gaslight, they bend the rules to get their own way and they trample upon anyone who gets in their way.

In my experience if you are a parent and you ‘dare’ to question anything, from something like recruitment (which let’s be honest is more than usually rigged) to something like how your SEN child or any child for that matter is treated, you will be shot down and your name will be mud. What will be said about you in a staff meeting would make your eyes water.

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 17:07

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 16:58

Having heard the parents speak, as an ex primary teacher I can see how these parents have been wrongly accused and treated terribly and quite honestly none of that surprises me in the least.

I can’t speak for secondary schools but having worked for 3 primary headteachers, none of this behaviour by the school surprises me at ALL. Senior leaders in general think they are untouchable. And very often they are. They answer to next to nobody and can get away with so much without any recourse. Yes schools have a governing body but their ‘powers’ are VERY limited and often they are specially chosen to be ‘yes men’. One of the reasons I quit teaching was down to this very type of behaviour by senior management. They bully, the gaslight, they bend the rules to get their own way and they trample upon anyone who gets in their way.

In my experience if you are a parent and you ‘dare’ to question anything, from something like recruitment (which let’s be honest is more than usually rigged) to something like how your SEN child or any child for that matter is treated, you will be shot down and your name will be mud. What will be said about you in a staff meeting would make your eyes water.

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I agree with your second paragraph.
But this didn't start about a SEND pupil it started by an Ex member of the governors complaining about transparency whilst appointing a new head.
The SEND bits came in week/s after the parents were banned from the school grounds.
It is interesting to see the spin that some posters have put on the read to make the parents the hero in this.
As has been posted this was not a thread about SEND but that is what it has been derailed into.

Audiprettier · 31/03/2025 17:19

How dare police vilify parents in this way after them trying to speak to someone about their daughter's epilepsy!
Police should be policing in areas that protect the general public...

"To pursue criminals (in a fair and just way) who break the law, & bring them to justice!!"

"To help and reassure the community!!!"

WAIT...WHAT???

An utter utter disgrace! 🤬

SendBooksAndTea · 31/03/2025 17:19

All the reporting has been so incredibly biased that I cannot help but feel there is a lot more to this. I don't for a moment believe they are as innocent as they are trying to make out.

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 17:31

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 17:07

I agree with your second paragraph.
But this didn't start about a SEND pupil it started by an Ex member of the governors complaining about transparency whilst appointing a new head.
The SEND bits came in week/s after the parents were banned from the school grounds.
It is interesting to see the spin that some posters have put on the read to make the parents the hero in this.
As has been posted this was not a thread about SEND but that is what it has been derailed into.

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If you read my post properly you’ll see that I put first how the father complained about the recruitment process and how I also wrote ‘complain about your SEND child or any other child for that matter’.

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 17:33

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 17:31

If you read my post properly you’ll see that I put first how the father complained about the recruitment process and how I also wrote ‘complain about your SEND child or any other child for that matter’.

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I did read your post properly, And I expanded on it as I am allowed to do.

TheCastleDoesNotReply · 31/03/2025 17:44

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 16:23

A tv interview by the same group that the person works for which has already put out a supporting piece in their paper for one of their managers.

Hardly a show of unbiased reporting.

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It seems like an unbiased interview to me, putting challenging questions to the parents and playing devil’s advocate, putting forward opposing views and asking them to respond. They did so rationally, calmly and with good grace. Which part of the interview did you perceive as biased?

AzurePanda · 31/03/2025 17:59

@escapefortheday The Malicious Communications Act is not relevant to “bombarding someone with emails” on its own.

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 18:09

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 17:33

I did read your post properly, And I expanded on it as I am allowed to do.

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No you didn’t expand on it, you took one tiny thing I said (the word SEND) and spun it as though I was “making it all about SEND”.

Nothing about my post suggested such a thing. My post was all about my experience as an ex primary teacher with SLT and their lack of integrity.

FairKoala · 31/03/2025 18:41

This appears to be a very clear case of school staff bullying the family of a disabled child to try to force her parents to withdraw her from the school which, as I’ve said several times on this thread, is much more common than many parents who don’t have disabled children might realise

Ds was in an OFSTED Outstanding school who decided to get rid of the SEN department because HT didn’t believe in it and he wanted perfect SATS Scores

All SEN pupils left. But someone had obviously made a complaint about the school to Ofsted who went into the school without warning for a surprise inspection and suspended all the teaching staff including the office secretary hours later

dapsnotplimsolls · 31/03/2025 18:43

Has anyone got a link to the LBC interview?

saraclara · 31/03/2025 19:23

FairKoala · 31/03/2025 18:41

This appears to be a very clear case of school staff bullying the family of a disabled child to try to force her parents to withdraw her from the school which, as I’ve said several times on this thread, is much more common than many parents who don’t have disabled children might realise

Ds was in an OFSTED Outstanding school who decided to get rid of the SEN department because HT didn’t believe in it and he wanted perfect SATS Scores

All SEN pupils left. But someone had obviously made a complaint about the school to Ofsted who went into the school without warning for a surprise inspection and suspended all the teaching staff including the office secretary hours later

That didn't happen. OFSTED cannot suspend or sack teachers. They simply do not have the authority to do so.

Lolapusht · 31/03/2025 19:47

dapsnotplimsolls · 31/03/2025 18:43

Has anyone got a link to the LBC interview?

GB News via X

https://x.com/gbnews/status/1906437159524913394?s=61&t=_cKTNp_TyAyzDViEOCJDFQ]]

https://x.com/gbnews/status/1906437159524913394?s=61&t=_cKTNp_TyAyzDViEOCJDFQ%5D%5D

dapsnotplimsolls · 31/03/2025 19:48

Lolapusht · 31/03/2025 19:47

GB News via X

https://x.com/gbnews/status/1906437159524913394?s=61&t=_cKTNp_TyAyzDViEOCJDFQ]]

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That's not LBC.

Lolapusht · 31/03/2025 20:02

dapsnotplimsolls · 31/03/2025 19:48

That's not LBC.

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I know?

I didn’t have a link to the LBC one to hand but knew I’d seen one from GB News so could get it quicker. Just trying to help.

Google

SendBooksAndTea · 31/03/2025 20:10

Lolapusht · 31/03/2025 19:47

GB News via X

https://x.com/gbnews/status/1906437159524913394?s=61&t=_cKTNp_TyAyzDViEOCJDFQ]]

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That makes it even less believable.

dapsnotplimsolls · 31/03/2025 20:10

Lolapusht · 31/03/2025 20:02

I know?

I didn’t have a link to the LBC one to hand but knew I’d seen one from GB News so could get it quicker. Just trying to help.

Google

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Thanks, I'd rather see a more neutral interview than one from Reform News.

zenactive · 31/03/2025 20:59

FrippEnos · 31/03/2025 17:07

I agree with your second paragraph.
But this didn't start about a SEND pupil it started by an Ex member of the governors complaining about transparency whilst appointing a new head.
The SEND bits came in week/s after the parents were banned from the school grounds.
It is interesting to see the spin that some posters have put on the read to make the parents the hero in this.
As has been posted this was not a thread about SEND but that is what it has been derailed into.

Show quote history

I don't think that you have watched the interview. The father asked a question about recruitment which he thinks might have kickstarted the insanity. The rest - the emails, the whatsapp about certificates, was all about SEND, the daughter's needs, normal school liaison things.

SendBooksAndTea · 31/03/2025 22:02

zenactive · 31/03/2025 20:59

I don't think that you have watched the interview. The father asked a question about recruitment which he thinks might have kickstarted the insanity. The rest - the emails, the whatsapp about certificates, was all about SEND, the daughter's needs, normal school liaison things.

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According to the father.

TheCastleDoesNotReply · 31/03/2025 22:33

howchildrenreallylearn · 31/03/2025 16:58

Having heard the parents speak, as an ex primary teacher I can see how these parents have been wrongly accused and treated terribly and quite honestly none of that surprises me in the least.

I can’t speak for secondary schools but having worked for 3 primary headteachers, none of this behaviour by the school surprises me at ALL. Senior leaders in general think they are untouchable. And very often they are. They answer to next to nobody and can get away with so much without any recourse. Yes schools have a governing body but their ‘powers’ are VERY limited and often they are specially chosen to be ‘yes men’. One of the reasons I quit teaching was down to this very type of behaviour by senior management. They bully, the gaslight, they bend the rules to get their own way and they trample upon anyone who gets in their way.

In my experience if you are a parent and you ‘dare’ to question anything, from something like recruitment (which let’s be honest is more than usually rigged) to something like how your SEN child or any child for that matter is treated, you will be shot down and your name will be mud. What will be said about you in a staff meeting would make your eyes water.

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Thank you so much for this honesty about what happens, that has been so lacking from many teachers posting here who seem to be in denial about the reality of it. It’s also incredibly sad to hear that someone who sounds like exactly the type of person that children need was driven away from the profession by such appalling behaviour, and so it is that the situation perpetuates itself and gets increasingly worse. 😔

FairKoala · 31/03/2025 22:35

saraclara · 31/03/2025 19:23

That didn't happen. OFSTED cannot suspend or sack teachers. They simply do not have the authority to do so.

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Well they all walked out then never to return. Parents were asked to collect children and substitute teachers were brought in for the rest of term

Friend who went to pick up her children presumed they had all been fired. The parents were there when all the teachers came out including HT none returned

School was put special measures

TheCastleDoesNotReply · 31/03/2025 22:36

SendBooksAndTea · 31/03/2025 22:02

According to the father.

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Also according to the police, it seems, since they reviewed all of these emails and found no evidence in any of them to substantiate the school’s false allegations of harassment.