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Police arrest parents who slate school on class WhatsApp

1000 replies

noblegiraffe · 29/03/2025 09:29

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

Police arrest parents who complained in school WhatsApp group

The couple were detained in front of their daughter and kept in a cell for eight hours over their messages on the app as well as emails sent to the school

https://www.thetimes.com/article/d8c8566b-99b1-45c6-814b-008042d74a3a?shareToken=6deab807d148cf7695ed4d9d3664c51e

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FrippEnos · 29/11/2025 00:57

Because you haven't suspended your judgement.

ParentOfOne · 29/11/2025 00:59

@FrippEnos ??? But I literally shouted from the rooftops that I suspended judgement because I don't know all the facts!!!

FrippEnos · 29/11/2025 01:09

ParentOfOne · 29/11/2025 00:59

@FrippEnos ??? But I literally shouted from the rooftops that I suspended judgement because I don't know all the facts!!!

And I have said that schools get things wrong.

But it didn't stop you posting

"You are behaving like the parents who didn't think there was a climate of exploitation and fear at Holland Park School (confirmed by an enquiry), or that Mossbourne Academy could have seminars on how to shout and instil healthy fear in children, just because these things didn't happen in their schools."

Not a neutral or non judgemental post.

You have repeatedly been given examples of the parents actions and have disbelieved it or minimised it, whilst asking for evidence from the school, which is near impossible to get as they are unable to discuss these cases and put their side forward.

So no you have not suspended judgement no matter how loud you have "shouted" or where you "shouted" it from.

ParentOfOne · 29/11/2025 09:30

@FrippEnos "You are behaving like the parents who didn't think there was a climate of exploitation and fear at Holland Park School (confirmed by an enquiry), or that Mossbourne Academy could have seminars on how to shout and instil healthy fear in children, just because these things didn't happen in their schools."
Not a neutral or non judgemental post.

Wrong. I was simply pointing out another example in which parents drew conclusions driven by their prejudices and by their limited experiences, even when they didn't know the facts, nor how representative their experiences were in that case

You have repeatedly been given examples of the parents actions and have disbelieved it or minimised it, whilst asking for evidence from the school,

Wrong again. I asked multiple times what the insults would have been, and people kept replying it was obvious, the school must have been right etc, without substantiating their prejudices. When you ask a question 10 times and people refuse to answer , well, it's odd.

When (after the 10th time I was asking), someone pointed out that the parents complained of no longer being able to go into the school office whenever they wanted (a claim I hadn't read in any newspaper, but let's assume it's true) did I honestly admit that this tips the scale towards them being bullies.

In my book, this means being driven by facts and not by biases.
If you disagree, please, explain why.

SinnerBoy · 29/11/2025 12:35

noblegiraffe · 28/11/2025 21:34

What's your alternative explanation for someone taking screenshots and sending them to the headteacher?

Because schools are cliquey and some people like to suck up tothe staff.

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 14:51

Not sure why you’re so invested in this?

But my question would be … have you ever had a child with a disability in the school system? Have you ever had a child with a life threatening disability such as epilepsy?… have you ever had to fight incompetent teachers? Have you ever fought for an EHCP for it then to be ignored, written complaints only for the head to tell you it’s your word against the teachers? That the teachers are lying/denying saying or doing what you know they said/did??
because I HAVE… it’s frustrating, and when your child’s life is at risk and teachers are negligent it’s bloody hard work… while I’ve not resorted to slanderous posts, I can see why someone would

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 14:57

We had a mum in our year group Facebook group ask if any other parents were having trouble with the class teacher, she then set up a ‘parents against Mrs X group’… I don’t know why anyone who wasn’t having issues joined the group but someone did and took screenshots and sent to school… she received a threatening letter from school about the group she’d set up.
I know someone else who was sending daily emails regarding her son being bullied - teachers were told not to respond !… even when he got battered with a knuckle duster school did nothing!
Some school staff do as little as they can get away with

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 14:58

Setting up a 'parents against Mrs X' group is a fucking awful thing to do.

OP posts:
T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 15:42

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 14:58

Setting up a 'parents against Mrs X' group is a fucking awful thing to do.

Yes I agree.
I turned off commenting on her first post and wrote that people needed to respond privately

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 15:50

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 14:58

Setting up a 'parents against Mrs X' group is a fucking awful thing to do.

She asked if anyone else was having problems… I wrote ‘please message A privately as this isn’t the right place for this’ and then turned off comments…
she then set up the other group.,, no idea what was talked about in it but she sent me the letter she received from the head telling her to remove the group and apologise or she wouldn’t be allowed on school grounds again.
It doesn’t have to be anything awful
for school to ban you. I know the group wasn’t nice but it’s like she was threatening or intimidating. Just a bit bitchy.

dapsnotplimsolls · 29/11/2025 15:53

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 15:50

She asked if anyone else was having problems… I wrote ‘please message A privately as this isn’t the right place for this’ and then turned off comments…
she then set up the other group.,, no idea what was talked about in it but she sent me the letter she received from the head telling her to remove the group and apologise or she wouldn’t be allowed on school grounds again.
It doesn’t have to be anything awful
for school to ban you. I know the group wasn’t nice but it’s like she was threatening or intimidating. Just a bit bitchy.

Serves her right if she gets banned. That's a shitty thing to do.

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 15:54

^It doesn’t have to be anything awful
for school to ban you.^

And yet I literally just said that setting up that group was a fucking awful thing to do. So yes, it was awful.

You can get banned from various other places for being rude to staff, why should teachers have to put up with this sort of shit?

OP posts:
T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:13

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 15:54

^It doesn’t have to be anything awful
for school to ban you.^

And yet I literally just said that setting up that group was a fucking awful thing to do. So yes, it was awful.

You can get banned from various other places for being rude to staff, why should teachers have to put up with this sort of shit?

And I literally said it was horrible.
mmy point is… the couple this was originally aimed at (your post) probably got banned for the things they were saying… not because they’d been in school being threatening or anything next level awful.
The person I’m talking about was a horrible person anyway.. and I don’t know the context of why she started the group because frankly it didn’t concern me and the teacher wasn’t my DD’s teacher…. I don’t know what happened after either, as I didn’t really care…
just didn’t want anyone slagging off a teacher on the year group page that I was admin off.

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:16

dapsnotplimsolls · 29/11/2025 15:53

Serves her right if she gets banned. That's a shitty thing to do.

It was shitty yes. But she was a shitty person anyway!
Seemingly lots of pretend had issues with the teacher though, non of which I bothered finding out as non of my business

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 16:16

the couple this was originally aimed at (your post) probably got banned for the things they were saying… not because they’d been in school being threatening or anything next level awful.

What is obvious from this thread though is that some people don’t think bitching about someone on WhatsApp and setting up Facebook groups about them is awful or ban-worthy at all.

This couple were also questioned about being a nuisance on the school site.

OP posts:
T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:20

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 16:16

the couple this was originally aimed at (your post) probably got banned for the things they were saying… not because they’d been in school being threatening or anything next level awful.

What is obvious from this thread though is that some people don’t think bitching about someone on WhatsApp and setting up Facebook groups about them is awful or ban-worthy at all.

This couple were also questioned about being a nuisance on the school site.

I haven’t read all the comments…
I do think it’s awful… BUT I also think there needs to be context.
move been a parent fighting for my daughters rights at school, trying to keep her safe, complaining when they don’t, only for teachers to lie time and time again… even when I’ve presented evidence they’ve closed ranks and denied it happened…
So while I didn’t resort to social media to skate the school, I do kind of see why someone would… BUT it needs to be kept factual like ‘my DD was put at rush because staff refused to be trained /it staff refused to follow a care plan etc….
it can’t just be that you think the teacher has too much lip filler and it’s leaked into their brain (if you understand what I’m trying to say)

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:22

Sorry that changed some words

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 16:26

They weren’t talking about their child with SEN, but the recruitment process for a new head.

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T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:30

Anyway if the case was dropped maybe the parents had stuck to facts.
I’ve had meeting ls before where I’m stunned how much teachers lie…. Teachers who have admitted to me saying something to my DD, who then deny saying it to her or me…. It’s destroyed all trust I have in teachers now.
I’ve always said ‘I don’t want to complain - I just want a training need to be identified…. Because if something happens to my DD in school you can’t just deny and plea ignorance because I’ve sent emails, we’ve had meetings … and you refuse to acknowledge there’s a need for staff training!
honestly @noblegiraffe these parents might be a pair of real nasty buggars… but they might also be a pair of desperate parents resorting to what they saw as their last option and hit the schools reputation publicly hoping they might actually listen ….

we (non of us) know the context…. Hopefully they moved their child to a different school and everyone happier.

m Maybe their fixation with the head was about that particular person being the one (not) dealing with their concerns 🤷🏻‍♀️

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:34

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 16:26

They weren’t talking about their child with SEN, but the recruitment process for a new head.

Maybe they’d complained about the deputy and were astonished she was temporarily promoted rather than investigated?
They clearly did something to wrong these parents. People don’t generally act out so angrily do they?
It’s a weird one because without hearing the parents side who are we say whether the temp head should’ve been promoted or sacked.

T1Dmama · 29/11/2025 16:35

But people are shitty and while most teachers are great - some definitely are not…. And while most parents act responsibly, some parents are shorty people!

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 17:15

we (non of us) know the context…

We can literally read their smug, bitchy WhatsApps in the news though.

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FrippEnos · 29/11/2025 18:14

T1Dmama · Today 16:34

They clearly did something to wrong these parents. People don’t generally act out so angrily do they?

Teachers have been threatened and assaulted by parents for putting their child in a detention.

In this case the school apparently appointed a HT that the parents didn't like.

ParentOfOne · 29/11/2025 18:40

@noblegiraffe We can literally read their smug, bitchy WhatsApps in the news though.

Can we? I asked multiple times what these bitchy messages were, and all I found on the Guardian was her saying "she hasn't got a clue" then another comment calling the head a control freak.

I asked a gazillion times if anyone knew of anything else, and the answer has always been a deafening silence.

@T1Dmama They clearly did something to wrong these parents. People don’t generally act out so angrily do they?

Now you are making the same error of those who, without knowing the facts, assume the parents must be guilty
It is full of unhinged people acting angrily on the flimsiest of reasons.
So, no, that those two were angry doesn't prove anything

noblegiraffe · 29/11/2025 18:50

@ParentOfOne

here. https://archive.is/uqHpm

It was the article in the OP.

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