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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

CF parent demanding money

707 replies

ChickenPieBumFace · 19/01/2019 01:21

I'll try and keep this brief. Last year just before Xmas DD11 was getting changed from PE and her skirt was gone. She got upset as we were due to meet her brother after school, so several friends offered their PE skorts. One actually bought some over. But then her BF said she would go home in her PE kit so that she could borrow a skirt and still be able to go out and meet her little brother. Skorts are folded and girl is thanked but have a skirt now. Skirt is later returned to BFF.
So DD skirt turns out to have been picked up accidentally by another pupil who says for weeks that she will bring it back in and now, 2 weeks into the new term is saying she doesn't actually have it etc. Last week I called into the school to ask reception if there was anything they could do, maybe have a word with the girl and ask her to bring it in, but stated I was unsure there was much the school could do in reality.

Anyway, I have just been woken by a text from the mum of the girl who offered her skorts, but was not taken up on it. This mum works at the school in the office. She has said that she wanted to give me the heads up. Her daughter cannot find her skorts and is holding my DD responsible. She has spoken with one of the teachers and that they have agreed between them that I will have to buy a new pair (£25) and replace them as it is my daughters fault. Now I have a problem with this on a few levels. Firstly if the school are dealing with it, why text me throwing around decisions that have been made without any consultation. Certainly don't have both sides of the story. And at midnight! Secondly I don't agree (having now read the texts between the girls) that my DD is responsible. And finally is this favouritism? I asked the school to deal with an identical problem and heard nothing back. The woman who works there has used her position to demand a new skort. Don't know if this makes a difference but this is a private school. My DD has a scholarship as I could never afford to send her otherwise. I do feel like I am not in a position to rock the boat (I still pay 50%) but want to report her unprofessional behaviour to the school. and ask that if they want to demand it of me, they should demand it if the girl who took my DDs skirt. My DD is adamant that she told the girl that she didn't need her skorts (she definitely was wearing a skirt because I was mad she had lost it on this day and we have pictures from her with her brother). She is also adamant that she has seen this girl in the skorts since as this has only been raised this week. AIBU to think this mum is a Cheeky fucker. Her text was very conclusive. We have decided at the school you are to buy new skorts. We will of course return (not refund) the new skorts if the old ones turn up. We expect you to sort this out etc. Sorry it got long (and a bit first world problems) but I am furious

OP posts:
ChickenPieBumFace · 23/01/2019 22:12

@danceyourselfsilly it was confirmed by the not a deputy head today 😂. It was a school trip that CF was on. No word of who was with her. I assume not the PE teacher though as she approached on Friday afternoon so can't have been there. Thanks for all your comments and support. I would be so surprised if he isn't the person I think. His previous statements and behaviours all point to him being a very respectable and straight guy with the interests of the school and it's pupils at heart. He is so passionately proud of everything they achieve (despite this shit show it is actually a very good school). I can imagine this would not be something he could be proud of or condone in any way. Always ready to be proven wrong though. I just hope in this case I have judged correctly. Otherwise the email I sent earlier will only add to the fallout we will get as we move through the next 7 years. 🤞🏼

OP posts:
Yulebealrite · 23/01/2019 22:19

So the heads PA is on a school trip on a Friday night that necessitates spending a night away from her family. School business. Really?

KitNCaboodle · 23/01/2019 22:23

This is absolutely unbelievable. There is no way this behaviour would have been condoned in any of the schools I have worked in.
I would definitely contact Chair of Governors if this is not resolved tomorrow.

danceyourselfsilly · 23/01/2019 22:26

oh sorry my mistake
OP you have done brilliantly so far and I we are all right behind you if you need us
I am sure head is all you say he is - and it is abolutely right he is focussed on the school and his pupils - and he may well have sensibly delegated but just because he is a good guy doesn't necessarily mean all his staff have the right credentials and he may be blind to what is going on

justilou1 · 23/01/2019 22:58

I think the word “misrepresentation” is still in play, though....

Wonderblah · 23/01/2019 23:05

I was hoping, having come to this thread a bit late, that it would have a nice, satisfactory conclusion by the last page. As it is, the collusion of the deputy head (of pastoral care) and lack of access to the head sound like a very unsatisfactory conclusion. Hope you get to see the head tomorrow.

Smallhorse · 23/01/2019 23:05

Well done OP in pursuing this .

I think we should have a sit in at the school, wearing Shrumpers and Skorts

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 23/01/2019 23:15

This is simply the BEST I've read on mumsnet in years!!!! 😉 Right behind you chicken 🤗

mytieisascarf · 23/01/2019 23:28

A sit in in skorts Grin.

Catzpyjamas · 23/01/2019 23:35

OP, I applaud your tenacity and hope you get this sorted satisfactorily.
The mention of shrumpers made me think of this book, although Aisling calls them shumpers. Wink

CF parent demanding money
greenflamingo · 23/01/2019 23:39

I think the cf PA could learn a thing or two from multivac about owning your mistakes and making amends. What a total bell end!

Threeminis · 23/01/2019 23:50

Well done op, definitely sounds as though you are being blocked. Hopefully you'll hear back from the head soon

angelikacpickles · 23/01/2019 23:54

The mention of shrumpers made me think of this book, although Aisling calls them thumpers.

Shumper makes far more sense that shrumper. The first 'r' in shrumper is entirely superfluous.

RebootYourEngine · 24/01/2019 04:20

All of this over a piece of clothing. I do hope the CFs quickly realise how badly they have behaved over a small replaceable item.

MerdedeBrexit · 24/01/2019 07:25

OP - when you say you want a "personal response" from the HT, I think you need to make sure you get a face-to-face appointment with him, since, as a PP said, it might be easy for the PA to impersonate him in an email response and/or for these strange people to get someone to try to impersonate him on the phone ("sorry, it's a bad line", "I'm going through a tunnel" etc). Good luck!
(I'm sure "skorts" were a thing long ago, I know about them, so they can't be new! And you can get them from M&S, Amazon, and Asda for a lot less than £25, though those are probably not sanctioned by your DD's school. )

ChickenPieBumFace · 24/01/2019 07:28

Email at 6.30am from the headmaster

Please accept this e mail as acknowledgement of the situation that has been dealt with by the Deputy Head.

No indication of further correspondence. No apology. No acknowledgement of how it has been badly handled. To say I am disappointed in him is a huge understatement. It is definitely him as she wouldn't be in school at this time. So that's that. I've been made to be quiet. Stop making a fuss. I'm hugely disappointed.

OP posts:
aaaaargghhhhelpme · 24/01/2019 07:33

Is it definitely him?! My dhs pa can access his emails remotely.

I hope so. He was my big hope.

I still think the lying and deception from staff necessitates a face to face meeting. Can you wangle a meeting today? I would just not leave. I would want to hear it from his own mouth

MerdedeBrexit · 24/01/2019 07:38

I've never been associated with a school, independent or otherwise, where the staff get so personally involved in the loss of PE kit, or anything lost at all, really, unless it is the actual theft of a mobile phone or something similar - and even then, it might be stretching it. Really odd.
Mind you, you don't have to be in the office to intercept and reply to an email, ChickenPieBumFace Wink Not that I'm a conspiracy theorist on this, oh, no!

Orchidflower1 · 24/01/2019 07:41

Face to face - it’s an issue of trust.

livingdownsouth · 24/01/2019 07:45

But it wasn't the deputy head? It was the deputy head of pastoral care. I'd be tempted to reply "please accept acknowledgement of how disappointed I am in how this matter has been handled." but you have already dealt with this much better than I would have done 😉.

MontanaSky · 24/01/2019 07:45

I've been following this thread from the beginning.

It doesn't sit right with me that a HT would respond to a complaint like that.

This has become so much more than a clothing issue and has become a complaint about a complaint.

If a school deals with an issue about the lack of professionalism by staff how will/are they dealing with other issues bullying for instance?

justilou1 · 24/01/2019 07:46

Nope... time to mention board of governors

SillyMoomin · 24/01/2019 07:46

I’m with previous poster op

I can and have had to access my ceo’s Emails remotely before.

I’d simply turn up outside his door at school. From everything you’ve said about the HM, he doesn’t sound the type to brush this off so quickly

GreenTulips · 24/01/2019 07:52

Reply

Please forward a copy of your complaints procedure so I may take this further

Tink1990 · 24/01/2019 07:54

His email does not sit right with ne either the fact he has simply said "deputy head" rather than the actual full job title "... of pastrol care" seems strange. Either he has simply taken peoples words for what has actually happened or it wasnt him responding(!) I dont know. Its all very poor nonetheless. Hmmm.

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