Is this the mother of all calling out - Katherine Birbalsingh

[DramaFatigue]

Katherine Birbalsingh has done the mother of all calling out and I can't help but sit here with my jaw on the kitchen table in awe.

She has written a 4-page open letter to Sir Kerr Starmer calling out Jess Phillip's behaviour online. Whilst I don't always agree with KB's methods of the school she runs, I do think that Jess Phillips behaviour towards her is shocking and unbefitting of someone who could be running the country. JP should resign TBH.

https://news.sky.com/story/headteacher-katharine-birbalsingh-brands-labour-mp-jess-phillips-social-media-posts-racist-and-bullying-12913139

Using the school letterhead isn’t on.

I’d be interested in what her board of governors thinks about that.

OR

Maybe we need to look into why a small number of children are behaving like this and aim to treat the root cause, so that the majority of children who DO behave in class don't have to have a rigid, micro controlled, prison-like environment?

KB herself probably has ADHD

That’s the issue isn’t it? It can be very difficult to pinpoint unconscious and institutionalised bias - and very often that’s only part of a picture with political or personal differences also influencing how people behave to each other.
what’s interesting to me is that all of this has been quite widely discussed since summer 2020 and the “progressive” consensus seems to be we should listen to ethnic minority experience and be alert to unconscious bias. But once someone who is viewed less favourably by progressives comes along, all of that gets chucked in the trash.

And it looks like SEN children are admitted on the over subscribed criteria IF the school is named on the ECHP which I don't know is unusual or not

Pretty much all schools have that on their over subscription criteria. The numbers involved are usually very small.

I can see KB is retweeting supportive tweets of her.
I wonder if JP will comment / retweet the response from Alex Sturdy which seems to contradict the claims made by KB - or will that then lead to a pile on?

100% jess P
She sounds like one of the most normal MPs we have.

The vast majority of children with SEN do not have an EHCP, they will be the ones who will "sink or swim" in an environment like this.

This. As a mixed raced woman with mixed raced kids, I despise the left wing view they we must all be victims. Many left wing white people prefer that black and brown people stay as victims and as their pet projects for help. Victim mentality and low expectations will do nothing for black and brown children (and white working class children).

I have one DC in private secondary and one in state primary. DC2 will also go to the private secondary (if they pass the exam, God willing) because I will not have them exposed to low aspirational messaging.

I do not agree with everything or even most things KB says but I do agree with some of her methods. The children who go to her school will be much more ready to be the next generation of leaders than if they went to some school where the teachers just celebrated BLM once a year and told them all they are is the descendants of slaves. They would also let them get away with all kinds, because they are disadvantaged, as though this will help them in the real adult world. These same teachers will be safe in the knowledge their own kids aren’t given these messages, have high self esteem and see themselves as being able to be high achievers. Some of the messaging I received from teachers about my prospects was appalling, thank goodness I didn’t listen.

I haven't followed this recent spat. But wasn't there something about children in KB's school being alienated if their dinner money accounts weren't up to date? They were made to eat in isolation and had something very very basic. That is horrible if true.

Exactly @Endlesssummer2022

I would love to know how many pupils are sent to the referral centre and how many get demerits / detentions - and if that stat changes over the years a pupil is at the school. There is a strict uniform policy.

Uniform-and-Appearance-Policy-September-2022.pdf (michaela.education)

Demerits for being "distracted" is grossly ableist for neurodiverse pupils.

Headteacher defends policy of putting pupils in 'lunch isolation' | School meals | The Guardian

Katharine Birbalsingh, the head of Michaela community school in north-west London who imposed the policy, argued that the children affected were from dysfunctional homes and needed the school’s support.

“Should we charge a poor single mum twice so she can pay for Jonny just because she has a sense of personal responsibility and Jonny’s mother doesn’t?” Birbalsingh said.
“Free school meals looks after the poorest. Even then we have all sorts of systems for people who really are in financial need, and I mean the real ones. I don’t mean the ones who are playing the system, trying to get other poor families to pay for their child’s food.”
The controversy surfaced after the Daily Mail reported that a parent of a pupil received a letter from the school’s deputy head saying: “You are currently £75 overdue. If this full amount is not received within this week your child will be placed in lunch isolation.”

The letter sent in June said that pupils in lunch isolation “will receive a sandwich and a piece of fruit only. They will spend the entire 60-minute period in lunch isolation. Only when the entire outstanding amount is paid in full will they be allowed into family lunch with their classmates.”

Some of this reminds me of what my FIL, from a working class background in a pit village in Yorkshire says. Everyone around him voted labour but he never did as he said he felt the Labour Party wanted people like him kept down, to be pitied and patronised and patted on the head. But those were the days of the grammar schools were expectations were not low, at least for those who could get in. Labour did for them
of course.

I'm not sure why so many posters think the options for, checks notes black, brown and working class white children is a Michaela style school or a school that subjects them to "low inspirational messaging"

Many schools are working with a similar cohort and not having go to such drastic measures and are still achieving good outcomes for their pupils.

I remember being at school and not allowed to remove my jumper in 28 degree plus weather.

That list exemplifies almost everything I hate about the school system and one of the many reasons I prefer to keep my children out of it.

This exactly!!!

She is. And she cares deeply about victims of domestic abuse.

We had a similar lunch approach at boarding school

Ethos & Values Michaela Community School, Wembley

"We are excited to offer pupils a different eating experience. Rather than canteen provision, pupils at Michaela sit at tables, eating together and engaging in conversation. Children serve food to their classmates, clear each other’s plates and eat the food that they are given. At Michaela we believe that school should develop the whole child. The dining experience at Michaela helps to do exactly that, teaching restraint, respect for others, and ensuring that bullying does not take place in our dining halls. Our on-site chef caters for all food requirements and allergies with a varied and nourishing vegetarian offering, so all Michaela children will eat the food that is provided by the school"

Except I am not sure about the "Eat the food they are given" - I hope this just means they don't eat other food instead of being forced to eat up all the food on their plate.

I have my own issues with JP, but Birbalsingh is a fucking lunatic attention seeker.

Superb post, Endlesssummer2022 ... with parental guidance like that I'm not in the least surprised that your DCs are achieving so well

Looks like KB has blocked Alex Sturdy who commented on the inaccuracies in her letter.

Well, you could claim that that is all that Jess Phillips has ever done in her life. Or you could stop being lazy and check the facts.

@cakeorwine - it's pretty horrible. Not the children's fault. Isolation is very extreme.