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Original poster

Is this the mother of all calling out - Katherine Birbalsingh

767 replies

DramaFatigue · 02/07/2023 08:06

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

Headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh brands Labour MP Jess Phillips' social media posts 'racist and bullying'

Katharine Birbalsingh addressed the open letter to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. Labour has not commented on the matter and Sky News has contacted Ms Phillips for her response.

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
48
itsgettingweird · 02/07/2023 11:49

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 11:40

”playing the race card” wow. What a blast from the bad old days that is. Thought that one had died a well deserved death

From the Guardian

Katharine Birbalsingh – undaunted by free school setback | Katharine Birbalsingh | The Guardian

She thinks black children misbehave because they know that any teacher who disciplines them is accused of racism. "Black kids," writes Miss Snuffy, "all have that winning ace up their sleeve – the race card ... The kid can literally smell the fear. So the teacher starts to back off."

Thanks. Was about to link this.

Apologies if by repeating her words I offended anyone. That wasn't my intention. I should have made it clear I was quoting what she said as my belief she was doing what she says is done.

Tbh I wouldn't have given her race, sex or political standings any thought except that she always mentions them.

We have a school local to use that tried to go down the Micheala method. It was initially started by a white female head (no idea of her political views) who left and went to another school and tried the same. She was put on gardening leave 6 months in.

Another head (also white and female) took over and tried to continue the same ethos. She went off to do a " educational consultancy role" halfway through the year.

It was the result of umpteen complaints about the handling of students with send - because this type of environment doesn't make allowances for those pupils.

Incidentally when my ds went there (he left after a few months) the only thing they could tell me they were doing for my autistic ds was "helping him improve his eye contact" and "he's doing much better at it" Angry

GenderCriticalTrumpets · 02/07/2023 11:50

FoundNeverland · 02/07/2023 11:34

This is a very interesting thread and provides context and more importantly a timeline.

https://twitter.com/sturdyalex/status/1675448863958913025?s=46&t=TZZeCdCCn-4uPn9pbZJtqQ

This is so helpful, thank you. I had spotted this on twitter and thought hang on.... Jess came to this late so not sure how she's kicked it all off?!

GrammarTeacher · 02/07/2023 11:51

HermioneWeasley · 02/07/2023 11:08

I’m struggling to put into words how angry some of the comments are making me. Just because this school isn’t a perfect fit for all kids doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t exist to benefit the many many capable children who need boundaries, discipline and high expectations. These exist in the form of grammar schools in white affluent suburbs, but apparently all poor kids and black and brown kids must be sacrificed for the greater good.

Grammar schools are nothing like Michaela.

Iwasafool · 02/07/2023 11:51

CurlewKate · 02/07/2023 11:47

I wonder what it is about left wing working class northern outspoken woman MP Jess Phillips that people dislike so much?

She's from Birmingham, the Midlands not the North. She went to the most exclusive girls' grammar in the city, her parents were professionals and were living in a very nice, large detached house when she was born.

I like her but I do think we need to be honest about her background.

Gwenhwyfar · 02/07/2023 11:53

AgathaSpencerGregson · 02/07/2023 11:23

If you read the letter (I know, reading something before slagging off the person who wrote it, how quaint of me) what she’s saying is that JP’s attack on her professionally is part of the wider left wing problem of being unable to cope with POC who depart from left-wing beliefs. See also attacks on Tory politicians from ethnic minorities.
it has been widely discussed how hard it can be to pinpoint and tackle institutionalised prejudice. I can’t help but think that if a POC who people found more to their taste raised such arguments, anyone who attempted to contradict them would be howled at.

Show quote history

I'm still seeing no evidence here.

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 11:54

I wonder how much unconscious bias is going on here - on all sides

"“Her behaviour is a clear example of ‘unconscious bias’. I mean that she hates me, despite not knowing me, because she subscribes to the idea that Black and Asian individuals in public life owe a duty to voice opinions that match with a leftwing view of the world, or they are worthy of her contempt.”

And yet KB does not know JP but is assuming an opinion about her, despite never having met her.

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 11:57

When someone is challenged over something and that person is a member of a minority group, how do you know if the person is challenging you because of your race / gender / religion / sexuality etc or are they just challenging your behaviour / comments?

LakieLady · 02/07/2023 11:57

RedDoughnut · 02/07/2023 08:21

Jess Phillips has too much time on her hands if she can worry about something like this.

So does Katherine Birbalsingh if she's got time to write a 4-page letter to Starmer.

Quiverer · 02/07/2023 12:02

Guiltridden12345 · 02/07/2023 09:26

Jess Philips messages here were incredibly rude and unnecessary. ‘That head teacher woman’? So disrespectful. And all that hold the line we will win crap? Of course KB doesn’t advocate domestic violence, what a ridiculous suggestion. You may not support her maverick educational ways (although how can you, when you see the results?) or her manner or her audacity to go to a Tory event, but she has single-handedly provided an inner city community with an outstanding education and, with it, hope of breaking the cycle of social deprivation. Social deprivation and domestic violence can often go hand in hand. Jess Philips should be applauding her not ripping her down. I’m so disappointed in her as I have always thought Jess was a great labour voice.

KB’s letter is long but she’s bang on in sentiment and clearly enraged. I hope JP is made to publicly apologise. This Twitter stuff is ridiculous; JP needs to stop tweeting and get on with the real work for her constituents and leave outstanding headteachers alone.

What inner city community would that be? Have you been to Wembley lately?

When you look at results, you really need to look at results for the entire admissions cohort, including children who are chucked out, and children who are managed out because the school can't be bothered to cater for children with SEND or to make reasonable adjustments for disability. You also need to look at long term results: it remains to be seen whether children educated in a total control ethos can nevertheless develop sufficient independence to take on management and leadership roles.

SunnyEgg · 02/07/2023 12:04

LakieLady · 02/07/2023 11:57

So does Katherine Birbalsingh if she's got time to write a 4-page letter to Starmer.

Show quote history

Not really. I’m sure we all use time in various ways that’s not just work

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 12:09

You can see how she gets good A-Level results with the admissions criteria

Admissions-Policy-2023-2024.pdf (michaela.education)

Average grade 7 across all GCSEs

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

https://michaela.education/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Admissions-Policy-2023-2024.pdf

Quiverer · 02/07/2023 12:11

Guiltridden12345 · 02/07/2023 09:28

All the KB haters - i’d love to know your alternative views for achieving her academic results?

There are schools all over the countries that achieve results that are as good and better without using her methods.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 02/07/2023 12:16

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 12:09

You can see how she gets good A-Level results with the admissions criteria

Admissions-Policy-2023-2024.pdf (michaela.education)

Average grade 7 across all GCSEs

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

It's the law. If a child has a school named on their EHCP, if the school fails on consultation and appeal to reject them, they have to take them.

Most schools only reject on things like physical access that cannot be resolved through a few stairlifts, evacuation chairs and multiple staff physically able and trained to carry them downstairs in the event of a fire when a lift can't be used. Others fight all but the extremely high achieving and compliant students. I think it's easy to guess which category this school falls into.

AlienatedChildGrown · 02/07/2023 12:17

I follow her. Have done for years. That specific photo with that that tagline was an unintentional error. Which she explained immediately.

Having personally been on the sharp end of one of your MPs (thankfully now ex… although there might be something in the water in certain parts) I have ample sympathy for anybody one of them choses to focus on with a less than “the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth” perspective. I discovered there is fuck all you can do about. But if she has found a way to remind MPs certain standards of engagement are expected of them, then good.

She is absolutely targeted for her race, by people who can’t stand that somebody of her race doesn’t toe the line of “opinions people like you are supposed to have”. And that was before she poured fuel on the fire by getting an exceptional outcome for her school. Progress 8 ? Or something like that. It measured not just fixed outcomes like GCSEs results, but the amount of improvement pupils had made. When that came out the amount of battering she took went through the roof and remained consistently high.

I like her. She isn’t somebody who witters on about “strong women”. She just goes about her business being one. If she’s had enough of whipped up outrage on the internet by the “be kind” mobsters then more power to her elbow. If the accused have been doing nothing to be ashamed of then they have no reason to be concerned. It not like they are unspeakable humans, or worse < the horror!> a small c conservative, who won’t get a fair hearing from the get go.

Onegroupcard · 02/07/2023 12:17

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 12:15

The behaviour policy

MCS-Behaviour-Policy-September-2022.pdf (michaela.education)

It's interesting reading.

If by interesting you mean ableist and generally gross then yes, it's interesting.

Onegroupcard · 02/07/2023 12:22

Dolphinnoises · 02/07/2023 12:21

Link doesn't work for me.

LittleBearPad · 02/07/2023 12:27

AlienatedChildGrown · 02/07/2023 12:17

I follow her. Have done for years. That specific photo with that that tagline was an unintentional error. Which she explained immediately.

Having personally been on the sharp end of one of your MPs (thankfully now ex… although there might be something in the water in certain parts) I have ample sympathy for anybody one of them choses to focus on with a less than “the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth” perspective. I discovered there is fuck all you can do about. But if she has found a way to remind MPs certain standards of engagement are expected of them, then good.

She is absolutely targeted for her race, by people who can’t stand that somebody of her race doesn’t toe the line of “opinions people like you are supposed to have”. And that was before she poured fuel on the fire by getting an exceptional outcome for her school. Progress 8 ? Or something like that. It measured not just fixed outcomes like GCSEs results, but the amount of improvement pupils had made. When that came out the amount of battering she took went through the roof and remained consistently high.

I like her. She isn’t somebody who witters on about “strong women”. She just goes about her business being one. If she’s had enough of whipped up outrage on the internet by the “be kind” mobsters then more power to her elbow. If the accused have been doing nothing to be ashamed of then they have no reason to be concerned. It not like they are unspeakable humans, or worse < the horror!> a small c conservative, who won’t get a fair hearing from the get go.

She excludes or manages out any child who is in any way problematic.

Fine if your child doesn’t have SEND or difficult home life etc. What if they do. There’s no place in Michaela for them.

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 12:28

She is absolutely targeted for her race, by people who can’t stand that somebody of her race doesn’t toe the line of “opinions people like you are supposed to have

If she was a white woman, would she be targetted for being female?
How do you know she is targetted for her race or is she targetted because of her views?

She claimed that children must be taught to be good because they are born with original Sin

Katharine Birbalsingh is right: children do have original sin | The Spectator

This caused some backlash on Twitter.

A prominent headteacher saying children must be taught to be good because they have original sin should expect some backlash.

If she gets backlash for such comment, are the people who comment on such things racist? Or sexist?

Katharine Birbalsingh is right: children do have original sin

When my son was about six he heard something at school about slavery but was not quite clear what it was all about. So I spelled it out. I told him that a slave was someone that someone else owned and ordered around and probably mistreated. I waited fo...

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/katharine-birbalsingh-is-right-children-do-have-original-sin/

LittleBearPad · 02/07/2023 12:29

Dolphinnoises · 02/07/2023 12:21

Rather undermines her whole argument.

Alyso · 02/07/2023 12:29

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

AlienatedChildGrown · 02/07/2023 12:41

LittleBearPad · 02/07/2023 12:27

She excludes or manages out any child who is in any way problematic.

Fine if your child doesn’t have SEND or difficult home life etc. What if they do. There’s no place in Michaela for them.

Show quote history

I have a formal diagnosis of dyslexia and ADHD

Thank god for the school that did not lower expectations for me. Because I thrived (although some of the 70s stuff I could have done without).

I nosedived in a not very elegant manner when I moved to a progressive school that didn’t have clear, scrupulously policed boundaries that were unequally applied.

People with the same disorder do not necessarily blossom/wilt under the exact same conditions.

cakeorwine · 02/07/2023 12:48

KB does seem to have made a mistake in one of the tweets she used as evidence

"You aren't no Aslan" in a tweet about Rishi Sunak, She seems to have misread that as "You aren't no Asian" and used that to accuse JP of racism.

She's also used school headed paper - which seems a bit of a brave thing to do as it represents the school, not herself.

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