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Original poster

Gagging contract after complaint?

62 replies

Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 18:10

I have named changed. I have been asked to sign a gagging contact after making a complaint about my DS school. Has anyone else had any experience of this? Thank you.

OP posts:
DelightedIAm · 19/01/2014 18:12

I have never heard of such a thing, is this a state school?

Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 18:17

It's a Prep school Delighted.

OP posts:
notapizzaeater · 19/01/2014 18:18

Never heard of this, why would they need to stop you talking

GW297 · 19/01/2014 18:20

I wouldn't sign. They can't make you presumably? Independent schools will do ANYTHING to protect their precious reputations in my experience.

DelightedIAm · 19/01/2014 18:21

How much longer do your children have at the school before they move up?

scaevola · 19/01/2014 18:31

You need proper legal advice on the full circumstances surrounding this.

It sounds as if they are offering some sort of settlement, and confidentiality agreements can be entirely appropriate. It depends on the issues, the sums involved and the likely strength of respective cases if it goes to Court instead.

Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 18:53

Delighted DS is in yr 2 and DD in reception. They change school after yr 6. They aren't really offering us much in return.

OP posts:
Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 19:09

I am struggling to see a future at the school if we don't sign it. It feels like constructive dismissal!

OP posts:
finallydelurking · 19/01/2014 19:14

Never heard of such a thing and I deal with complaints, but in a state school.

happygardening · 19/01/2014 19:22

Your complaint was significant enough for the school to ask you to sign a gagging contract and you're still staying?

GW297 · 19/01/2014 19:32

happygardening - quite! Unless you've told not a single other sole, the gagging is obsolete anyway!

happygardening · 19/01/2014 19:38

I'm struggling to see a future at the school if we don't sign it"
Frankly OP IM struggling to see a future ate the school full stop.
If any school asked me to sigh such a thing I'd be out of the door before they could say a terms fees in lie of notice.

Oldandcobwebby · 19/01/2014 19:41

If I were you, I'd be out the door and straight on the phone to the local papers. Why would you want to keep DC in a school which operates like this?

Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 20:12

I can't believe that the chair of governors who presented the paperwork to us thought that we would be stupid enough to sign it. Do you think ISI would be interested?

OP posts:
GW297 · 19/01/2014 20:16

ISI would be very interested I would imagine! As would an employment lawyer perhaps. It's outrageous! Who do they think they are? I'm cross on your behalf.

happygardening · 19/01/2014 20:31

"Do you think the ISI would be interested?"
Frankly no. My friends and I complained about a series of incidences (one pretty serious) at my DC's prep on the pre inspection questionnaire and they must have filed it under B for bin as month later they published their inspection report and said that all comments in the pre inspection question are had been very positive. We were frankly stunned. Remember it's heads etc of other schools inspecting each other. Those reports aren't worth the paper they're written on and neither is the ISI.

happygardening · 19/01/2014 20:33

OP unless you live in the Outer Hebrides why can you put it behind you tell them to stuff their gagging contract and send your DC's to another school?

GW297 · 19/01/2014 20:48

Definitely take your custom elsewhere! I think if you complain direct to ISI they will be compelled to investigate? Got to be worth a try surely?

stixandstones · 19/01/2014 20:51

I've been threatened by a state school following a very valid complaint. They refused to discuss it at all and threatened to contact various 'bodies' to take legal action if the details were repeated to anyone else.

They too have a reputation that they are determined to maintain.

Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 20:52

Happy that's terrible. Did you and you friend move your children?

OP posts:
happygardening · 19/01/2014 20:57

We were all leaving that yr any way so too late to go somewhere else but if it had been earlier in their time at the school like you are we would have gone we'd all reached a point of no return. As I said one incident was very serious and the ISI didn't feel compelled to investigate it in any shape or form.

anothernumberone · 19/01/2014 21:00

We had a lot of this in the past in Ireland where priests were trying to cover up abuse. It is never a good thing if an organisation feels the need to do this, something wreaks. I would not sign under any circumstance. I do not understand what they could have over you if you do not sign.

inthename · 19/01/2014 21:01

Why are you leaving your dc at this school? It must have been a serious complaint to prompt them to issue a gagging order. As happy has said, no way would I leave a child in that environment.

Original poster
Upsetmom · 19/01/2014 21:05

It is appalling that there is no effective external body to manage/handle complaints. Until I had this problem I had no idea that this was the case.

OP posts:
Ragusa · 19/01/2014 21:06

You can also contact the Dept for Education. They would probably tell you to go to the inspectorate first though.

I find it very hard to believe a school would make you sign a gagging clause. I hope it's not a complaint about welfare standards or anything like that Shock.

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