Parents of children at Wootton Upper School have called for the resignation of the Executive Head saying they are “deeply concerned” about the mental well-being of their children due to the “draconian” levels of discipline at the school.
The parents say they feel “powerless” and are “stonewalled” whenever they try to speak with teachers about their concerns or defend their children. They say punishments are “indiscriminate” and often handed out just because a child was in “the wrong place at the wrong time”.
The parents contacted the Bedford Independent after 17 students were suspended in a single moment last week, which the school told them was for “boisterous, thuggish and bullying behaviour”.
Some parents were also told their child had shown “persistent failure to follow school expectations”, yet many say this was the first time their child had been in trouble.
All of them have said the school has become an “unhappy place” since executive head, Mark Lehain, took over in September.
The Bedford Independent has agreed to keep all parents anonymous as they were all concerned their complaints may impact their child.
“Children struggling”
Parents say the school, which is part of the Wootton Academy Trust [WAT], called them to say their child was suspended after being “boisterous” in one of the corridors at the school.
Children were in the corridor as they had recently been banned from playing football during their breaks and at lunchtime. The parents say many of their children are struggling with this as they are left with little to do in their downtime.
The school would not tell us why the chance to play football had been taken away from the children.
“This is the last year of my son’s education and he wants to be at school so he can learn. He feels his GCSE grades are dropping due to missing valuable work time,” said one parent.
“I strongly believe this punishment is not representative of the issue and I do not support it.”
Many of the comments from parents echo this.
Another added, “My son wasn’t even sure what he had done and we didn’t find out properly until we had our return-to-school interview. The punishment was not fair and not appropriate.”
A number of parents said they were “seriously concerned about their child’s mental health” due to the punishments. They say these include suspensions for days at a time and being kept in isolation during the school day for what they believe are “minor and acceptable” mistakes.
They also criticised the school’s wider leadership.
“I feel the school has deteriorated since Mr Lehain joined. The level of discipline is extreme. The boys are not allowed to socialise and this is not good when they need to let off steam during a stressful year,” said a parent.
Another added, “His [Mr Lehain’s] methods should be adapted given the fact that the previous school he dealt with had a lot more problems than Wootton.
“His methods have created bigger problems and not many parents are happy with the way he has initiated them. I find his military and prison-like approach wrong and insulting.
“He has created more enemies than allies which in itself indicates his treatment and actions are inappropriate for Wootton as a school.”
“Stonewalled”
All parents we spoke to say they’ve tried to raise these concerns with the school but they are “stonewalled” when they try and put across their point of view.
“Mr Lehain has caused all of this but does not respond to emails or attend any of the meetings with parents he has upset. The school in general is worse since he arrived with a lot more unhappy parents than ever before,” said a parent.
“This school has lost all that it stood for and that is because of Lehain. I personally would like him to resign and leave,”
The Bedford independent put these claims to the Executive Headteacher at Wooton Upper Mr Lehain.
In all, we asked him nine questions about the school’s direction, why parents’ concerns were not being addressed, and if the concerns over the mental well-being of children in their care were being taken seriously.
Mr Lehain sent us the following response, “We are really pleased with the progress that we have made in recent times, particularly in terms of culture and student behaviour.
“Our priority is to ensure a calm and orderly atmosphere so that teachers can teach, and students can learn, and everyone feels safe.
“We have come a long way and were delighted that Ofsted recognised this when we were inspected on November 5th and 6th, finding us to be ‘good’ in every category, including ‘behaviour and attitudes’.”
He declined to comment on the reason why football had been banned during breaktime and at lunch and why 17 children had been suspended together.
While the school did receive a ‘good’ rating in its November Ofsted inspection, staff have been told they need to do more to work together with parents and pupils.
Their report said, ‘Some parents and pupils do not feel that the school communicates clearly with them about the changes made in school.
‘This has affected their confidence in how the school is led. The school should review how it communicates with stakeholders and seeks their views, to ensure that parents better understand and feel more informed about the changes being made at the school.’
We also asked the chair of governors Judy Chandler if the governors would be investigating the issues raised by parents.
We also asked if they would be working to find a solution that provides a happy and productive learning environment for the students that both teachers and parents are happy with.
We did not receive a response.
