A MUM who believes her son suffered an electric shock at school is one of hundreds to sign a petition declaring a ‘vote of no confidence’ in the school’s head teacher and academy trust.
Numerous parents have contacted the Chronicle concerned about the running of St Helen’s Primary at Monk Bretton over the last two weeks, including Terri Shaw, who said her autistic son Lee was left traumatised by an incident when he inserted a fork into an electric jacket potato warmer in the dining hall.
“Apparently sparks flew and the fork turned black,” said Terri, 24, of Lytham Avenue, Monk Bretton.
“The power went off in the school, and part of the fork broke off.
“I didn’t know a thing about it until home time when the head teacher called me over for a quiet word. She played it down completely saying it was a very minor incident, there was nothing wrong with him.
“I don’t know whether he suffered a shock or not but it definitely traumatised him. He still talks about it now, nearly four months on.”
Terri believes her son should have been better supervised as he has no understanding of danger, and says she should have been notified about the incident straight away and given an accident slip - something she never received.
A petition voicing concern about the school, part of the Academies Enterprise Trust, has now been signed by more than 220 people online, and hundreds more on paper copies.
It says: “The parents of St Helen’s have offered a vote of no confidence in the ability of Academies Enterprise Trust, to successfully manage and run the academy. The parents also offer a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the current executive head teacher.
“As a result of these votes, as stakeholders, we request that St Helen’s be given back to the care of the local authority, or be re-brokered to a different sponsor.”
Another incident highlighted by concerned parents involved a child swinging from an upstairs balcony, to which the executive head Jo-Anne Charalambous
reportedly responded by placing beanbags on the stairs beneath the child to break their fall.
The school declined to comment on any incident relating to specific children.
Parent Nikki Rowe, of Falmouth Close, Monk Bretton, said her daughter Lily who left St Helen’s last summer was supposed to have supervision in school - particularly when moving up and down stairs - due to her seizures.
“She was regularly left without that supervision,” she said.
A spokesman for the school said: “We are aware of most of the claims that have been made. A number of the allegations are simply factually inaccurate whilst others are actively being investigated.
“We have a completely open door policy at St Helen’s and invite parents to share any concerns or worries with us at any time, and it is therefore very disappointing that someone is writing letters containing significant inaccuracies to various bodies, including the local paper. Furthermore, we take complaints seriously; we don’t mislead parents or guardians... and we are a safe school.
“With regards governance arrangements, like all AET academies, there is a new trust-wide framework which is working extremely well. There is a very robust safeguarding policy in place, which in its inspection earlier this academic year, Ofsted recognised as being ‘effective’.
“And whilst overall the academy is still rated as requires improvement, Ofsted noted the impressive work of the head teacher and her effectiveness in addressing the shortcomings of the school as well as identifying that some parents are clear that the new leaders are having a positive effect on meeting the needs of their children.
“We are all working tirelessly to improve St Helen’s so that it provides the education that local families deserve.”
“...whilst it’s not appropriate to provide commentary on specific pupil cases, we want to stress how seriously we take the safety of our pupils, and ensuring that children with SEND get the support that they need.
“We are in close contact with the Department for Education, the ESFA and Barnsley Council about the issues that have been raised reassuring them on our processes and practices.”
LETTER
A GROUP of concerned parents sent a letter to Ofsted, Barnsley Council’s education department, and their MP Dan Jarvis detailing numerous concerns about St Helen’s Primary.
The catalogue of concerns included:
- Pupil attacks on staff and students
- Term dates changed without parental consultation
- Paid governors who also work for AET, resulting in conflict of interest
- Prolific staff absence since September
- Four head teachers and four deputy heads within two years
- Parental complaints being ignored
- Cancellation of all school trips and functions
Barnsley Council confirmed it had received the letter and that it was holding discussions with the school.
The council’s safeguarding spokesman Coun Margaret Bruff said: “Following concerns, we have held initial discussions with the school. We are following up with a meeting with AET, the academy trust, so that we can respond to the issues that have been raised with us, to ensure that the children at the school are learning in a safe and positive environment.
“The school has been proactive in engaging with us on any safeguarding concerns and we will continue to work with them and the trust to resolve other concerns being expressed by parents.”
