October 23rd 2023.
Parents of pupils who attend King Edward VI Academy in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, are claiming that their children's human rights are being breached. Dad-of-three Charlie Rich, 45, said that the school could be one of the strictest in Britain.
Charlie and his wife Emma, 35, were shocked to find how many other families were unhappy with the school. The couple started a discussion group because they thought they could not be the only parents going through this. They knew their children were not difficult children at home, and they believed in discipline, but also that it needs to be proportionate and fair.
Charlie said: “Our kids are not bad kids, but their school life became miserable. We moved one of our daughters from a grammar school and within a few months of being at this school she had been suspended 17 times and put in isolation 30.”
Charlie and Emma started a Facebook group in June to find out if other families had concerns about the school. Within weeks they said 140 parents and guardians had joined the group, and 70 people signed a letter of complaint to the school.
Charlie said: “We fully support a reasonable behaviour policy – but the school has taken it beyond the realms of reasonable. We’ve had girls being refused access to the toilet at times of the month they shouldn’t be refused, which is a breach of their human rights. One girl was forced to colour in the white Nike tick on her socks. The teacher even offered to take her to a shop to buy new ones there and then. It’s just so over the top. The correct response would be to send a letter home or say, ‘If you wear those tomorrow, then you’ll be put in isolation.’ When they made one girl forcibly change her trousers as they were too tight, that is just degrading. And the ones they gave were ridiculously baggy, like clown trousers. We believe discipline is being handed out disproportionately and unfairly.”
Another mum, called Gemma, said her daughter was suspended for going to the toilet without permission even though she has a medical pass. Gemma said: “Unfortunately, the school take it beyond the realms of reasonable and it’s detrimental to the kids’ mental health. It’s against basic human rights. She’s got a medical toilet pass for a reason. Every phone call from their number makes my stomach turn. No children are perfect especially not teenagers but there are ways to handle this and battles to pick.”
A spokesperson for the school said: “At King Edward VI Academy, we work hard to create a respectful and purposeful culture in which students can learn and reach their full potential. This begins at the start of the school day when pupils are met by staff and offered welfare support and replacement uniform if they have incorrect items. We have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and always seek to reward pupils’ good conduct, with positive reinforcement far outweighing any sanctions. Pupils are taken out of class where they are disrupting others from learning. These pupils are offered restorative conversations to help them learn how to improve their behaviour after which they continue their education under supervision. Suspensions are used proportionally to help keep the academy calm and safe, and as behaviour has improved, the number of these has fallen significantly.”
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