I wanted to add this:
From very concerned members of the Community of St Vincent’s School.
The following are quotes taken from correspondence relating to serious concerns regarding Mrs Cleugh's Headship at St Mary’s in Hillingdon. Serious concerns were raised by staff and parents to the Governing Body, the Diocese and LEA, no one listened or took appropriate action. Mrs Cleugh then moved on to take up the Headship of St Vincent’s in Acton in 2006. Once again serious concerns were raised by staff and parents of St Vincent’s to the Governing Body, the Diocese and LEA and to date no one has listened or taken appropriate action.
‘I have been signed off with nervous exhaustion.’
‘St Mary’s School is now a place where none of the staff want to be. The atmosphere is one of tension and misery.’
‘In my opinion staff are so demoralised but are scared of being found talking to one another as further bullying is likely to occur as a result, so whispering in the corners has become commonplace.’
‘I could not stand working in this atmosphere as the stress became unbearable so I felt I had no choice but to leave the school.’
‘I have never seen so many staff in tears, and the number of staff that have already left to get away from this situation is quite appalling – and very distressing for those of us remaining.’
3 former employees letter to Director of Education Hillingdon
“It is our opinion, however that the reality of the situation at St Mary’s RC School is one that warrants the most serious independent investigation and consideration. Staff, past and present, believe that they have been, or are being subjected to systematic harassment and bullying by the headteacher, Mrs Christina Linda Cleugh.’
Former employee letter to MP
‘I have given up a lovely, local job in a school that meant the world to me. I have had to split my family. I basically have to be at two different schools at the same time. Why would anyone do that without reason. I do feel I am one of the lucky ones. Many members of staff have NEVER got over the way they were treated at St Mary’s.’
Former employee, letter to MP
‘Some complaints went to the Governors and they met with us to find out what was going on. Another meeting was held for staff to voice their concerns to representatives of the Governors and Education authority. Representatives from some of the unions were turned away at the door. We were told that the Governors should not have met with us and that they have to support the head teacher. We were all urged to “give her a chance”. We did and I believe that was a big mistake.’
‘I will give you one example of when Mrs Cleugh behaved unprofessionally towards us. We were told to make the nursery look as unattractive as possible, so that we would stand the best chance of funding for the new unit. After the representative from the Diocese had visited we asked if we could replace all the displays ect. We were told not to, as the nursery was going to be given a coat of paint. Mrs Cleugh then invited -----------, the Early Years Advisor in to visit and to give “support”. The starting point for this support was not how the nursery had originally looked, but how Mrs Cleugh had made us make the nursery look. We thought ---------- was aware of this, but were upset to find this was not the case in her written report.’
Former employee - Teacher
‘As during this time I was a NQT I was told by a person from the LEA that they were aware of the problems at St Mary’s and that if it had not been a faith school the situation would have been addressed earlier but that each time Mrs C Cleugh had been challenged she ‘Played the church card’ and kept the LEA out.’
Please write to Andrew Slaughter MP in confidence with your concerns.
June 29, 2007 5:53 PM
Some (governors, and Diocese apparatchiks) would like to believe that this blog is just about a handful of gossips intent on 'stirring it up'.
I have a question for those people. Do the claims of these people move your conscience? How do you feel about the numerous people who say they have been harmed, do they deserve support or is it reasonable to ignore their stories in the hope of securing or maintaining an appearance, however superficial, of 'normality'? Do you think it 'gossip' to share this information?
It has been said before here that there is no peace without justice. We desire peace, truly we do. We would be very happy to put this blog to bed, because there was no longer any need for it. But we also desire justice for those people who deserve our support. If it was you who had been on the recieving end of injustice , wouldn't you want your community to do that for you?
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7 comments:
All this is fascinating, but I just find it a bit strange that all these brave people so keen to 'speak out' and 'stand up' said not a word at the long called for parents' meeting in May. I was there, and the whole staff were there supporting the school, and despite being repeatedly asked to raise any concerns there was not a negative word spoken. That's strange. Are they people (or maybe one person) who prefers to hide behind the anonymity of a blog site. Things really have gone far enough? Time for a holiday and a wake up call for reality
hello anonymous, may I put forward an observation or two ...
Firstly at the May meeting the governors had cleverly engineered the focus of attention to be on the school and not on Mrs C vis the survey did not have a section on the Head herself.
Secondly, Tony Loftus, exactly such a brave person who would have asked some very difficult questions, was BARRED from the meeting by Mrs Blyth as he is not a parent any more.
Thirdly teachers who have been the main victims, as has been said time and time before, cannot publicly speak out for fear of their future employment prospects.
Fourthly we were not organised in time for the May meeting. We now are. Wait a few days and you might be surprised.
Bring on the holiday, we will not be spending the whole time sunning ourselves in inactivity.
Dear Anonymous,
Concerning your comment about parents not saying anything 'provocative' at the 10 May meeting;
I am not the bravest and therefore took one look at the front of the school hall and decided to keep quiet; Mrs Cleugh had plenty of men in suits there to support her (why does she need support, if everything is fine, according to the survey?). I was not going to be cannon fodder and be perhaps be put out of the meeting, like Tony Loftus. Sorry, I am just not brave enough.
The governors are aware of my concerns and have been for a considerable length of time; I am waiting for dialogue.
By the way, did you ask any questions at said meeting? Maybe we should meet up and exchange views. You may know who I am. Ask some of the Yr 5 parents - they'll point you in the right direction.
"All this is fascinating, but I just find it a bit strange that all these brave people so keen to 'speak out' and 'stand up' said not a word at the long called for parents' meeting in May."...FASCINATING???
What I find fascinating is that all this information yields such a derisory response from you, but what you REALLY want to focus on, is the 'anonymity' issue ( anonymity, which by the way, you see no problem in hiding behind yourself )
The anonymity issue is a total diversion. The reasons that so many, but by no means all, have chosen to remain anonymous are many, diverse and, reading some of the issues raised, should be obvious to anyone .
Why this obsession with the anons?
I've got a suggestion for YOU anonymous: How about attempting to address the REAL issues, have you examined them for yourself? Your dismissal of these with a breezy 'fascinating' sounds a bit sneery to me.
At the moment I don't have any children at the school, and am therefore not directly affected by many of these issues. But I am affected by some of them. As someone else said, this is not all about me. For me, Acton hasn't got much to commend it, there are prettier places in West London. Its real treasure lies in its people and the sense of community we have.
When I was at school this quote from John Donne hung on our classroom wall, I still remember it
"No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
It is painful to see how too many people are really impervious to the hurt and distress that people are enduring. That IS my business, and it should be your business too, anonymous or not.
In response to Teresa Roscow's comment of 10 July re Catholic secondary school admissions;
Mrs Cleugh issued a veiled threat to her that children from St V might not get into secondary schools because of disruptive parents at the school. Hmmm ...
Admissions criteria are quite clear; if you meet them, and there are places, your child will be given a place. If you don't get a place and the reason given is 'because your child is from St V', I think the Catholic secondary school admissions' boards are going to be in a tricky position as they will then have to prove why that makes your child unfit to be given a place at their school - beside the obvious fact that it would be discrimination.
Right, so that hopefully is a fallacy dealt with. Year 5 parents, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Interestingly, today the children were sent home with a list of their teachers for September. Makes a change from last year when we were all left in the dark. Although some teachers are again leaving, I was pleased to note that 4 "old timers" will be remaining a while longer.
"but I just find it a bit strange that all these brave people so keen to 'speak out' and 'stand up' said not a word at the long called for parents' meeting in May."
Well, I think there may be a compliment of sorts in there. Whilst I don't recall any of us claiming to be brave OR particularly keen to 'speak out' and 'stand up'( we're a very reluctant bunch of combatants actually) this anon commenter is acknowledging that it requires guts to take this on. Thank you. I agree. We HAVE had to screw what little courage we have to the sticking place, in the face of some powerful discouragement and intimidation.
many of us have discovered a mettle we didn't know we possessed.
I appreciate that even though we have never trumpeted our actions as being 'brave' that you have acknowledged us as such. May we continue to live up to the appellation, God help us.
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