The PTA of a Brighton junior school has resigned en masse following a row with the headteacher which followed months of discontent amongst parents and staff.
Since Paul Davis became head of Stanford Junior School in September 2014, about half the school’s staff has quit, with concerns raised prompting the NUT to carry out a wellbeing survey and request another.
Some parents are also compiling a dossier of complaints, concerned that the new broom is not only sweeping clean, but driving out valued staff and with them the school’s cultural values they most cherish.
They say plummeting staff morale is leaking into the classroom, with pupils seeing teachers crying in the corridors, being taught by a succession of supply teachers, and being asked to take part in teaching assessments.
Last month, the whole PTA resigned following a stormy meeting with the headteacher, which saw its chairwoman leave in tears.
One former teacher, who asked not to be named, said: “Thirteen members of staff have left in the past year – teachers, teaching assistants and office staff – which is about half the school’s entire staff.
“We have got a toxic situation in the school. There’s a lot of unhappiness and stress.
“As a staff we tried everything we could and followed to the letter what the NUT advised us to do which was to speak to the head and carry out a wellbeing survey.
“All but two members of staff were failed on lesson observations and some were told that they were trouble makers. A number of deeply unhappy people left that summer.
“I left because it’s impossible to work anywhere if you don’t feel respected. I’ve taught at the school for 23 years, and I’ve had no acknowledgement of that.
“Ultimately there’s nothing we can do. The governors know what an awful situation it is. There’s this idea that the staff at the school are unable to make necessary changes. Many members of staff are having time off for stress.
I’ve put my heart and soul into the school. The hardest thing for me was the children coming up and asking me why I’m leaving and I couldn’t say.
“We lost some fantastic teachers, and quite young people who had only been at the school for two or three years and still had enthusiasm for the job – now they have thrown in the towel and said I don’t want to teach again.”
The teacher said he thought that news of bad feeling at the school was also leading to parents at the linked infant school sending their children elsewhere. In 2014, the school received 226 applications for places, of which 109 were first choice. This year, it had fallen 25% to 169, with 88 first choice applications, down 20%.
One parent said she was concerned the school was being turned into a SATS factory.
She said: “Problems became apparent when teacher after teacher started leaving and there was no transparency about why – we were told one teacher was leaving to move to another country, but they told us that was rubbish and they were leaving with no job to go to.
“The class teacher left halfway through the year which left them with supply teachers – one day they had three different teachers in the space of an hour because the management was so poor.
“Our child has seen teachers crying in the hallway more than once. They are pulling children out of the class to evaluate their teachers which apparently is acceptable.
“Our conversations started very amiably with the governors. We were promised that there would be improvements and that the classroom situation would be improved, but we think it’s got worse.
“Every school has got a bit of dead wood. I wouldn’t say it was perfect before, but it wasn’t terrible. The new head has come in to pursue his career, get the SATS results up, and that’s at odds with the school’s culture of creativity, achieving well academically but not results obsessed.”
She also expressed concern that pupils no longer had access to their own trays as they had been filled with SATS revision papers and there was a reduction in teaching of subjects outside the core SATS requirements, such as RE and science.
And new health and safety rules meant children were discouraged from going to the toilet during class, with locks on classroom and toilet doors sometimes leading to pupils being stuck in corridors.
Another parent, who is close to members of the PTA who have just resigned, said: “There’s an extraordinary atmosphere throughout the school. Parent meetings erupt into verbal punch ups. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“The PTA had a difficult relationship with him because he was so uninvolved. The previous head had come to meetings, but the new head seemed to be opposed to everything they did.
“He said he didn’t like Christmas Fairs because parents get drunk, and scowled all the way through a school talent show, saying afterwards he wasn’t happy seeing lots of drunk parents.”
In a letter sent to wider members of the PTA to explain the resignation seen by Brighton and Hove News, the committee said: “We had a very upsetting meeting with the head …. He suggested we were spinning our grievances and it was all a PR exercise.”
The committee declined to speak directly to Brighton and Hove News.
A council spokesman, responding on behalf of the local authority and the school, said: “We are aware of some parents’ concerns about issues at Stanford Junior school.
“We are working with the head teacher, the school governors and parents to resolve matters. As a local authority, we provide support and challenge to schools across the city to help make sure the best possible educational and safe environments are provided for pupils.
“Anyone with concerns about a school should share the information through the appropriate complaints process so any serious matters can be addressed.”
A spokesman for the NUT said: “A wellbeing survey was conducted and results were discussed between school managers and unions. The NUT has run similar surveys in several schools.
“It was agreed that a follow-up survey would be carried out in the current school year. The NUT has provided details to the school to enable this to happen but we are not aware that it has been conducted.”
Mr Davis was approached for comment directly, but chose to respond via the council. The chair of governors said she could not comment until ongoing processes were resolved.
And they kids in the poorest parts of the world have it tough
Mr Davies is a new head and is still learning. He obviously wants to implement lots of changes to school as there is lots of pressure from government, he wants to fulfill parents expectations etc. and he wants to do it quickly with no compromising. Many teachers might find these changes uncomfortable,feel stressed and leave school as a result.
My child who just joined school in September 2015 commented being bored at lessons and finds lessons not as enjoyable and interesting as at Stanford Infant School. My child has been taught by many different teachers lately. I have a feeling that there is a failure of the head. He probably struggles to implement changes which might be necessary while keeping everyone happy. I think he tries to be a perfectionist. However, there has been lots of pressure put on teachers recently and I feel they should slow down in the interest of their own health.
“All but two members of staff were failed on lesson observations”
Sounds as if the staff which have gone were poor performing teachers. I would be up in arms if my child was not denied the best opportunity of success because of lazy or incompetent teachers. Its about time staff were held accountable for their ineffectual teaching. As for drunk parents, a school is not the place for this behaviour, save it for the pub.
As a parent at the school I have seen first hand the destructive effect Mr Davies has had. The majority of staff who left were well loved, high performing teachers, most certainly not ‘lazy or incompetent’ as the previous commenter implies.
This is a clear case of a new head at odds with the ethos of the school, enacting a ‘regime change’ to support his wrong-headed agenda.
It’s the kids who are suffering most. Such a shame.
I have my daughter in Stanford Junior and I couldn’t agree more with your response. My daughter teacher left last christmas and she is an excellent teacher and human been.
Maybe if you could structure a sentence and spell correctly your precious daughter would be able to learn from you I rather than these ‘incompetent new teachers’.
Not too good yourself…structure,punctuation and sense.
I agree. The school is going through very hard times. I feel like i cant have fun anymore and instead i have to feel “extra happy and safe” We couldn’t go to the field for at least 6 months because of “safety reasons”. i am very annoyed at the school because they have taken away most of the fun and i feel very anxious about saying my thoughts and doing anything! So many great teachers left in the past 3 years and the PTA has recently resigned apparently because of the school.
I am not happy
How do you rate success, Parent Would Like Results ?
This is an example of a head teacher with ambitions to make a school ‘outstanding’, implementing a harsh regime that has undervalued and alienated staff. The irony being that a good many of the teachers that have gone were ‘outstanding’. Laziness or incompetence are not things you can easily get away with in the teaching profession. But this situation seems to indicate that one person, with a very singular, subjective view, can have a catastrophic affect on an entire community, and is very worrying for the future of education.
No-one wasdrunk – I was at that event and it was fantastic. Loads of effort by a very committed PTFA and super talented kids. Most parents had one or two drinks and everyone behaved responsibly. The head has never been able to point to a single incident of drunkenness at school events. He is said to have disliked the event because he wastn’t control of it – this is a world away from anyone being out of control with drink. People were high spirited but not drunk
I’ve seen you drunk middle class mums! Drunk at brunch, drunk for afternoon tea and NOW drunk at the kids disco’s. No doubt drunk writing these comments, hence all your spelling mistakes. These poor children, what role models? None.
What a facile comment. And you can have no idea who is middle class and who is not. The school is more mixed than people think
I am a previous student and have luckily moved on to secondary school before this all happened. I know which teachers left and I say that they did well, at stanford when I was attending and Mr davis joined as head it was already obvious that he wanted to change the school. Also by the way at the school fairs NONE of the parents were drunk, just because he doesn’t know what fun is doesn’t mean he should blame it on others. The teachers that left I was taught by, and I can tell you that I got some of the best grades I ever got! So before the public make judgments on things at least know the main facts, or get some more information
PWLR clearly has no experience of teaching as the pressure teachers are under make it impossible for them to be ‘lazy or incompetent’. What a sad ‘Daily Mail’ type response.
I was a classroom teacher at Stanford for ten years and know that the school got a ‘good’ from Ofsted and all teachers given a good or outstanding in their lesson observations only three months before Paul Davis took over. Suddenly we were all being told we were failures by someone who’d never been a head before. Not getting the best out of your staff is ‘lazy and incompetent’. Good relationships, support and respect for staff, pupils and children should be a number one priority for any head, and in this respect Davis is a total failure. He is instead, cowardly, self-serving and incompetent. And telling a teacher she’d failed a lesson then openly laughing in her face when she cries, suggests a genuinely cruel streak.
My second child is now at Stanford Juniors and over half of the amazing staff that were there teaching my first child have left since Mr Davis arrived. I have no idea what the lesson observation pass/fail criteria were, but I do have direct experience of 4 of the teachers that have left and they were very good, very creative teachers who the children loved. When my daughter was there with Mr Francesci the school was outstanding in almost all areas and the children and staff were happy – you could feel it as a parent – now the staff are so bullied they can barely speak out. My child is in the class with the teacher that left half way through the year and she didn’t have a job, and was a really experienced, great teacher who is still sorely missed and our children’s education is suffering because of this.
Can someone tell me what we have to do to stop this man bullying his staff (not just teachers but office staff, TA’s and support staff have left) and get someone in to run the school in a supportive happy way?
And re the drunk parents comment, I also jointly ran the PTA there for 3 years and we ran lots of great social events, some of which had wine and beer for the parents – they parents weren’t drunk, just had a drink – is it not a good thing to do to teach our children to drink responsibly? Surely it’s more important to be a nice, kind supportive head teacher?
PWLR clearly has no experience of teaching as the pressure teachers are under make it impossible for them to be ‘lazy or incompetent’. What a sad ‘Daily Mail’ type response.
I was a classroom teacher at Stanford for ten years and know that the school got a ‘good’ from Ofsted and all teachers given a good or outstanding in their lesson observations only three months before Paul Davis took over. Suddenly we were all being told we were failures by someone who’d never been a head before. Not getting the best out of your staff is ‘lazy and incompetent’. Good relationships, support and respect for staff, pupils and children should be a number one priority for any head, and in this respect Davis is a total failure. He is instead, cowardly, self-serving and incompetent. And telling a teacher she’d failed a lesson then openly laughing in her face when she cries, suggests a genuinely cruel streak.
Wow – he laughed?
this head teacher sounds as though therir head is as hard as a nut and more difficult to crack! how did he get the job in the first place? if not suitably qualified and experienced,unless he is a government task manager, witgh a task to strip the school of all that is good to make sure it becomes an academy…..
The ignorance and self-serving imagination in some of these comments, as well as in the poorly written article itself, is truly astounding.
I am a parent at Stanford and have been for four years. I am also a teacher myself. The progress at Stanford Junior school has improved no end since Mr. Davis arrived. It felt like a coasting school before and now the children are being challenged in many different ways! Schools across the country are going through the same thing. Stanford had a lot of catching up to do and Mr. Davis is working extremey hard to make sure our children are now finally reaching their potential!
Absolutely. The head teacher is clearly on a learning curve but is implementing lots of positive change. He is being completely undermined by demanding, privileged parents who would consider a teaching job beneath them. It is so sad to see parents turning their kids against the school, rather than finding ways to support the school and the staff who are working very hard
Fool! Children aren’t ‘reaching their potential’, they are reaching/ failing a fictional result, based upon the derived necessity to neurotically measure everything and produce stats. Teaching is not a science and neither is learning, so people cannot be measured in the way that they are. This methodology has come about as a direct result of people being promoted to positions with no ability to do the things they preach to others and then defending their positions by producing stats and targets.
Teach-learn-measure-compare with template.
Pass-fail-report results.
Blame-repeat.
Call that ‘education’?! The content is clearly secondary to a measured result and therefore totally worthless.
The implication is that all teachers and pupils I attended school with were inept and incapable because they were not being statistically monitored in this current way. I remember my primary school days with fondness because the style of teaching was gentle and had nothing to do with factory farming children in the way that they are now. Many young adults cannot grasp the idea that it is entirely possible to live a successful and happy life without a degree (and inherent debt) and this comes as a result of not knowing how to negotiate the things in life which cannot be measured and rated.
Thankfully nobody in this country will ever teach any of my children, rate them against a bizarre educational standard or fail them as human beings for not passing enough SATS or exams. The best education is not what is taught in schools but what is taught by life itself. By all means try to measure that if you will but until that is understood, no amount of NUT,PTA,governor meetings, SATS or Ofsted results will help you or more importantly, children. Get a grip!
I ‘m not sure it has improved entirely. Some things are better ( teachers are far more accessible for parents to meet, and some of the new teachers are excellent, including my child’s teacher. ). But the atmosphere is terrible and despite his good intentions on communication the head is failing to get his message – (whatever it is – I still want to give him the benefit of the doubt – )across to parents, teachers or kids, it seems. And too many excellent staff have left. The school was for years a warm and fun creative place. Now it is losing that. I am anxious though that the wave of aggression some parents direct at the head is totally counterproductive- he is a bad communicator but so are some parents.
This is not good for our children at Stanford. We don t want them thinking they go to a terrible school! Work with the school ,not against it !! How can Stanford ever build bridges if parents complain all the time – go and look at an school in a deprived area- you’ll realise how lucky you are!
Wouldn’t it be interesting to read an actual newspaper article where the ‘reporter’ had researched both sides rather than painting a bleak view based on the comments from a few people? As a parent of a child at Stanford Junior, I have nothing but praise for Mr Davis who has FINALLY set high expectations. My child is incredibly happy at the school and my only fear is that the hard working and professional staff (who choose not to comment outside of work) will think this thinly veiled ignorance is the view of all parents. Keep it up Stanford School – you are doing our kids proud!
It seems my original comment was deleted. Was it deleted because I praised the school or because I questioned the ‘balanced’ view in this article? It seems hypocritical to write a critique of a school and then delete a critique of the biased information.
We are extremely happy with the way our child is currently being taught and some of the views and comments in this article are very opposed to the experience that we have had with teachers and Mr Davies. Our child has progressed so rapidly in their learning and development since starting in September 2015, which to me is a true indicator of the excellent teaching staff and learning environment. We have always found Mr Davies very open and accommodating to our child’s needs and he has always shown a very positive interest in all of the children’s well being. I have also been dismayed at the way in which some parents have spoken to Mr Davies at certain parent meetings, sometimes in an uneccassry aggressive and argumentative tone. At the end of the day, unfortunately the government has introduced additional testing in schools and prioritised funding for certain subjects over others and schools can not be held responsible for these changes. Lastly, our child is happy and really engaged with their learning and it is a real shame that the local media has only reported on one side of a story and tarnishing the reputation of a good school and a head master who is trying his best for the children.
The government have not prioritised funding for certain subject area. All schools should be following the 2014 National Curriculum which has raised the bar in what children have to now learn. Schools are under lots of pressure due to the SATS which have been a fiasco. But it’s how you manage expectations and be realistic. Current year 6 children are at a huge disadvantage as they have only been studying the new curriculum for 1.5 years. It is online so please see how onerous it is. And has unrealistic expectations. All unions are saying this. So it’s not for Mr Davies to threaten, intimidate , humiliate and denigrate teachers , he should be supporting them and recognising their professionalism and be realistic about results in these changing educational times.
I haven’t heard about these issues at Stanford Junior School before, but it sounds like the school just has a single problem: the headteacher.
He needs to go. He’s completely failing at the role. Sadly, the damage has already been done and could take years to repair. But it is repairable, which is something the remaining staff and parents need to hold on to. You just need to have the head kicked out asap.
I used to go to Stanford junior school and my time there was amazing but as soon as Mr Davies arrived, it all went downhill. I’m in year 7 now at Newman and it’s great. I’m so pleased I left befor that it got too bad. I always think that I miss it, but I’m glad I’m not there now. I just really think Stanford needs to become the happy place it once was.
I honestly do not think that I have ever read a more poorly written and one sided ‘news report’ in my life. Aside from the highly selective nature of the interviewees selected and quoted (badly), the article seems to highlight nothing more than the reported petty grievances of a few ex staff (whose reasons for departure are pure speculation) and a handful of disgruntled PTA members. Upset that they can’t get loaded in a primary school during a Christmas fair? Really?
My child has thrived at the school since the arrival of Mr Davis. There now appears to be an ingrained culture of genuine work and commitment to progress that was frankly absent before. My child is happier, more challenged and involved in school far more than they ever have been in the past. The school. I believe, is much better for it.
As a member of staff at the school, I cannot express how appalling the situation has been since the head, Mr Davis, took over as an interim head, who was subsequently appointed due to a lack of other candidates. For those of you commenting on how ‘lazy’ teachers have rightly been outed, you know nothing of the circumstances that have lead to over a 50% turnover of staff. For a year the staff have battled to be heard and listened to, but even with governor meetings and unions involved, nothing has improved and staff have gone unheard. The only way to describe the behaviour of Mr Davis is as bullying. Grown adults pushed to their limits with relentless unrealistic demands placed on them until they lose the will to fight anymore. In my working career or personal life, I can honestly say I have never come across a person so devoid of human feeling and empathy for others. A headteacher that spends more time delegating responsibilities and openly voicing that things are not his responsibility should not be holding the position he currently has the privilege of. When you are told by governors that ‘their hands are tied’ regarding the situation, is it any wonder that some decide the only option left for them is to leave rather than feel bullied, undervalued, unappreciated and used as scape goats. I do believe you should support your school wholeheartedly, but for those supporters, ask yourself how can all those staff (& parents) be wrong and one spin-doctor/politician be the one in the right. Enough is enough.
Balfour Primary had their ex head teacher sacked. She put staff through constructive dismissal and luckily one senior member of staff fought back With the help of the NUT they went to an industrial tribunal where the head was found wanting and was dismissed. High staff turnover is a sign something is v wrong at the school.
Or sorting out the mess the previous Head left?
Please get your facts right. The head was not dismissed, but left of her own accord, because she was not prepared to put up with personal attacks and lack of support from the LA. Your comment is libellous.
We have 2 kids at Stanford and are saddened by this misrepresentation of what we see as a great school. Mr Davis has our full support and it’s a shame that grievances are being aired through media channels such as this without proper investigation.
My fear is that all this negativity will result in a more polarised and bitter atmosphere at the school. I have tried not to listen to people’s moaning and just make my judgement of the school, staff and headteacher based on my direct experience. My experience has been good and I am happy with my child’s progress and happiness – which is what, as a parent, is my main concern. Constant animosity is not healthy and we need to work with the school, it’s teachers and the head- not against it or them.
Warren , there are many of us that are very happy with Stanford junior school. Mr. Davis has made huge improvements!
Odd that a parent wanting to remain anonymous would use the name ‘parent’? Warren & others, please stop this cyber bullying of someone who isn’t able to defend themselves here. This is the stuff we teach our kids NOT to do.
I’m really happy with the school, and it has really helped my child. I have had direct dealings with Mr Davis and have found him to be helpful and supportive. There is a small group of agitators among the parents who make a lot of noise but don’t, I think, represent the majority. They appear to have close links with the current (now ex) PTFA, who have always seemed to me to be a cliquey little group. Unfortunately, these seem to be the only views represented in this article, along with a disgruntled ex teacher. Hardly deserves the name of a news article.
Totally agree with you. Too many coasters in this school, relying on children from an affluent area to keep the grades up. Ditch the deadwood, bring in fresh and inspiring teachers.
Ofsted identified the problems, shame the bity teaching staff can’t:
In a few cases, teachers’ expectations of presentation, or of what pupils can achieve, are not high enough.
Sometimes, teachers are too slow to identify and help those pupils whose progress is slowing during lessons.
Marking does not always give pupils sufficient guidance on what they need to do to improve their work.
Subject leaders do not play a big enough role in monitoring the quality of teaching and checking the progress of pupils in their subjects.
Arrangements for communicating with some groups of parents and carers are not effective.
Wow! I’ve heard those exact words uttered, almost word for word, by Mr. D (FOR DICK)
A PTA is made up of a cross-section of parents and carers of a school community, all of who give up their time to fund-raise and provide extra-curricular opportunities for the children. They work closely with the headteacher and obviously have more of an understanding of how he relates to others than most of the other parents, who see him less. For them all to resign en masse does suggest something is wrong with their relationship with the headteacher as surely a PTA would be supported by a head who benefits from their fundraising and positive contribution to the school and wider community? As there are parents on both sides, either supporting or condemning the head, perhaps it is the PTA and the teachers (both currently working there and those who have left) who should be listened to? The other group of people who work closely with a headteacher are the governors. Are they supporting him? If not, it seems the headteacher has alienated himself against too much of the school community. This suggests a person who is very dogmatic, thinking he is always right and not listening to others. Perhaps this particular school is not for him? He does seem to be the common factor of so many people’s unhappiness.
How do you judge success? By a happy well adjusted child. And any parent who just wants ‘results ‘ is a poor and blinkered parent
This article would have more credibility if it spelled Mr Davis’ name correctly (as well ‘creativitivy’), however it make some valid points.
It is unheard of for a PTFA to resign en masse. Mr Davis’ dogmatic approach left them no option. A compromise solution should not have been difficult to find.
Apparently there are plenty of happy parents in school, but it remains to be seen if any have the commitment required to run a PTFA (dealing with the same head that led the previous committee to resign) and generate valuable addition funds.
The turnover of staff is high. Staff are leaving the school due to Mr Davis’ style of management. The school continually tries to spin each departure as ‘leaving to spend more time with their family’ or ‘leaving to live abroad’, when the truth is ‘not enjoying the working environment’.
I’m not sure that Mr Davis is trying to turn a coasting ‘good’ school into an ‘outstanding’ school. He may be tremendous at administration (I don’t know), but it’s clear he doesn’t have the personal skills to manage a school of this size.
For all those parents who are supporting Paul Davis, I strongly recommend you become part of a new PTA so you can find out what he is really like.
Both my kids went to Stanford before Mr Davis arrived with his SATs driven, health&safety obsessed, risk averse, non-elite, command and control agenda. Clearly he sees danger everywhere around him – not letting parents have a drink at PTFA fund raising events is over the top. Heard nothing but bad things about the man – if the PTFA can’t work with him and teachers can’t work with him that says more about Mr Davis than the PTFA and teachers. Clearly he hasn’t engaged with the parents and he hasn’t engaged with the teachers – in fact it sounds like he is bullying the teachers big time – so he’s doomed to failure. Loads of parents are choosing to send their kids to Cottesmore and Brunswick. Time for the governors to do something about what sounds like a toxic situation.
Part of the reason an atmosphere of bullying has persisted is because Paul Davis has been allowed to surround himself with an initial group of ‘yes men/women’ that appear to have all come from his previous institution. It would be nice to have some transparency on the recruitment process that was applied to the hiring of new staff (e.g. date of hire, previous institution). The governors have been asked for this information but have deemed it ‘personal’. Surely this information exists in the public domain – or can be requested in order to assess recruitment practice. Anyone want to have a go?
This has become so childish and cliquey. My son has improved fantastically at this school over the last year. I’m actually waiting at pick up now and have just overheard another parent saying to their child ‘your teacher sounds rubbish’ because the kid was bored for a bit in a lesson. That is the small minority, very vocal, Stanford parent attitude in a nutshell. There’s two sides to every story. You’ve only reported one here. And badly.
Can you explain the high turnover of staff. With another 2 teachers leaving this term – the jobs are advertised on B&H website.
No – can you? Have you got the full story? All I know is the standard of my child’s work has improved more in the last year than the previous years put together and he is happy. That’s how I measure a school.
This PTA sound a right bunch of middle class inebriates, they don’t like the way things have changed so have resorted to throwing their toys out of their prams.
P(part) T(time) A(alcoholics) more like. Not the people I would like around my children
Im a child at the school in year 6 ( my mum showed me this ) Stanford is an AMAZING school it’s great but ever since mr Davis arrived it’s been HELL. When he joined in year 5 some boys in the other class got into trouble ( which is wrong ) in Assembly he made them all stand up and shout at them and sent them away , half of them were crying and I don’t think embarrassing them in front of the hole school was a right idea. Once we all had a fate and for many years we were able to get tickets at the door but on that day we diddnt ( because of him ) so many children were crying ! I’ve seen so many teachers crying in the hall way and my fav teacher said she was going to new yourk so that’s why she was leaving but I passed her many times on the streets . Mr Davis has made hell for the school and I hate him he thinks he can make the school a better place but he’s made worse then it was. Are school is amazing I highly recommend it but we need him to go
If the school was so amazing why the spelling and punctuation mistakes? If I didn’t know better I would think you were one of the ‘poor & bullied’ staff. Need to do better, see me after class.
How classy of you to try and embarrass a ten year old!! Shame on you!
Yes – totally crass
I know right
Really ? Do u think I care about my spellings on this article . NO
Can I urge any teacher to make a formal grievance complaint to the council so that this can be looked at properly?
I am a parent of a child at this school. I can say that most of what is written in this article is true from the point of view of us parents. But as a journalist too I expect to see some bakance – why has no comment seemingly been sought from the head and governors? I am keen to hear what he has to say.
Hi Majestic, we did approach both the head and the governors. The council responded on behalf of the head (as the article states) and the governors refused to talk to us.
Hi Jo. Was he approached for comment? The article says the council respond ed on behalf if the school. And does it say the governors declined to comment? I can see why he might want to maintain a dignified silence but it needs to be made clear he was approached
He was, yes, and I’ll add that in.
Super – thanks!
Hmmm pally conversation here, almost like disgruntled parents have a pet journalist to grind their axe for them. Hey this mud slinging is fun, no wonder you do it…
Is there no-one moderating this comment thread? Some of it is abusive and borderline libellous and needs to be taken diwn. There’s a difference between fair comment and downright abuse
It’s a disgrace that journalism has descended in recent times to forums that, whilst pretending to champion democratic voice, actually facilitate nothing more than a stream of random, vicious character assassinations. Each one of you has a right to personal opinion and to due process through other means ( ie writing to the governors of the school, the head or your child’s class teacher and formally registering your complaint). This way of responding is little more than the mentality of the mob. And for a newspaper to generate interest by encouraging this kind of comment – as opposed to edited, moderated letters pages – is very poor. One day, your name might be at the top of the list, then god help you when the first online comment lands about you.
I would like to make an unbiased comment but I do find it difficult having read through the above -schools are normally great places where children thrive and teachers/heads work for the best of the pupils and work to overcome the continued barriers that rapid change imposes on any institution. BUT. It has cleared not happened in this case. I have heard of cases similar to the above where Mr Davies has humiliated his staff in front of the rest of his team. This is not a leader but someone who has only worked as a supervisor and does not understand the role of head or leadership. I have to ask the question – why did he apply for the headship approx. 6 times AND why did fail to secure the role on 5 occasions! I wonder…..
Parents and teachers alike have tried many times to address issues with the governors. Concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Measures have now been taken to have the appropriate services/authorities evaluate the situation at Stanford Junior School.
Oh my! I worked at Stanford for many years as a T.A. What great memories I have. We all had a great working relationship with each other, and this reflected in the children’s happiness and wellbeing. I am sorry but something/someone has caused major upset to this great school. What a pity that so many of the fantastic staff that I worked with have been forced out. A message to my friends who are still there, get out of that place. Life is too short. You are worth so much more.
No – please don’t urge great staff to ‘get out’. I hope they will stay and try to turn this situation around, for the sake of the school and community. The school still has many fantastic staff and I am seriously concerned about what might happen if thry also go…
No – please don’t urge great staff to ‘get out’. I hope they will stay and try to turn this situation around, for the sake of the school and community. The school still has many fantastic staff and I am seriously concerned about what might happen if thry also go….
I’m afraid governors are “untouchable” they may be ignorant, stupid or ill informed , but once elected almost impossible to remove. So much for democracy!
Ffs give it a rest, let the staff do their job. Who gives a fxxk about the pta, they are only in it for their own jollification. Let teachers teach & parents be proud of their offsprings achievements.
My daughter loves being at Stanford Juniors and has thrived since Mr Davis arrived. At last, somebody that is actually doing something and making hard but necessary changes to improve the standard of teaching and attitude. I hope this ridiculous campaign doesn’t result in us losing him as a head, it would be a great loss. Yes, he is on a learning curve of his own bit I believe his objectives are for the good of our children being able to succeed in today’s world. Unfortunately having been at a school a long time or being liked are not what qualifies one a good teacher!
The PTA have raised thousands of pounds for the school and the kids love the events they’ve organised, so everyone SHOULD give a fxxk about the organisation. I am sorry that the present PTA and head failed to work together – intransigence on both sides I reckon. Meanwhile the school and kids are the victims of this depressing and ludicrous power struggle
Our daughter was at Stanford before and after the arrival of Mr Davis. We had an issue that required us to have contact with him and we found Mr Davis extraordinarily unsympathetic and utterly devoid of compassion for my daughter.
A school’s raison d’être is to inspire and teach children and help them to develop. My experience was that Mr Davis is only interested in his own reputation and not at all in the welfare of the children. He belittled my daughter in front of us and even suggested she might benefit from alternative medicine.
I consider we had a lucky escape, as we moved our daughter to a different state school in Brighton, where she is now very happy. In fact, looking at the outstanding teaching and leadership of her new school and comparing them to Stanford is like chalk and cheese.
A school should be a community – when you undermine that by driving a wedge between you and some of the most committed parents and teachers, you are on a slippery slope.
I’m really sorry to hear about your experience at Stanford, and I’m glad you have found a better school for your daughter. I hope the council are aware of your experience? I have been in contact with my local cllrs, and they are interested to hear of any other experiences with the school. Find your local councillors here – they employ all staff at the school, so they have to be the next stop after the governors: http://present.brighton-hove.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx
For all those people who are standing up for him who are Parents. YOUR NOT A KID . U don’t know what he dose to people and how HORRIBAL he Is he needs to go amedietly as he can not get away with this !!! If he ever gets angry at me all I’m gonna do is say ” ur not my dad” . So many teachers hate him no matter how much they deny it ITS TRUE !!! I don’t know hey people support him because there all pearents ( they don’t go to the school ) I want to stand up to him so bad but I’ll get in trouble . If enough teachers admit they don’t like him Shurely he has to go
I am a year six student at this school and personally I agree with all of the above !! I mean come on people half the staff have left because of him ( all the good teachers !!) HE NEEDS TO GO NOW !!!!!! He has made teachers cry and the PTA quit ! We don’t do RE or Science any more children are in happy here and I have to say I am glad i only have 7/8 weeks left at this school I AM GLAD TO LEAVE . School was actually fun and a happy place to be before he came along but now I know that a lot of people are unhappy and feel nervous about coming to school And a lot of students are missing days of school because of this
He needs to leave amediently
As someone who lives near in the Stanford and prestonville community and works part time with a lot of these children, I have seen how detrimental Mr Davis has been. Forcing out outstanding teachers who have done much more than produce SATS results but also inspired and connected with the children. His reputation has already been ruined and he is taking the school’s with it. Me and many others urge him to step down or to be removed before he does anymore lasting damage. I have been to the school and have many happy memories coming out from there, many because of a bright, enthusiastic head teacher who has been a figurehead of the school; respected by both children and parents. It’s dissapointing to know that the children aren’t having as good of an experience as I did solely because of one selfish narrow minded man.
Oh dear, PTFA up in arms cos of a white wine ban….
My total sympathies with all the parents. My daughter went to a different Primary school in Sussex and the same sort of thing happened. A new head teacher arrived and totally divided the school. It was like a popularity contest. She had her ‘cliquey’ group of teachers whom she liked but wonderful, inspirational teachers that had been there for 10-15 years that she took an instant dislike to were treated dreadfully, I think about 5 left that first year and more in the following years. She had no tact whatsoever and said incredibly cruel things in front of some children. She was a bully to parents, teachers and children. She is still at the school and when parents ask me about sending their children there, knowing my daughter went there and is now doing amazingly well at high school, I put them off. If your face doesn’t fit for whatever reason, she wont like you and she wont like your child! But, as above, you will still have the parents who say she is wonnnnnndddddderful. Who employs these people, who are they accountable to? Do they have any idea how their actions impact people’s lives? Such a sad situation for all those at Stanford.
I’m currently looking into Infant and Primary Schools for my first child and Stanford Infants is our closest and most obvious choice. I’m also aware that my child will more than likely end up at Stanford Junior (if she goes to Stanford Infants) and I had heard there had been discontent about the head teacher there, so I’m doing a bit of (non-drunk, honest!) late night research and its intriguing to say the least! If this news thread is still active can anyone bring forth an updated insight over how the school feels now please? I can’t wait to meet Paul Davis! And will be open minded. I’m going to attend the Open Day/Evening of Stanford Junior as a heads up to help decide my first choice for Infant/Primary school. Although I realise I may have less choice than I’d like given how the processing procedure needs to be calculated…
I have three children at Stanford Junior School currently in years 6, 5 and 3. We have nothing by praise for the Head, Paul Davies. He is a very committed and talented educator.
I would very strongly advise readers to completely ignore the above historical, ‘herd-mentality’, tittle-tattle that bears no resemblance to the realities of the Head or the School currently.
It is a lovely and very well run school and our children are very happy and well looked after there.
I think the above article and comments are totally out of date at best.