‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…’

 

On Monday, we wear our logo a dove,

Tuesday, we show we care and love,

Wednesday, we wear a happy face,

Thursday, we like to run and chase,

Friday, we like to work and play,

Saturday, is our day away,

Sunday, our clothes are on the washing line,

‘Cos Trinity’s ready to shine!

Pepe Hart

 

Just a little play on words, nonetheless sung with the same enthusiasm and happy faces this song requires from children and staff in a vibrant school.

 

The last seven days have certainly been interesting. What a difference a week makes. I embarked on the wonderful world of Twitter for the first time. Social media has its pros and cons. It has been an absolute joy to discover that there are thousands of positive and up-lifting people on twitter, ready to motivate and big each other up! While I do not have thousands of followers, I want to thank those that have taken the time and trouble to engage and send messages of hope and encouragement. It surely is testament to the fact that the world is mostly made up of kind people. I am aware that I may be naïve seeing the good in most people and always have been. Can I change? Do I want to change? Probably not.

 

Ironically, when I experienced a life-changing moment in my career, much of it was attributed to the negative and often secret side of social media, through Facebook. I have never understood the mentality of going online to tear down others in order to make yourself feel better. One of the most horrific (and I use the word ‘horrific’ deliberately) is the discovery that professionals are at it too.

 

A Facebook group was set up called ‘The Downfall of Mrs Hart’. Through a pre-court disclosure order, I have been able to obtain the names of members of this group and indeed the administrators.

When people abuse you and sometimes with threats of physical abuse, all you want to do is see them face to face and ask why. As some of us are painfully aware this is impossible as they sit secretly behind keyboards and vanish offline when they think they may be discovered.

Why would ‘professionals’ invent fake names such as ‘Lottie Plant’ and ‘Jac Le Chapeau’ if they have nothing to fear or hide?

 

‘You don’t stop laughing because you grow older. You grow older because you stop laughing’ - Maurice Chevalier

 

When I resigned in December 2015, someone wrote online that ‘no one can be that happy without hiding something…’ I cannot deny that when I left my job as a head teacher, I did put on a happy face. For the sake of my husband, my children and my friends. Having worked closely with many who suffer from mental health issues, the mask of ‘putting on a brave face’ is all too familiar.

 

As a head teacher, I strongly believed that many of our children entered a haven of happiness and calm when they walked through the gates of their school. Why would I not smile? Why would I not sing? I loved my job, the children and the community. What was there not to be happy about? “Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I possess” by Ken Dodd has just popped in to my head! It was a song we sang at school on many occasions and no tickle sticks were required as we genuinely were happy. I hope to grow old laughing...belly laughing!

 

As a school our motto was ‘Making People Feel Good’. I wanted to make the children feel good and make them believe they could do anything.

 

When Year Six children left at the end of the year they gave a gift to the school as a sort of legacy. It says something when a group of Year Six pupils could not understand why a brand new school, as we were in 2005, had no kitchen for school meals to be cooked in. This was pointed out to the Local Authority.  Our children deserved the best. Try eating dinners brought in by taxi daily and I defy you to not want to change this. And change it the children did! Presentations to Governors (who were probably more nervous than the children making the presentations!) took place and a brand new kitchen with hot dinners came to fruition.

 

There is nothing more satisfying than empowering children to actively make a difference, not just for themselves but for others that follow in their footsteps. I am in no way saying that this was easy, funding wise, or the time it took, but the new kitchen was ready the following year. Out went the aeroplane style trays, in came the real dinner plates and pudding bowls! In came the round dinner tables where children could look at each other while they ate in the ‘Dove Diner’. Doves were not only our school logo but a real symbol of peace, togetherness and love. It is amazing the difference a round table makes to a social setting where children can engage with all their friends at that all-important time during the day. Meal times were happy family occasions where we regularly had breakfasts and suppers, not just our daily school dinners!

 

I rejected a settlement that was offered to me by the new CEO taking over the school I had resigned from in December 2015. My union was also aware of the settlement offer and other senior staff who had resigned at the time were also offered settlements.

 

As many followers of this blog are aware, I was referred to the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) by Bath and North East Somerset Local Authority in 2016 and the case was dismissed in 2017. After being successful in my claim against an NUT (now NEU) member for defamation in January 2017, the NUT then made a referral to the TRA against me. Head Teachers across the country will be aware of the number of staff that they manage who are members of this union.

 

The TRA is supposed to be an independent regulator, a body that carries out investigations into teachers professionally and impartially. I believe in accountability. I cannot, however, have faith and confidence in a regulator that has made no less than five changes to the way in which it has presented and indeed formulated allegations without the initial consent of witnesses. I have been accused of failing to write risk assessments for pregnant teachers, when in fact two of the teachers were never pregnant! When this was pointed out by my legal team, my case was handed to a new set of lawyers by the TRA, who went on to repeat the same mistake.

 

Since then, more mistakes have been identified. I have had to sit and listen to TRA lawyers saying “Sorry, I am unaware of the detail of this as I have only just been handed the case” - this was over two years since the TRA had received the referrals!

 

I have no confidence in the process of the investigation being used. It has now become apparent that the ‘witnesses’ being asked to come forward to give evidence against me were not aware that a referral had been made by the NUT to the TRA. They have been informed by the TRA that if they ‘do not attend the hearing voluntarily it is likely that the TRA will issue a witness summons to compel them to attend. The witness summons, once in place, would amount to a criminal offence should they fail to attend the hearing.’  

 

As part of investigating this case, there is evidence to suggest that the TRA has written statements on behalf of their witnesses. It is disturbing to read that in one statement (in block capital letters I believe left in accidentally) the TRA’s legal team decided that it was necessary to include a section with the following instruction

 

‘INSULATE HIM FROM THE COLLUSION SUGGESTION’.

 

Why would the TRA feel the need to ‘insulate’ one of the witnesses from a ‘collusion suggestion’? It is an independent regulator and uses public money in order to carry out a fair investigation process. The TRA is a department within the DfE.

 

This second referral against me was made by the NUT.

 

There is a dangerous political game being played here with children’s lives at stake.

 

 

'Truth never damages a cause that is just'  Mahatma Gandhi.

 

I have deep concerns over the contents of an email that I have obtained. The email was sent by a member of the Multi-Academy Trust (MAT) that took over the school. The email was sent to Bath and North East Somerset Council and copied in a member of the DfE. Bath and North East Somerset Council were carrying out the investigation into me and two other Senior teachers. It was sent on May 27th 2016. 

 

The following email was sent after I had resigned and rejected a settlement in December 2015.  It was after a DfE Governance review was carried out in January 2016.  This was also after an OFSTED had taken place in April 2016 and the investigation into me and two senior members of staff was still on-going.

 

It said:

 

‘Dear XXXX,

Thank you for the information supplied regarding the report. I have not yet had a chance to review the full report and have concentrated on the news release. It doesn’t really highlight the good work done by MNSP since Christmas. I attach a highlighted version for you and some notes on possible changes. I know XXXX from the DfE would like some changes too if possible. The OFSTED report sings our praises since Christmas and it would be helpful for the future of the school if that could be the case from the LA. (Local Authority) I accept the stuff written about AOT (Academy of Trinity) before Christmas, but a more positive spin on safeguarding since then would help us a lot if that would be possible please. I’ll read the parent note over the weekend and get back to you as that looks fairly negative too. We want parents to have faith in us and statements that are non-committal may cause achieving this to be harder work than it might be. I’ll email you again over the weekend.’

 

I will leave the reader to make up their own mind as to why this email should concern and alarm everyone.

 

 

‘You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending’ - C. S. Lewis.

 

You know when someone tells you ‘things happen for a reason’? Recently, someone told me that what we had achieved for the children in Radstock cannot be taken away.

 

In the beginning, in 2005 when the school was opened, there was great political controversy and negativity.

 

Who were we to think we could change anything? My answer? When you believe, you can truly achieve. More importantly, when you believe in people who others have no hope in, you can change the world.

 

I would not go back and change a thing. When we started with just 59 children and grew to become a first-choice school with a waiting list, we were proud to take children others had rejected.

 

There is good in everyone. Even those who have attempted to stop me from giving to others simply because I want to make a difference.

 

‘One day your heart will stop beating and none of your fears will matter. What will matter is how you lived’ - Unknown