Fury at Facebook ‘ filth’ of ex- Ofsted boss
THE former head of school watchdog Ofsted faced calls to quit as a chair of governors last night after posting lewd comments on her Facebook page.
Zenna Atkins appalled families who discovered her publicly accessible profile page was littered with sex references and coarse comments.
It included a New Year’s Eve joke about offering a sex act to a “handsome man” and reportedly showed her making an obscene gesture at the camera.
Her lewd post added: “He said nah... I’d rather watch Jools Holland. How sad is that.”
The page has since been made private but the contents came to the attention of parents at Portslade Aldridge Community Academy in Brighton, East Sussex, where Ms Atkins is now chairwoman of governors. Christopher McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education pressure group, said: “I am surprised she hasn’t resigned. Her position is untenable.
“She clearly has let the governors down, the school down and education down. It undermines confidence in the school and sends an entirely inappropriate message to children – particularly about the use of social media.”
One parent of a child at the school was so angry that the shocking comments were flagged up in a letter.
The complainant wrote: “I find it appalling this lady has these things on her Facebook page for all to see, including students.
“I do not believe such a person should be in a position of authority. In addition, I believe this is a safeguarding issue and should be investigated for a breach of professional conduct.”
A mother of three, who asked not to be named, said: “It is horrible to see things like that on Facebook, especially when it is open for all to see.
“I don’t see why she feels the need to share things like that. It is absolute filth.”
Ms Atkins, 49, stepped down as chairwoman of Ofsted in October 2010, after four years in the role. She caused fury then for saying every school needed a “**** teacher”.
A spokesman for the Aldridge Foundation, which runs the school, said: “Zenna Atkins’ professional social network profile can be viewed publicly on LinkedIn. She has confirmed that her Facebook account is for a private network of close friends and family.”
Ms Atkins declined to comment.