Parents protest at ‘strictest’ head’s no-nonsense rules
Children are pulled out of classes in backlash against guidelines on talking and when to use the lavatory
BRINGING in a head teacher from the “strictest school in England” was supposed to turn around the fortunes of a struggling Norfolk school. But parents at Great Yarmouth Charter Academy say that a stringent set of rules introduced by Barry Smith, the new head, has pushed more than 20 children to leave since the start of term.
Mr Smith, formerly deputy head teacher at Michaela Community School in Wembley, was criticised last week after a 22-page document set out a strict set of rules. Pupils must track a teacher with their eyes whenever the teacher is talking, they must walk between lessons silently in single file, and are advised to be asleep by 9.30pm. Kelvin Seal, who set up the Facebook group Yarmouth High Worried Parents, said he had been told that 23 parents had taken their children out of the school since the start of term, and that some of these were because of the strictures.
A Norfolk County Council spokesman said it had received 13 requests for transfers from the school, but could not comment on the figures claimed.
“Any transfer requests will be considered after the half-term break,” the spokesman added. The former Great Yarmouth High School was taken over by the Inspiration Trust and renamed Charter Academy this summer. The academy said around a third of pupils at Great Yarmouth High School left without a pass in English and maths this year.
James Goffin, a spokesman for Inspiration Trust, said the number of pupils leaving was not a cause for concern. “It’s something that happens at every school in September, particularly with year seven pupils,” he said.
“They often find they come in and their friends are at a different school. We’re not surprised there’s been some movement. We’ve had some parents who have asked about joining Charter as well. It’s not one way.”
Parent Darren Wheeler said he removed his 13-year-old daughter after hearing of children wetting themselves in class. The school has a rule banning children from going to the lavatory during class time or between lessons.
The behaviour guide states: “The toilets are open before lessons and at break times. You should not go to the toilets in the last five minutes of break to ensure you do not miss a single second of lesson time.”
Mr Wheeler, whose daughter started at Caister Academy this week, said the rule was “inhumane”. But Mr Goffin said: “If there’s a medical reason, a genuine reason, then that would be fine.
“We will make reasonable adaptations where there’s a genuine need. There’s been a problem in the past with people claiming they need the loo just to get out of lessons. It’s not an unusual policy. The toilets aren’t locked, which is being claimed by some people.”