I am a teacher at Marton Primary School. I am remaining anonymous because I dare not give my name.
I am shocked and horrified by the behaviour of Mike Turner, the Chair of Governors. In my opinion, he is not fit to be on the governing body, and certainly not fit to be Chair of Governors. He seems to be under the false illusion that he, and he alone, is responsible for the running of the school. He is NOT fulfilling the role of Chair, but seems to have gone power mad.
The rude, unprofessional and possibly slanderous comments he made, during a school staff meeting, about a local councillor (one from his own Lib dem party, incidentally) were disgraceful, as were other comments he made about the impending grievance against Mrs Coupe. His actions are totally inappropriate. This is not just my view, but the opinion of many other members of staff, who are also frightened to speak up.
Marton School is in a terrible mess. Mr Turner is compounding the problems with his bombastic and unprofessional behaviour.
HM
Governor's Code of Conduct
The following is taken from Blackpool's own On-line services website.
What is the School Governors Code of Conduct?
We have no legal authority to act individually, except when the governing body has given us delegated authority to do so.
We have a duty to act fairly and without prejudice, and in so far as we have responsibility for staff, we will fulfil all the legal expectations as, or on behalf of, the employer.
We will seek to develop effective working relationships with our head teacher, staff, parents, the LEA, other relevant agencies and the community.
We will exercise the greatest prudence if a discussion of a potentially contentious issue affecting the school arises outside the governing body.
We will encourage the open expression of views at meetings, but accept collective responsibility for all decisions made by the governing body or its delegated agents. This means we will not speak out against decisions, in public or private, outside the governing body.
We will only speak or act on behalf of the governing body when we have been specifically authorised to do so. In making or responding to criticism or complaints affecting a school we will follow the procedures established by the governing body.
Our visits to school will be undertaken within the framework established by the governing body, in agreement with the head teacher and staff.
In discharging our duties we will always be mindful of our responsibility to maintain and develop the ethos and reputation of our school.
Mr Turner, with has actions last week at that staff meeting, broke every point in this code. If he does not resign then the rest of the governing body should have no choice but to do the right thing and suspend him.
Andrea Smith
O dear me, poor Mr Turner, he is not supporting the Action Gorup, he should really be ashamed of himself. No wait a minute he is supporting the school, he is there doing whathe can, what are the parents posting on this website doing, are you going into school and helping out or would you rather put posts on here making things worse.
teacherx
Andrea Smith, you're not Mrs Peacock by any chance, are you?
Or did you just go to the same school?
Tracey
I really do not know how to reply to andreas last post, should i throw my dummy out the cot? No, because if you look back through the website and the majority of entries relating to concerns with the school over recent months, the aim of this site is to discuss what has been occuring. The majority of issues have been brought to light in Mike Turners total bias to any opinion that differs from his own. As a parent of a child currently attending Marton, i am concerned. I have always been proud of how Marton is part of the community, not just a school in the area. I have attended meetings and rationally asked questions, yet i have been shouted down or called stupid. Surely intelligent conversation was all that was required initially, none was forthcoming. That is why i have been airing my concerns from the start. Unfortunately i have yet to receive any answers. As for my participation at school, i am a parent who has always praised Marton School, supported any events in the school and within community. I attended school a few days ago regarding an update on my childs progress, to say Mrs Coupe was unproffessional with her manner with me is being polite. Regardless of anything, all who enter the school premises should be met with respect, just as i showed.
AR
Andrea Smith
I have just been following your posts round this forum. You too are clearly out to cause mischief and have not attempted to make any useful contribution.
Have you read E. Maltby's post above yours? It is an exact quote from Blackpool's own Code of Conduct for Governors. Mr Turner has clearly not adhered to this code. Your mocking post adds nothing to the discussion. If you wish to support Mr Turner then give us some genuine, well thought argument why we should do so.
WAYNE HEYS
fOA MRS ANDREA SMITH
Firstly,I went into school and helped the kids for a period of 6 years as well as the normal Christmas/Summer Fair,Car Treasure Bar-b Que etc,,I do agree with one of your points though that Mr Turner should indeed be ashamed of himself(your words not mine)I have seen documented proof which relates to many of the allegations that have been brought to light on this board,personally I think that Mr Turner is doing a great job constantly attacking the Action Group and telling staff who they can and can't contact, I know as of only recently,he is actually finding out information that is contrary to what he had already been told, so all in all,I will stay on this side of the fence and try and restore a school to the excellent position it was in a couple of years ago, Mrs Smith,why haven't you posted your support for Mr Turner so month's ago,or are you trying to impress someone with your post's, remember when the Titanic sunk,there were many many OFFICERS who first took to the lifeboats, SO MUCH FOR LOYALTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAYNE HEYS
fOA MRS ANDREA SMITH
Firstly,I went into school and helped the kids for a period of 6 years as well as the normal Christmas/Summer Fair,Car Treasure Bar-b Que etc,,I do agree with one of your points though that Mr Turner should indeed be ashamed of himself(your words not mine)I have seen documented proof which relates to many of the allegations that have been brought to light on this board,personally I think that Mr Turner is doing a great job constantly attacking the Action Group and telling staff who they can and can't contact, I know as of only recently,he is actually finding out information that is contrary to what he had already been told, so all in all,I will stay on this side of the fence and try and restore a school to the excellent position it was in a couple of years ago, Mrs Smith,why haven't you posted your support for Mr Turner so month's ago,or are you trying to impress someone with your post's, remember when the Titanic sunk,there were many many OFFICERS who first took to the lifeboats, SO MUCH FOR LOYALTY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
