You can imagine my shock when a friend of mine rung me today to say the Mrs Alderson is back teaching in Layton. I asked them if they were sure it was the same Mrs A that worked at Marton and they said they were certain,how then can the L.E.A. suspend Mrs Alderson,not sack her(unless they have and told no-one about it ?) and allow her to move her to another school.
Mr Lund , do you think its time you came clean and tell the people just what is going on !!!
Marton loses an excellent teacher,yet the problems still lie with the Marton walls, I feel extrememley angry that the education services seem to think they are above everyone else and that no-body elses opinion matters.Mr Turner, (no doubt you will still be reading this forum) did you feel it appropriate to send a letter home from school today informing all the current parents of these developments,I very much doubt it as you may be asked many many question,s which you will not want to answer.The more this whole situation continues the more I can smell a rat,a point I put to Mr Lund last October. Mrs Alderson,if you are reading this,then thats great news,its just unfortunate that another school will be the beneficiary of your teaching skills.
mary
That's good news for Mrs Alderson, and for Layton School, if it is correct information, but not such good news for Marton School, who have lost an excellent teacher.
What on earth is going on? If Mrs Alderson was suspended for doing something dreadful (and I have heard several different rumours, none of which I believe, incidentally), why is she now being allowed to teach at another Blackpool school? Or is Blackpool LEA unaware of this?
There are a lot of questions that now need to be answered, although judging by past form, I doubt that they ever will be.
If anybody else has any information about this please post on this forum, so we all know what is going on.
Meanwhile, good luck to Mrs Alderson in her continued career.
Lisa
I heard the news this afternoon - came on here to post the news - and Wayne beat me to it.
Well what can I say? Unbelieveable. This proves beyond any question that Mrs Alderson has done NOTHING wrong. The Head of Layton Primary has obviously got no reason whatsoever to doubt that Mrs Alderson is anything other than an excellent teacher who cares for her profession and the children. But all the clever people already knew that.
And it seems the LEA are perfectly happy to let Mrs Alderson teach at another school in their authority. ???????????????? It would be nice if we could be satisfied that Mrs Alderson was now back teaching which is where her profession needs her to be. But this is far far from good enough. What a shambles eh? What on Earth are the Education Department playing at. Mrs Coupe suspends Mrs Alderson for (according to Mr Lund) professional differences. She is out of work for nearly a year to the day, and is then given a job a school within spitting distance. You cannot play with people's lives and careers like this. Nor can you jeopardise the education of young children. Somebody has to answer for this appalling situation.
Anyone who had any doubts about Mrs Alderson should now hold their head in shame. You were wrong! You know who you are! Congratulations Mrs Alderson. Thank you for trying to save Marton. You did your best. But you can be assured that there are a large number of people who will not rest until Marton is returned to the school it once was. Our fight continues!
By the way, several people have told me that they are now considering moving their children to Layton. So if you're thinking of doing the same, I'd get in there quick.
Alan Veale
Questions!
Well, well! While I will add my own congratulations to Layton Primary School for such a neat “snatch”, I must post my condolences to the prospective Year 6 children at Marton Primary School. Layton’s gain is their loss.
Let us sit back and analyse the situation at the moment:
The Disciplinary case has been concluded. We know that because the Union admitted it weeks ago, and there is no way a suspended teacher can take up work of any kind at any school, whether in her own borough or not. There is therefore no question that the LEA, in stating that the disciplinary has been postponed to a later date, have been caught out yet again. (By the way, the date of June 9th was the date given by the LEA themselves to The Gazette, who in turn gave it to me when asking for my reaction to the news of the conclusion of the hearing.)
So – if we accept that the Disciplinary is concluded, and that the LEA have been trying to cover the fact up for weeks, then we are bound to ask the question “Why?”
Oh dear! That has been our problem all along, hasn’t it? We ask questions of the powers that be – and no one wants to answer.
Well – I have another item of interest for you:-
The DFES have contacted me today. They have finished their initial assessment of our complaint, and are now ready to start questioning Mr Lund and his colleagues at Progress House… Okay, so they want their questions answered, just like the rest of us. But the DFES have a distinct advantage over us. a) They can pull rank, and b) They already know what some of the answers SHOULD be!
Oh, and be assured, they have also been reading the posts on this forum!
Alan Veale
HM
Well said Lisa. But why have only two people heard about his and not all the parents of children at Marton ? I agree with Wayne - the school and Mr Turner have always been quick to send out letters when it suited them. Strange how no letter has been sent out about Mrs Alderson leaving, and when she has been at the school for 14 years – far longer than Mrs Coupe or Mr Turner. What a terrible way to treat anyone – but of course we always suspected that Mrs Alderson was suspended for Mrs Coupe’s own personal reasons. Why else was it done without the governors knowing? We can begin to see the truth of things now and it will be very interesting to see the authority’s ‘spin’ on this. I thought they said the hearing was postponed and I, like most others I suppose, was watching out for an announcement in the Gazette.
As everyone else has said, well done Mrs Alderson. It is great that you have at last been vindicated after what must have been an awful year for you. But what another big loss for Marton. This head teacher certainly has a lot to answer for.
By the way, AR made an interesting point in the Bullying Headteacher thread below. What has happened to Mrs Reidy? I heard she was ill but I don't remember her being mentioned on the forum, or seeing a letter about her. Is she coming back to Marton because like Mrs Alderson she is another good teacher the school can't afford to lose.
Tracey
well done Mrs Alderson and well done Layton School. What a loss for Marton and its pupils. Peoples lives, careers and reputations have been on hold and for what? What more proof do those who blindly accepted the statements given by the headteacher, current chair of governors and the lea need that perhaps they have been misinformed. Maybe a bit more faith should of been given to a member of staff who was at the school from the beginning and a few more questions asked of a new staff member who only started in september 2004. Surely the fact that Mrs.alderson still works for the lea says it all. I hope you are all ashamed of yourselves and if you feel you have done nothing wrong, may i point out that in fact you did NOTHING, and to me that is far worse.
mary
I totally agree with you, Tracey. Those people who sat back and did nothing (knowing that was wrong) are as guilty as those who instigated the whole thing. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. And as for the Governing Body, perhaps they need to start asking some very serious questions of their Chairman. I just hope they get HONEST answers for a change. Do they realise that they have been made fools of, by believing everything they were told by ONE person?
This whole sorry episode leaves a very nasty taste in one's mouth. Somebody needs to be made answerable - or are there going to be more scapegoats - that's how bullies usually work?
mr.wilson
Mrs Alderson Teaching Again
This is my dad's user name but I felt I had to post.
Hearing the fantastic news that Mrs Alderson is again teaching in a Blackpool Primary School. My son was lucky enough to have Mrs Alderson as one of his teachers in last years year six and although it was a year made difficult at Marton, as we are all aware. He at least had the benefit of Mrs Aldersons vast experience preparing him for the big step up to High School. Unfortunately my other three children were not going to have that luxury, Mrs Coupe saw to that and I removed them in July last year.
Sadly Marton has lost more than just a teacher in Mrs Alderson she is respected by all who know her, a fantastic teacher, a caring colleague always willing to listen, full of enthusiasm for the future of our children and I feel honoured and privileged to have been lucky enough to not only know her as a parent and colleague but more importantly as a friend. This is a teacher who will be an asset to any school and I wish her and her family all the best for the future, Layton Primary are very lucky indeed to have secured Mrs Alderson to their staff.
The disgraceful treatment Mrs Alderson has received over the last twelve months is totally unacceptable and those responsible will be held accountable for their actions I am sure.
JC.
[/b]
The_Truth
Amazed
If Mrs Alderson is teaching at another school in Blackpool, why then are the Gazette still reporting that the LEA are stating that the disciplinery is still to be settled.
As it has already been pointed out on this site, a suspended teacher would not be allowed to teach in another school.
I have experienced many different feelings through the whole of this fiasco, but now I am in a state of utter confusion.
Why are Blackpool LEA insisting that Mrs Alderson is still suspended pending a disciplinery hearing?????
Please can someone from the school or the LEA respond to this. Why do we pay our rates and taxes to be fobbed off like this and lied to?
R. Thornton
Employment
Things are more confusing than you realise.
This extract is from the DfES site 'Teachernet'
There are four categories of maintained schools in England. This has some influence upon contractual conditions. In two of these, the LEA is the employer:
Community schools
Voluntary Controlled (VC) schools, largely Church of England, although some are Methodist or without religious affiliation
Now I am sure that Marton is a Community school - in other words Mrs Alderson is actually employed by the authority not Marton !!! They are now allowing her to work in another of their schools, yet they have said the disciplinary has been postponed. Clearly some agreement has been reached because a suspended teacher would not be able to carry on working. Remember the Gazette quoted the union as saying that a few details needed to be clarified - perhaps that is causing the hold up.
BUT what does this say about the suspension in the first place. It was Mrs Coupe who suspended her and the authority seem happy to have her back in school. Mrs Coupe must now be feeling totally ashamed and embarrassed at her actions of a year ago and since.
R. Thornton
Gazette
I would like to reiterate what I have said above following last night's (22nd) shameful article in the Gazette. ALL teachers in Community schools (Marton is one) are employed by the authority NOT the school. Marton does not employ nor has employed, Mrs Alderson - her contract is with the authority. For once the authority have attempted to do the right thing by making a constructive move to put Mrs Alderson back in work instead of wasting more money by employing supply cover and paying a salary. They must be happy with Mrs Alderson's competence or they would not have put her in another Blackpool school. The head of Layton must be happy because Mrs Alderson was one of the few teachers to emerge from last year's Ofsted report with any credit AND English sat results at Marton last year were the only results to improve - Mrs Alderson was English co-ordinator.
Where the authority are at fault is not making a CLEAR statement about the settlement to the press and everyone else. There must have been a settlement because otherwise she would not have been employed again. Fault must also lie with the Gazette for repeatedly publishing articles without ever getting to the truth - they have been happy to be fobbed off time and again. This has not been quality journalism, and last night's report, still hinting that Mrs Alderson is still suspended, has helped no-one. If the Gazette cannot obtain the full truth then they should not print. Or have they too been misled ?
