martonschool.myfreeforum.org

Alan Veale · Master of Posters Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 118

The abuse of power by people who possess it is nothing new. History books (even those in Marton Primary School) have many examples. At the same time, when such powerful groups try to inflict their selfish will upon others, there is inevitably a point at which someone makes a stand, and a resurgence develops. Such was the case with the French Revolution, and that in America, which eventually brought about the United States of America, and the signing of the “Declaration of Independence” on 4 July 1776.

The following is an extract from the Declaration. See for yourselves how the people of America established their democratic rights:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

In other words, when there is something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.

That is why the Marton School Action Group was formed. And that is why certain people in authority have tried to discredit our very existence by painting a false picture of what we are trying to do. None of us want to see the school come to any harm, or to see members of staff suffer in any way. It is the administration of Marton School that is our target – where the likes of Ruth Coupe, and Mike Turner are prepared to use threats and intimidation to achieve their ends. You DO have a choice. You DO have a voice. Just make sure that you use both – and talk to people who are prepared to listen.

Alan Veale

Andrea Smith · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:53 pm Post subject:

I have to agree that getting in contact with Mr Bamborough is a good idea, as long as he is true to his word when people ay that they are supporting Mrs Coupe and that they do not agree with what people are saying about her. With him being a councillor I am sure that everything will be O.K.

teacherx · Mildly Opinionated Joined: 05 Feb 2006 Posts: 22

Andrea, I would love you to get in contact with Jon Bamborough. I think you might be shocked by some of the things HE tells YOU. Perhaps you will then have a more balanced view.
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Listen to the facts and decide for yourself

Peacock · Getting Started Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 12

Please tell me some facts so I can decide for myself. As of yet I do not seem to get anything that gives facts about what is wrong with school apart from Mrs Coupe being the headteacher and that many out there do not want this. I got in touch with Mr Bamborough and he did not tell me anything either. He just thanked me for my e-mail.

The feeling I get from reading this website and believe me I have many times is that you are all upset about Mrs Alderson. I can understand this but does that really give concern for the fact that people are saying school is not safe, children are in danger, complaining about unsafe acts of staff crawling around putting in cables, are these just not petty grievances blown out of all proportion by a few to try and scare people into thinking the worst of some at school.
Because if our school is so unsafe please give me facts on how and why so I can make up my own mind and I am willing to listen to the truth but the feeling I get is that

the true act of the action group is to get Mrs Alderson reinstated.

I would not stand by and put my daughter at risk I am a person who would act on this matter if I thought she was so please tell me facts not fiction. I need to hear this from the people who know not people who do not work at school any more but from the ones who know what is going on.

If so many teachers are dissatisfied with school please speak out and let us know the truth. Mr Richardson so you all say left because he was dissatisfied with school at least he had the honour to stand by his feelings.

I can not make a judgement on what I read from people who will not give their true names that straight away makes me think that what they say is not the whole truth. I also do not believe that if something is really wrong the staff are to scared to tell. Surely they are stronger then this they are teachers teaching our children they must have some gumption to do this job.

jonbamboro · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:56 am Post subject: RE: Mrs Peacock

With reference to your previous posting (Mrs Peacock). I have asked people to get in touch so that I can make my own mind up as to the facts. It is not for me to gossip about things that I do not know are facts. Once I have established some FACTS, like I have done already, I will take the appropriate action, as I have done.
I do still welcome anyone getting in touch who is au fait with any real facts. Mrs Peacock says I did nothing but thank her for her mail, but whilst I welcomed her comments, they did not throw any light on events within the school, but I respect her point that many people are happy about how the school is run.
As for Mrs Peacock asking that people use their "real" names. If things are as bad as some people claim, then I don't blame them for wanting to remain anonymous. However, they can contact me with a gaurantee that I will not reveal their names.

education@anchorsholme.com

WAYNE HEYS · Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:35 am Post subject:

Mrs Peacock,firstly thank you for the constructive way you have put your concerns , I (as you no doubt already know) have no children currently at Marton,
yes,I do beleive Mrs Alderson has suffered an in justice,she taught both my children as well as took both of them on P.G.L..An experience they both thoroughly enjoyed,She was an excellent teacher and very much part of the Marton family. When Mrs A was suspended we were all told that she was not at school for the school leavers assembly due to personal reasons,I know of and have recently spoke to one parent who faced mrs Coupe some days prior and asked her to tell her the truth whether or not this was the case,she was told NO, Mrs A was off due to personal reasons,i WAS INDEED AWARE 4 DAYS EARLIER THAT SHE HAD BEEN SUSPENDED !!!
The ofsted report simply did not reflect the school that I had been a part of over a 9 year period,things had changed,the atmosphere at school had changed the Senior Management team were criticised in the report yet Mrs Alderson lessons were indeed singled out as very good.
To listen to the yr 6 kids coming out of school last year it was clear that many of them simply did not have the same respect for the head as they had previously,
As for Mr Richardson,I was told by a member of staff ,whilst helping out at school that he was leaving even though he had no job to go to at the time,contrary to what the letter from Mrs Coupe put out telling us that he was leaving to take up another post.When Mrs Baines left a letter was sent home stating her reasons why, strange at the bottom of the note it spelt out that it had nothing to do with the Headmistress,HOW MANY OTHER TEACHERS LEAVE AND TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLAIN WHY ?I must point out that in my opinion she is an excellent teacher and this no way reflects on her in any way shape or form,
Mr Hill,tried his best to shut down the web site,did he do this on his own or with someone prompting him,the more I ,along with all the other members of the action group, strive for answers we are met with contempt and doors slammed in our face,and I am talking about people who do not teach at the school.
Mr Lund said last October we had vallied points and we where indeed acting in the interests of the children,he suggested to work together to resolve some of the issues,when was the last time you heard anything from him,I will tell you LAST OCTOBER ,Mrs Coupe held a post OFSTED meeting knowing very well a lot of parents had asked for a meeting with her to discuss our concerns,we are still waiting for that meeting,we never ever needed security at Marton for a meeting,which brings good old brings Mr Turner into play,who let it be known is still finding out factual information where previuosly he was under different impressions of certain situation's.
Mr Turner has become the Marton mudslinger constantly attacking anyone who dares ask questions about Marton,he either has more information than the Action Group(which he has not) or he is conducting his business in one of the most unprofessional way I have ever witnessed, lately he contacts the paper to suggest a get together and to supply more information,well ,If Mr Turner had taken time to do his job properly he would now have that information and many more people would actually trust him I FOR ONE DO NOT !! Finally, I can assure you that a lot of staff at Marton are far from happy,to speak up and put your career on the line is a very dangerous thing to do,bearing in mind staff are being told who they can't speak to,hopefully you can see why so many are still silent, 60 childen leaving Marton would be unheard of in recent years,are you suggesting Mrs P that all these people are wrong,surely you must understand that there a problems at the school , under Mrs Lancaster how many staff went on sick leave compared to that under Mrs Coupe,find out the figures you will be alarmed, I firmly beleive in freedom of speech its a pity then that we are regualarly trying to be silenced and discredited, well it wont work, the Action Group has a wealth of experience in many area and it could be a long fight,but we are prepared to take all the insult's because MrsAlderson and Marton School is simply worth fighting for,thank you for your post again and I hope this helps

R. Thornton · Reaching Full Speed Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 99

I do despair Mrs Peacock when there are posts such as yours. I know that you have joined the forum late, so I would advise you to spend some time reading ALL the posts, and my emails to you before posting. We are going over the same old ground.

1. Your statement about the aim of the forum is to re-instate Mrs Alderson. Please show me anywhere on a post where that is stated. What I have always asked for is the chance of a FAIR HEARING. A chance to know why Mrs Alderson was suspended and why proper procedures were not followed. 3 facts there for you about why we are asking questions. It is not up to us to decide whether or not she is reinstated - but FACT intimidating behaviour by Mrs Coupe and Mr Turner in a staff meeting does not lead us to believe that she will get a fair hearing.

2. The first cause for concern about the school was immediately on the publication of the Ofsted report. FACT the first letter and two others were sent immediately following the publication. Email PeakHaus (you can easily search for their web addresss - they are part of the RM group) and ask them to confirm this. You will need to apply under the terms of Freedom of Information Act for the letter and their response. This is difficult and time consuming but something that we have constantly had to do to try and find out anything. FACT letters to the press about school also appeared at this time - you can search the Gazette's archives online to confirm this. All this was nothing to do with Mrs Alderson, and before her suspension. FACT all I knew about Mrs Alderson was that the Ofsted report praised her teaching.
Complaints to the Ofsted team were thorough, and now form part of the complaint to the DfES. They are too lengthy to appear here but if you wish to see them as soon as the DfES complaint is dealt with I am sure you can apply to have access to them. Otherwise you would need to write to Mr Veale under the Freedom of Information Act, as we have had to write to other suthorities on numerous ocasions to try to get at the truth.

3. FACT - parents of the children in Mrs Alderson's class were not told the truth about Mrs Alderson, they found out for themselves. Again I really do not understand why you can see this as acceptable behaviour for a headteacher. You can verify this again by checking the Gazett'es archives - letters were written by angry parents, NOT about Mrs Aldersons suspension but about the way they were treated. They were parents like yourself.

3. FACT - a teacher was caught downloading porn on a school computer. FACT, parents did not discover this until the Autumn term because staff had been told not to let the information leave the school premises. FACT (see my other post of yesterday subject Downloading Porn) a similar incident happened recently at a High School. Parents at this school - and the press - wholeheartedly condemned the headteacher for trying to cover it up. I don't understand, and never will, why you and other Marton parents who know of it think it's O.K. for headteachers to try to hide things like this.

4. FACT - in Lancashire schools it would not have been possible to access this sort of material on computers used by children because of the systems they have in place. FACT, despite your accusations that we only wish to write about Mrs Coupe, I do not blame the availability of porn sites on Mrs Coupe or the school's IT department. Mr Veale and others have constantly also questioned the Authority's actions and procedures. If Blackpool's primary schools are part of a network it would be far easier and less costly to have safeguards in place for all primary schools instead of expecting each school to spend time and money on establishing their own. I am also told by an 'expert' friend that this would also be much safer for children.
You stated 'I would not stand by and put my daughter at risk I am a person who would act on this matter if I thought she was so please tell me facts not fiction. I need to hear this from the people who know not people who do not work at school any more but from the ones who know what is going on.' You have every right to write and ask about the safety of the systems. Attend on an open day at the school and ask if you can test the safety. If you are the type of person to act then do so ! We are NOT saying that the computers are unsafe BUT FACT we have never been told they are safe and incidents keep happening to make us believe that they are not. We simply would like to know what systems are in place - and why they do not seem as efficient as other authorities. O.K. convince me that children are free to surf or research safely - give me the evidence.

5. FACT - Mr Coupe attended a private school meeting when many other parents were not allowed to attend. Letters had been sent out before the meeting stating this. FACT - Mrs Coupe has refused to allow anyone to see the notes which Mr Coupe took. You once told me that he was there to support his wife - so please tell me what notes he was taking. Please tell me that this is not just a petty grievance blown out of all proportion by a few . How many ordinary people would speak up and ask questions when a person known to be a police officer, supporting his wife, is taking notes at a public meeting ? I will change my mind if you can show me any other instances of similar activity at any school anywhere in England.

This is long enough. Above are just a few facts for you there are many more. They are indisputable. They are not by any stretch of the imagination petty grievances - I only wish they were. As has been stated elsewhere on the site do you really think the DfES would still be investigating and not just have thrown them out? They are not all by any means simply aimed at re-instating Mrs Alderson - there are much wider issues here even if you choose not to recognise them.

As I have said in a private email to you, I was going to slow down in my posts - but having read yours today I felt that I had to respond. However there will no longer be any need. Whether you accept it or not, knowledge of Mrs Coupe's, Mr Turner's and the authority's mistakes have reached a wider audience. I feel now that we can just allow things to run their course.

Alan Veale · Master of Posters Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 118

Mrs Peacock

This is to let you know that I have sent a "Private Message" to you regarding your request to speak to someone and find out more information for yourself.

I have a volunteer parent who is happy to speak to you over the telephone, but I am not permitted to post their details on the forum, so you will find everything in the message I have sent to your "Inbox".

If you go back to the Forum Index page after reading this message, then look at the top, you will see a sentence about "checking your private messages". Click on that and, if you are not already "logged in", you will be asked to do so. You will then be taken direct to your "Inbox", where you will find a message "In Confidence".

Alan Veale

Peacock · Getting Started Joined: 26 Jan 2006 Posts: 12

Mr Veale thank you for explaining to me how to use this computor I have now looked at what you told me and shall be using that Telephone number.

Sorry to all the other postings that I did not answer I did not know how to use it.

Soon will am going on a computor course soon.

SORRY AGAIN TO YOU ALL I AM WILLING TO LISTEN IF TOLD FACTS. BUT CAN'T HELP NOT KNOWING ABOUT COMPUTORS.