To whom it may concern,

We, the parents/guardians of current attendees of The Mill Academy, grow increasingly concerned with the way the running of the school has taken on a downwards trajectory in terms of communication between the school and the parents; consistency, primarily in relation to staffing; behavioural policy implementation and discipline; the application of EHCPs; the divisive pricing and accessibility of wraparound care provision and extracurricular events and, perhaps the most pressing current concern; the continued employment of a member of staff who bullies and belittles both parents and pupils to the point that their return to school was notably kept from the parents whose children it will effect, presumably in an attempt to avoid the backlash it has inevitably generated regardless.

A Facebook group was created for parents, guardians and carers of children attending The Mill Academy when an apparent censorship was placed on us, including the closure of a previous such group, and we found that the aggravation caused by a complete lack of communication or, at the very least, continuous misinformation, needed a place to go to be untangled, and the scattered shreds of information that we’d gleaned between us to be gathered, to enable us all at least to be in the same book, if not always on the same page. Though this was not the intention of the group’s creation, it has become a place where parents air their grievances, and unfortunately that is all we do now. The teachers are unhappy; the children are unhappy and now; the parents, too.

Children have had their work ripped up in front of their eyes. They have had their drinking water and toilet visits restricted, to the extent that parents have been forced to seek medical notes to ensure this does not happen to their children. They were blamed for their inability to learn to play an instrument in a matter of weeks and told they had let the school down. They were blamed for arriving to school in their PE kits on the “wrong day” because said wrong day is what was published in the weekly bulletin. They have gone without lunch when another child mistakenly ate theirs and nothing else was offered. They were told that their efforts for events where a costume was required were “bad” or “lazy”. They have been denied access to outside play areas because the staffing levels are too low, even though it is a condition of their EHCP. They have witnessed staff throwing objects in frustration and being guilt-tripped about the strain that teaching them places on the staff member and their family. The same teacher also withheld a celebration cake for four days, until it was stale, as a punishment, after the class won it for attendance.

Parents have received incident reports for the wrong child, which is at least, unnecessary worry for one parent whilst being potentially dangerous for the other: at most, a GDPR breach. Parents’ Evenings, which parents usually look forward to, have been lacklustre and full of backhanded compliments, with children and parents expected to shoulder the blame for any downturn in performance, when many classes have not had a stable class teacher for months. The relentless prime focus is on attendance, with children left out of celebration events for less than 100% attendance and categorised as “Needs to Improve” for less than 95%, yet sickness policy is pedalled simultaneously. It makes you wonder if the teachers off for months at a time get an unsightly X in a red column on their performance reviews, or if it is only children as young as four held to these standards.

Parents are no longer included in decision making, or even asked for their opinions, which used to be a staple in the process of any change being made. There is a culture of short-term pacification when parents complain, in the hope of them forgetting eventually. Working parents are asked at short notice to attend meetings during the working day that the school must realise they will have to decline, and when they inevitably do so, they are made to feel as if they have had their chance to speak up and it will not come again. We are asked to message on Arbor but often messages are ignored. We are asked to call the school with urgent issues, but no one answers the phone. We leave messages with the staff that are never passed on, or on answerphones whereby the calls are never returned.

Wraparound care is limited, yet the single parents and the working parents seem to be the ones who cannot access it because those who get free school meals also get the clubs and activities for free, even though it is sometimes obvious that often they do not require access and only utilise it because it is free. The same goes for extra-curricular activities such as the discos outside of school hours. Children who receive free school meals are offered tickets for these activities at a reduced cost, which has inevitably led to a rise in cost for those children who do not receive free school meals. Working parents are not automatically better off for working, especially when they must pay for their children’s meals, their wraparound care so that they can work in the first place, and then make up the shortfall for a school disco by paying extra for tickets. The separations between on- and off-benefit families, working and non-working parents, nuclear families and single parent families is becoming stark and divisive due to the pricing decisions the school has made this year. It has also been raised that Breakfast Club is inconsistent in its provisions; sometimes there is plenty of toast to go around and milk is offered; sometimes children are told there is not enough bread and there is no milk available. It also feels appropriate to raise the question here of whether this milk is what parents have paid for their children to receive only to later discover it was never issued.

The parents are crying out for positive change and have, historically, been extremely supportive of the school, be that financially or with their time, yet are left out in the cold when trying to access information, offer their help or make suggestions. One of the parent governors offered to pass on comments when they were made aware of complaints going unresolved, only to be told that that was not their role and it was insinuated that their presence was purely ornamental. Policies publicised on the school’s website don’t appear to be worth the virtual space they take up either, considering grievances have been aired relating to the uniform policies being apparently applicable only to some children and not others; disciplinary procedures being applied haphazardly with an element of favouritism glaringly obvious in some cases and; the ignorance of the conditions of EHCPs, which the school is renumerated for generously and should consider to be of utmost importance to fulfil.

It is desperately sad that it has had to come to this but talk amongst parents of moving their children to other schools is rife. The Facebook group intended for information sharing and positivity and achievement posting has become a haven for disappointed parents to vent their frustrations. Children no longer look forward to school due to inconsistency with teaching staff, immoral punishment practices and the intense pressure surrounding attendance and achievement despite the ever-depleting staff.

The parents beg of you to take this seriously, and to allow for us to be involved and our opinions and suggestions taken on board. We trust the school with our children; to nurture and teach them; care for them and help them develop ready for the next stages of their lives and education. Now, however, we fear for their education and have deepening concerns for their wellbeing, which are insurmountable without communication. This open letter invites you to address our concerns.