We, the undersigned, wholeheartedly support the stance taken by Barclay Primary School, Canterbury Road, East London, and the actions and statements of the Executive Headteacher, Mr Justin James.in regard to upholding the school rules on the wearing of flags or other nationalistic emblems. We especially support Mr James in the face of calls for his resignation when he has done nothing but uphold the ethos of the school. We, the undersigned, want Mr James to realise that he is not alone in this situation, and we stand with him. 

 

For a child to wear a Palestinian flag into school was an act of provocation, given the current situation in the Middle East. It also broke school rules; there is no defence against such an action, given that fact. We have all witnessed the scenes at the school, with protestors chanting “Education is under attack”: We agree. Education is under attack from the protestors, from the masked men who draped the school fence in Palestinian flags under the cover of dark, and from those who see fit to threaten the school and staff with racial slurs, and bomb and arson threats, to the point that the school may close and resort to online learning.

 

The answer to this is simple; if any parent cannot adhere to the rules of the school, they are perfectly free to withdraw their child and make alternative arrangements. That is what should happen in this case. To expect rules to be suspended or broken, and to call for the resignation of the Executive Headteacher makes a farce of what a successful school stands for, as this school has been under Mr James’ leadership.

“I have been here since 2004,and worked with parents and neighbours to transform what were originally a troubled infant and junior schools into the outstanding local primary school your children now attend, it is disheartening to see how readily unproven allegations were accepted by some people as ‘fact’ - and how quickly the efforts our staff make day in and day out were lost to unsubstantiated beliefs that they would deliberately harm or mistreat any child in their care.

As a school we do make mistakes; we have apologised where missteps have been made. Being confronted by abusive and threatening behaviours by those claiming to speak on behalf of ‘the community’ however, is simply unacceptable. Staff have been subject to a severe degree of misconduct and harassment which now forms the basis of a series of criminal investigations that are currently taking place.” Letter from Mr James to parents. 08/01/24

“The protests forced the school to shut two days before the official end of term.

The Lion Academy Trust, which runs the school, has written to parents warning that steps were being taken to secure the school after "despicable threats".

The letter warned "a serious threat was received in writing" and an anonymous caller made "racial slurs", and there were arson and bomb threats to the school and individual staff, The Telegraph reported.

Beefed up security measures include hiring private security and installing CCTV.

The school said that even after those improvements it might have no other option but but to resort to online learning, if the safety of its pupils and staff couldn't be guaranteed. 

Executive headteacher Justin James also wrote to parents to say there was no evidence of bullying or misconduct found through an investigation.

Shortly before Christmas, masked men climbed onto the fence at the school at night and hung Palestinian flags. 

Protesters then gathered at the site chanting phrase such as "education is under attack".

The TikTok video, which alleged the child had been "bullied, harassed and mentally traumatised by his teachers" for wearing a Palestine badge on his coat, claimed that he was "denied playtime and lunch privileges" for refusing to remove it. 

The school denied this.” Report in The Standard. 19/01/24