Paignton 17 November 2013 An open letter to Mr Kies and the senior management of Preston Community Primary School in response

to his letter to parents dated 15 November 2 1!" Dear Mr Kies, Thank you for your letter about the meeting on Mon ay! " note the #arent frien ly timing an $on itions of this meeting, but rest assure , " have taken time off %ork an arrange $hil $are es#e$ially so " look for%ar to seeing you there! Thank you also for su##lying the link to the Df& site that e'#lains the many benefits of a #rimary s$hool be$oming an a$a emy! " no% feel so mu$h more informe about the matter! "n the interests of sharing an balan$e, maybe you %oul like to #eruse this %ebsite that #uts, #erha#s, the $ounter argument( htt#())antia$a emies!org!uk)about) " note %ith a little isa##ointment that there %ill be *no formal o#en forum for +uestions, at the meeting! -s " am sure you un erstan , " have many +ueries about the $urrent situation at the s$hool an sin$e " %ill not be able to voi$e these at the meeting, " have taken the liberty of .otting a fe% thoughts o%n in %riting! -$tually, thanks for the o##ortunity for this, it allo%s me to make my #oints in a mu$h more su$$in$t an elo+uent %ay than " %oul be able to o verbally! /irstly, " %oul like to +uestion your im#li$ation that the s$hool is un er a$hieving! 0onsi er the 1-Ts results from the last fe% years( #erusing these fas$inating an e'tremely %ell #resente 234 figures, one fin s that base u#on the number of $hil ren a$hieving level 5 an above in the year 6 &nglish an Maths tests( in 2007, out of the 30 #rimary s$hools in Torbay that %ere rate , Preston $ame 28th! Not brilliant, but no one %as steam rolling regime $hange ba$k then! "n 2010, hea tea$hers e$i e to boy$ott 1-Ts as they %ere thro%ing their toys out of the #ram about terms an $on itions or some su$h rubbish! 9o%ever, in 2011, Preston ha risen to 7th out of 30! Not too shabby! "n 2012, the s$hool ha fallen to 12th, a ro# a mitte ly, but it may be #ru ent to #oint out that in the same year, & en Park Primary 1$hool -$a emy 2your s$hool " believe4 $ame 1:th; 1t! Margaret<s -$a emy 2Mr =ree>e<s s$hool4 $ame 23r ! /urther, Preston<s s$ore %as above national average 2:5? $om#are to 77?4! =oth & en #ark an 1t! Margaret<s %ere belo% national average 27:? an 72? res#e$tively4! /rom a more #ersonal vie%, both of my $hil ren having been oing %ell in the s$hool an , more im#ortantly, have been very ha##y! This all seeme to $hange at the #oint that Mr @reen e#arte an Mr =ree>e took over! Parti$ularly, for my youngest son, %ith the e#arture of his $lass tea$her, things have gone e$i e ly #ear sha#e ! /or this reason, although you * onAt %ish to %ell on the #ast,, " feel that you absolutely have no man ate for $ontinuing #resen$e at this s$hool until you have a resse the +uestion of the truth of %hat ha##ene to these t%o members of staff! -s " am sure you are a%are, " have alrea y aske Mrs Bego%ska to a ress this #oint ire$tly to %hi$h she e$line , #referring instea to hi e behin the shiel of $onfi entiality, as the matter relates to si$kness! No%! Cust to be $lear! " o not a$$e#t that si$kness ha anything to o %ith theses e#artures! "<m sure " on<t nee to s#ell this out, but " %ill any%ay( in both $ases there %as no out%ar signs of illness ire$tly before they %ere absent from s$hool! "n both $ases the si$kness %as for a #rolonge #erio ! "n both $ases it en e in resignation! /or this to ha##en on$e %oul be unusual an unfortunate! /or it to ha##en t%i$e! "n the same s$hool! "n su$h a short s#a$e of time! "s sim#ly not believable! "t oes ho%ever, give you the very $onvenient $loak of $onfi entiality to hi e behin ! " %oul suggest that anyone %ith more than t%o oun$es of intelligen$e $an see that your version of events in these $ases is untrue! -s s$hool tea$hers, " ho#e " $an $re it you %ith more than t%o oun$es of intelligen$e 2though the s#elling mistakes in your letter an email

make me %on er!!!4 an so " $an surmise that you are $om#letely a%are of the untruths that you have been #e ling to the #arents an $hil ren of our s$hool! " $annot think of many %or s to es$ribe someone %ho says things that they kno% to be untrue, but then my vo$abulary has never been that e'tensive 2#ro u$t of a $om#rehensive e u$ation "<m afrai 4, maybe you $oul suggest a %or D Politi$ian maybeD Problem is, in the absen$e of you telling us the truth of %hat ha##ene everyone is left to $ome u# %ith there o%n version of events! 9ere is mine( Eou an your $ohorts have some #lan for the s$hool %hi$h both tea$hers ob.e$te to! They %ere therefore bullie out of their .obs an the reason for their e#arture %as shrou e in lies $on$erning illness to .ustify $ontinue silen$e on the matter! "f this is not a true a$$ount of %hat ha##ene then it is u# to you to #ut me right here an tell me %hat really ha##ene ! To borro% a ra>or from the %orl of s$ien$e( it is the theory that most fits the fa$ts that #revails( my theory fits the fa$ts, your e'#lanation oes not! There is obviously serious #oliti$s going on here! " $oul talk about government enfor$e #rivatisation of e u$ation! =ut " %on<t! " $oul talk about #ubli$ly fun e , bran s#anking ne% buil ings being han e over to the #rivate se$tor for nothing! =ut " %on<t! The fa$t is, the only thing " $are about is the e u$ation of my $hil ren, an " sim#ly o not %ant a s$hool that my $hil ren atten to be run by bullies an liars! 1hame on you for #laying #oliti$s %ith our s$hool! "n $losing, %ith referen$e to the last #aragra#h of your letter( the only reason that relationshi#s an trust have to be rebuilt is be$ause the $urrent senior management have estroye them! "t seems to me that yourself an Mr =ree>e have alrea y been %orking har together %ith staff an governors to ream u# a $onvin$ing story to sell to the rest of us so that %e on<t noti$e %hat you are really u# to! F# until the en of the last a$a emi$ year, the $hil ren alrea y ha a fantasti$ s$hool, %hy %oul ", as a #arent, %ant to len my su##ort to those %ho kno$ke it all o%n .ust so they $an buil it u# again %ith a ifferent name over the oor! "<m sorry Mr Kies, but ho%ever $hallenging the .ourney, you are travelling alone! " look for%ar to sharing an informal is$ussion %ith you over tea an $offee! Eours 1in$erely, Cohn Gilkes /ather of t%o $hil ren 2years 5 an 64 at Preston 0ommunity Primary 1$hool!