Ł6000 school bullying payout

Monday 1 November 1999

A mother is calling for the sacking of Kevin McAleese, the headmaster of Harrogate Grammar School after her son accepted Ł6,000 in an out of court settlement over bullying.

Mrs Liz Carnell, of Bilton, Harrogate, sued North Yorkshire County Council after removing her son in 1994. A court date was about to be fixed when the surprise settlement was paid into court.

"We're delighted that the LEA decided it was not prepared to back the school,"; she said. "However, it would be wrong to focus solely on this case because unfortunately it isn't an isolated one."

Mrs Carnell said that a number of children were removed due to bullying at the school and that their parents had written letters or made statements to her solicitor Andrew Tinning. "I know that even after previous bad publicity, yet another child was removed, and as recently as this June I was visited by a mother who was very upset over what had happened to her son."

She paid tribute to the wide support she had received inside and outside Harrogate Grammar School and has discovered that staff are also targets of bullying. "This school can never again claim it didn't have a bullying problem because I've got a copy of last year's Investors in People diagnosis report saying that staff were complaining of a 'bullying' and 'autocratic' top management. The report added: "There appears to be a degree of fear in voicing concerns, making objective observations and suggestions."

"Harrogate Grammar School had an Ofsted inspection earlier this year and I'm absolutely amazed that this was not mentioned in the report," she said. "Surely it's very unusual for teachers to complain that they are being bullied and I think it's the sort of thing that parents ought to know."

Mrs Carnell, founder of the website Bullying Online at www.bullying.co.uk thinks that the headmaster should go, along with any governors who were there from 1994 up to the issue of the Investors in People report. "I think this report is the final straw. It was given to me anonymously for obvious reasons by someone who wanted our legal team to have the full picture."

For further information see Bullying Online at www.bullying.co.uk

Contacts:

Mrs Liz Carnell 01423 561135

Kevin McAleese, headmaster Harrogate Grammar School 01423 531127

John Knight, current chairman of governors 01765 609017

George Crowther, former chairman of governors who I believe was an LEA governor at time of complaints 01423 567438 or Lib Dem office 01423 528888

Mrs Angela Sansam, may be the current governor who was there at time of complaints 01423 505876 or Harrogate College, 01423 879466

Miss Cynthia Welbourn, head of education for North Yorkshire County Council, 01609 780780

Andrew Tinning, solicitor at Anderson &Co, 01423 527852

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