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Facebook row head teacher should resign, say Leicester school staff | |
(about 14 hours later) | |
Staff at a Leicester school are calling for a head teacher who made "inappropriate" Facebook comments to resign. | Staff at a Leicester school are calling for a head teacher who made "inappropriate" Facebook comments to resign. |
Tim Luckcock, head at Uplands Junior School, posted a profile picture of himself wearing a turban and commented: "Nearly gone native in Leicester!!" | Tim Luckcock, head at Uplands Junior School, posted a profile picture of himself wearing a turban and commented: "Nearly gone native in Leicester!!" |
Staff have sent a collective grievance to the city council about Dr Luckcock and chair of governors Abid Matak. | Staff have sent a collective grievance to the city council about Dr Luckcock and chair of governors Abid Matak. |
Dr Luckcock did not comment on the claims. | Dr Luckcock did not comment on the claims. |
Gary Garner, Leicester branch secretary for the union Unison, said: "We believe staff are very concerned about the detrimental and inappropriate comments on Facebook." | Gary Garner, Leicester branch secretary for the union Unison, said: "We believe staff are very concerned about the detrimental and inappropriate comments on Facebook." |
The page was public-facing until this week. | The page was public-facing until this week. |
'Poor governance' | 'Poor governance' |
A spokesperson for the school said: "There is a collective grievance and the local authority is meeting with the unions and the governing body." | A spokesperson for the school said: "There is a collective grievance and the local authority is meeting with the unions and the governing body." |
The grievance claims Dr Luckcock, who joined the school in 2011, has attracted "unanimous condemnation" from staff. | The grievance claims Dr Luckcock, who joined the school in 2011, has attracted "unanimous condemnation" from staff. |
The eight page document accuses Dr Luckcock of "religious bias". | The eight page document accuses Dr Luckcock of "religious bias". |
It says: "On a number of occasions he has expressed a desire to make the ethos of the school Islamic. He uses Islamic greetings in assemblies and phrases such as "insha'Allah", which means 'God willing'." | It says: "On a number of occasions he has expressed a desire to make the ethos of the school Islamic. He uses Islamic greetings in assemblies and phrases such as "insha'Allah", which means 'God willing'." |
The staff said they felt this was inappropriate in a multi-faith school. | The staff said they felt this was inappropriate in a multi-faith school. |
A 2012 Ofsted report noted almost all of the school's 275 pupils were Muslim. It ranked the school as "good" and described the governing body as "very effective". | A 2012 Ofsted report noted almost all of the school's 275 pupils were Muslim. It ranked the school as "good" and described the governing body as "very effective". |
'History of conflict' | 'History of conflict' |
The grievance describes the governance of the school as "poor". | The grievance describes the governance of the school as "poor". |
It refers to a "history of conflict" and criticises the recruitment of the head teacher. | It refers to a "history of conflict" and criticises the recruitment of the head teacher. |
The document also criticises the school's handling of eight redundancies among its teaching assistants. | The document also criticises the school's handling of eight redundancies among its teaching assistants. |
It calls for the resignation of both Dr Luckcock and Mr Matak. | It calls for the resignation of both Dr Luckcock and Mr Matak. |
When approached for a comment, neither of the men responded. | When approached for a comment, neither of the men responded. |
The unions, including the NUT and NASUWT as well as Unison, said they hoped to meet with the city council on Friday to discuss the grievance. | The unions, including the NUT and NASUWT as well as Unison, said they hoped to meet with the city council on Friday to discuss the grievance. |
A spokesperson for the council said: "We can confirm that trade unions have raised collective grievances against the head teacher and the governing body. | A spokesperson for the council said: "We can confirm that trade unions have raised collective grievances against the head teacher and the governing body. |
"We have scheduled discussions with governors and with trade union representatives to discuss how the issues can be investigated and resolved." | "We have scheduled discussions with governors and with trade union representatives to discuss how the issues can be investigated and resolved." |
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