Have to disagree, my boy was getting bullied at infant school 3 years ago. When mrs spoke to the head teacher she told mrs that there's no bullying at school and that the bruises on my boy must have happened at home, so she informed social services
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
Parents - If You're Thinking of Sending Your Child to Varndean School....
- Thread starter Cheeky Monkey
- Start date
Have to disagree, my boy was getting bullied at infant school 3 years ago. When mrs spoke to the head teacher she told mrs that there's no bullying at school and that the bruises on my boy must have happened at home, so she informed social services
Have to disagree, my boy was getting bullied at infant school 3 years ago. When mrs spoke to the head teacher she told mrs that there's no bullying at school and that the bruises on my boy must have happened at home, so she informed social services
I would be astounded if the turn of events panned out as you said, it just wouldn't happen that way.
I have no doubt that at times schools make mistakes, but generally you are dealing with professional and uber compassionate people that know intimately your child, their characteristics and their likelihood for different types of behaviour, unfortunately some parents do not.
Please don't try and say my experience didn't happen, because it did. I have my copy of the social workers report in which it states that in his opinion the injuries to my son did not happen at home, and I am still waiting for an apology from the head teacher. This is neither the first or last time this head teacher has done the exact same thing.
So you will be astounded
Please don't try and say my experience didn't happen, because it did. I have my copy of the social workers report in which it states that in his opinion the injuries to my son did not happen at home, and I am still waiting for an apology from the head teacher. This is neither the first or last time this head teacher has done the exact same thing.
So you will be astounded
It is such a serious allegation that I am still astounded that these events panned out like this, it seems such an unlikely conclusion to a quite 'low level' incident, usually there might be ongoing suspicions that would prompt such actions.
Again this isnt a comment on you personally, but a comment on the incident and the action thereafter .....
I would want more than an apology if it was me.
I suspect there is an appeal procedure for the parent or penalties for those that report when the blatantly shouldn't ??
You'd hope there's an appeal procedure, in the same way you'd hope a head teacher would deal with a child who was bullied for over a year. Unfortunately my boy was an easy target for bullies being one of the clever kids, and also the tallest in his class and the excuse from the head teacher of "look how tall he is, he can't be getting bullied" was regularly used.
redneb
Active member
We live a stones throw from Patcham High. We love where we live but to be honest the school could be a reason for us to move to mid sussex. My twins wont be 4 till October so theres plenty of time left for Patcham to improve which I understand it is due to the catchment shifting.
So if there is a better Bton and Hove school than Patcham, say Newman for example, would I be able to send them there or do I have to send em to Patcham
LadySeagull
Well-known member
Newman's entry criteria normally means you should have a church connection (Catholics first, then other denominations). So it's hard to get in most years...
...except this coming September as they have apparently added an extra class of 30 - and it seems they are filling it with anyone who has bothered to appeal...!
...except this coming September as they have apparently added an extra class of 30 - and it seems they are filling it with anyone who has bothered to appeal...!
seagullsovergrimsby
#cpfctinpotclub
All part of the "dumbing down" of education in this country over the last 30 years , instead of aspirations of matching the standards of the Grammar schools system what we see today is the High Schools and Academies teaching pupils subjects which are irrelevant in their future lives. Varndean used to have a prestigious reputation but this has fallen by the wayside in the pursuit of "levelling out".
Wow, thats a massive leap of faith, from an allegation of bullying, which the school then counters with a report to social services to your Son !!
Maybe this isnt the forum to discuss this, but something doesn't stack up here.
This.
mlg57
Well-known member
Thats very sad I went to Varndean in 1971 when it was a boys Grammar School and it was excellent. Then it got better in year two as they let girls join!!!
% obtaining 5 gcse's at a,b,c grades including maths & english:
Patcham
2006 22%
2011 50%
quietly, they've massively improved with regards to results.
I don't often like the tone of your replies, but in this case I agree with you. Not to say that he wasn't being bullied, or that the head wasn't incompetent but that story doesn't stack up in my eyes either.
Jimmy Grimble
Well-known member
Patcham is on an upward curve. Stringer will stay up there as one of the best for at least a good few years to come.
shaolinpunk
[Insert witty title here]
Varndean seemed pretty good when I was there. Admittedly I finished there in '03, and even then people in the years below seemed to be twats
TWOCHOICEStom
Well-known member
I can confirm that ZERO dirty girls went to PCC between 1996 and 2001.
Tony Towner's Fridge
Well-known member
Nearly all schools in the UK turn a blind eye to bullying. It is because they have KPIs to meet and bullying is one of them. Persuade the parents not to complain, bruish it under the carpet, hope it will go away will all mean less reported incidnets and a better KPI score.
Oh and I have first hand experience in Glasgow when my eldest daughter was 10, a combination of parent's having a 'blue eyed baby' who could do no wrong, a useless headmaster and a police force who were only happy to not help, contrived to me being pretty well pissed off with the whole set up.
The school by the way had and still has a 5 page bullying statement on their website. Hot air and very little substance.
As for Varndean, old Mollison was a to$$er but I enjoyed my time there. Halcyon days of cricket and chess.
TNBA
TTF
Lady Gull
New member
St Nicholas and st Mary's in shoreham don't tolerate bullying and we have had two kids go there at different times - likewise my son went to st Andrews in Worthing and we had an issue there once with bullying but it was dealt with immediately and never happened again.
Not sure where I will apply for Millie yet for secondary school but I'll wait to make my decision - I have a few years to decide yet and schools round here are changing all the time - at the moment davisons is my first choice I think
Not sure where I will apply for Millie yet for secondary school but I'll wait to make my decision - I have a few years to decide yet and schools round here are changing all the time - at the moment davisons is my first choice I think
svanstraten
New member
- May 29, 2012
- 2
Hello,
I'm the new Director of ICT and Communications at Varndean School. I am concerned to read your comments. If you would like to contact me directly I'd be more than willing to see what can be done to improve your experience of the school.
To answer some of the points others have made:
1. We do take any issue of bullying seriously and have a dedicated Student Services team who are trained to deal with a wide range of issues such as bullying.
2. We are recruiting extra teachers with the express aim of reducing class sizes.
3. We teach a majority of GCSEs rather than BTEC qualifications. We're launching a new Computer Science GCSE next term.
4. We are one of only three schools in the city to have been re-awarded the Artsmark Gold award.
5. Our Science GCSE results last year were the highest of any school in the city.
6. Last week our girls were the top performing B&H team in a Sussex round of the Sainsbury's Cup, a national athletics competition and the boys came second (but still ahead of Stringer), so we're doing alright on the sports front too.
We know that we can't get everything right all the time, but we are determined to go from Good to Outstanding in terms of OFSTED ratings, and we are committed to being a first rate community school.
All the best,
Sacha
seagullsovergrimsby
#cpfctinpotclub
Thats very sad I went to Varndean in 1971 when it was a boys Grammar School and it was excellent. Then it got better in year two as they let girls join!!!
There are quite a few Old Varndeanians who post on NSC. I also started in 1971 (Form 1.10 Mr Griffiths)