Tuesday 24 March 2015

Michaela Free School 'putting pupils lives at risk' claim teacher unions

Hank Roberts, Union representative on  on Brent Schools Health and Safety Committee has riased serious questions about safety at the Michaela Academy Free School in Wembley Park which opened in September 2014 but is still undertaking building works on the building while it is occupied by the Year 7 children.  This is his letter to Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council containing the draft report:
Dear Muhammed.

Please find enclosed a revised (2nd draft) copy of our document concerning Michaela Community (Free) school. This is just to clarify particular action points that we are calling for you and the Authority to take up arising from the potentially dangerous situation we uncovered and, we believe, aspects of which are still extant.

1)   For the Authority to write to the Secretary of State for Education and Michaela Community school seeking their response to the specific actions I believe should be undertaken in the section of the document on Page 7 headed “Urgent actions that need to be undertaken”.



2)   That the request in the last paragraph on Page 8 from “We call on the local authority” down to “other Brent LA schools” and further to raise with the Secretary of State both the exact present legal position of the LA in regard to potential hazards facing the health and safety of Brent pupils in free schools (and academies) and the unsatisfactory nature of the present anomalous position.

Yours sincerely,

Hank Roberts

Union Representative on Brent Schools H&S Committee


PS: I am also sending this draft document to the Fire Brigade, H&S Executive, ATL, NASUWT and NUT Teacher Unions, Brent school H&S Reps and the media requesting their observations, comments and actions as appropriate.
Below you can find the full draft document which Mr Roberts has circulated:

 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well done, Mr Roberts, for pointing out the various dangers which Michaela students face when they go to school each day. I feel confident that Ms Birbalsingh and the rest of the Michaela team will act on the information you have provided, for, as the school motto/vision/mission statement attests, 'Knowledge is Power'.
I note from the school's website that Michaela no longer claims to offer, as it formerly did, a private school-type education without the inconvenience of extortionate fees. As their philosophy is clearly dynamic and evolving, perhaps a further revision could be made to include a small parental donation to cover the cost of making the pupils' studies a little less hazardous for them.
And I don't know whether Roger Scruton, who recently visited the school to talk to the pupils on the subject of philosophy and fox-hunting, charged for the pleasure but I'm sure he wouldn't be too offended if Katherine were belatedly to tap him for a couple of quid in a good cause.

Mike Hine

PS It's lack of Health and Safety gone mad!

Anonymous said...

Crazy. Unregulated, unqualified educators have no business being with children.