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Frank Dobson |
Schools row turns sour
Parents fear smear campaign after official’s discrimination claim
GOVERNORS fighting council plans to build two schools on the same site fear they could become victims of a smear campaign after a senior civil servant made the shock claim that objectors were discriminating against disabled children.
Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors leapt to the defence of children’s services director Heather Schroeder after she sent a fiery email about the council’s decision to rebuild Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children – evicted by the council from its current home in Swiss Cottage – on Edith Neville’s grounds in Ossulston Street.
The email, which was sent on Thursday, just 24 hours before Ms Schroeder retired from council service to take a “belated gap year”, read: “The opposition from the school continues unabated and in my view, most worryingly, now appears to be overtly discriminatory to disabled children.”
It urged the Town Hall’s cabinet to “distance” itself from the objections, adding: “To give the impression that contact between deaf children and other children is inevitably harmful is patently wrong, discriminatory and highly irresponsible of those leading the approach which raises the anxieties of parents and children.”
The email – seen by the New Journal – has sparked outrage among Edith Neville parent-governors who are furious that they have been accused of discrimination in a campaign which has been largely run by volunteers giving up their own time.
Governor Esther Caplin said: “Heather Schroeder’s email defies belief. How dare she accuse us of being discriminatory? Inclusiveness is what we have always been about. We have taught blind and deaf children and, day in, day out, look after the needs some of the least privileged children in the country. And we are extremely proud to do so.”
Robin Nash, chairwoman of the governing board, added: “This is a serious allegation and it is damaging and alarming nonsense. Camden officers will doubtless think very carefully before they enter into anything that might be construed as a smear campaign.”
By association, supporters of the school, which include Labour councillors, governors from across the borough and teachers, are also concerned that they have been painted unfairly as bigoted against Frank Barnes’s best interests.
Edith Neville’s staff and governors have always maintained that they have no argument with Frank Barnes, insisting they regard it as an excellent school, but believe the two primaries will be squashed together in a co-location plan in one of the borough’s most densely populated wards.
Labour MP Frank Dobson said: “It takes my breath away. It is perfectly legitimate for them to raise objections to having to lose a part of their site to anybody.”
He added that it was the council which had been cavalier in their transfer of Frank Barnes, clearing the way for to build the borough’s first academy school on its site.
“From my experience, nobody at Edith Neville has shown anything but sympathy to the children of Frank Barnes,” said Mr Dobson. “It is being moved from the current site in Swiss Cottage for the convenience of the council.”
Other Labour sources said the council were hiding behind “disabled children” as the row intensified.
Legal action has already been threatened in the past with Edith Neville considering breaking away from Camden’s education system.
Conservative leader Councillor Andrew Marshall said he would “stick by” what Ms Schroeder had said in her email.
He said: “The organisers of the campaign need to be careful with the impression they create. We are trying to correct misapprehensions. I’d stick by what Heather was saying but we want to be positive and move forward.”
Lib Dem Councillor Janet Grauberg added: “It’s a complex issue but I think Heather was right to flag up the danger. It’s something that needs to be thought through.” |
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