The Farnley Academy: Adults involved in Leeds school protests are 'truly reckless' says GORSE Academies boss

Sir John Townsley, who heads up the GORSE Academies Trust, said a “handful of parents” and other adults with no connection to The Farnley Academy had played a role in orchestrating the protests, with some harassing children as they arrived at school. He said a number of threatening comments directed towards staff had also been referred to the police.

There have been two protests in recent days relating to The Farnley Academy, where there has been a backlash over a policy restricting pupils to using one set of toilets during lesson time. In the latest protest, some pupils were pictured on Monday morning holding a banner reading ‘human rights’. One parent said the policy had led to her son having to wait until he got home to use the toilet.

The school’s principal, Chris Stokes, said in an earlier letter issued to parents that the policy was introduced due to “two very serious safeguarding events”. In a second letter, he said pupils would have the opportunity to write down their views and the student leadership team would review all responses and discuss collective views with him.

In a statement released in response to the latest protests, Sir John said: “All of us connected to life at The Farnley Academy are taken aback to find ourselves in a position whereby a small number of children, directly orchestrated by a handful of parents and other adults who do not and never have had children at the school, are seeking to protest in this way.

“We know that the background to this is a national TikTok campaign which is directly connected to events portrayed in a TV programme supposedly depicting life in schools today. This morning a number of adults and pupils have protested on grounds adjacent to The Farnley Academy. Again, this also included adults who are not connected to our school community. Sadly, some of those people harassed children who were seeking to come into school resulting in many of our pupils arriving with us feeling upset and unsettled.

“Over the course of the weekend some of the adults involved in this action have used social media in order to act in a totally unacceptable way. This has included making very personal comments about professionals at The Farnley Academy and threatening comments which have now been reported to the police. To this point, we remain uncertain as to the demands of those involved in this matter. We know that nationally protests have been centred around the following areas:

· the use of mobile phones in schools;

· access to toilets during lesson time;

· uniform standards.

“We wish to make clear in the most certain terms possible that we consider the professional stance that we take in all three areas to be essential in ensuring that our schools are great places in which to learn and thrive. Allowing pupils to use mobile phones routinely in school would, in our opinion, result in behaviours which are not only unacceptable but also impact upon safeguarding and child protection.

“Though we do, when necessary, allow children to use toilets during lesson times we strongly encourage our pupils to use the toilets before and after school and during break times. A situation which sees children going to the toilet throughout the day whenever they so choose would result in a loss of learning time across the curriculum which would be totally unacceptable. Once again, such a policy would also present major safeguarding and child protection issues.

“We are extremely proud of our uniform standards at The Farnley Academy and across the trust. Those standards are a part of our identity and of great importance to us and our parents /carers. We do not, under any circumstances, believe that the adults involved in organising this action are in any way representative of our community. The Farnley Academy is an extremely popular and respected school; this is reflected in the fact that well over 700 families have applied for places at the school for September 2023. Those families have made those choices based upon the values and the standards that we hold dear.

“We are absolutely determined to ensure that our standards are in keeping with all that our community seeks in a great school. The adults involved in this action are behaving in a truly reckless way, inciting children to act in an unacceptable manner for their own satisfaction. They do not understand how schools operate, particularly around safeguarding and child protection, and they will not impose upon us a way of acting which is irresponsible, destructive and dangerous.

“We would ask all our parents /carers to support us in having their children return to school as normal and to expressing any views that they have about how our school could be improved and developed further through the correct mechanisms, including the Student Leadership Team.”

Following the original protest, a spokesperson for the GORSE Academies Trust said students had been asked to only use the centrally-located toilets during lesson time for safety reasons.

It said: "These toilets are OPEN during ALL lesson times, are accessible from all parts of the school, and a member of staff is present to ensure all students are safe. During break and lunch, students are then able to use all of the toilets in school.

"We actively encourage all students to ensure that they go to the toilet before school, at break and at lunch, to avoid needing to go during lesson time. However, the option to use the toilets during lesson time remains available to students where it is needed. Additionally, through feedback from our wonderful Student Leadership Team, we are investing a further £100,000 to fully refurbish some of the toilets within the school in the coming months.”