And Why Shouldn’t You Be Questioned?

Guardian interviews with school leaders elsewhere revealed widespread concern about deteriorating behaviour among pupils, coupled with a lack of support for school policies from some parents, both issues highlighted in the Ofsted annual report last week.

“Behaviour has got worse, but what we don’t get is any support from the parents,” said one head of a secondary school in the Midlands, who did not want to be named. “They don’t want their children being sanctioned. They question more than they support.”

Why shouldn’t they question you? You’ve proven yourselves to be partisan, secretive and lazy. 

“In the past students were in lessons. They might be disruptive in lessons and you’d have to deal with that kind of behaviour. “But there’s a new thing coming up in schools in the last year and a half – students are turning up to school, but they don’t go into any lessons and they just wander around the building. They want to come for the social, but they don’t want to go into their lessons.

“So then I have to put a sanction in place and I’m having to suspend or put them in a removal room. But most of the time they don’t comply and the parents have no sway with the children either.”

Gosh, maybe that lockdown did some good after all, if it’s burst the ‘teacher as god’ bubble. 

There are more fights between pupils and more disruption from the setting off of fire alarms.

“But for us, the biggest issue is students just refusing to follow instructions point blank.”

In some cases when a child refuses to leave a classroom, the whole of the class has to move elsewhere instead.

Well, since schools are usually fans of collective punishment, I find it rather hard to really care…after all, it’s a rod you’ve clearly made for your own backs, after all:

Glyn Potts, headteacher of Saint John Henry Newman RC College in Oldham, said suspensions had doubled at his school, from 81 days last year to 161 days this year.

“I don’t necessarily think behaviour has got worse,” said Potts. “What I would say is the level of need and the level of complexity of young people has increased exponentially.”

Unmet special needs, mental health issues and persistent post-pandemic absence are all creating tensions in schools, which can result in breaches of the behaviour code.

“In the past we had naughty boys and girls who did things that were naughty,” Potts added. “Now it’s just far more complex than that.”

Maybe it isn’t, though? 

Open Up Another Cell...

...and put those who freed him in it.

A Jack the Ripper obsessive who tried to kill a pensioner in a barbaric riverside knife attack had been freed after a warning he posed an imminent risk of 'serious injury and potentially death', a court has heard.

It's the only thing that will work. After all, all those reports that judges call for clearly mean nothing... 

Anthony Roberts was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years and nine months on Tuesday by a judge who said the circumstances of the 56-year-old's release 'were for others to examine'.

Examine, and actually act on. There needs to be consequences for failure. 

The court was told Roberts, of Green Hill, Worcester, has a chromosomal disorder and was diagnosed with an 'untreatable' psychopathic personality disorder in 1993.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen said she had read six parole assessment reports written in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The final report in May 2021, the judge said, found that Roberts - who absconded from prison in 2019 - posed a risk of harm specific to females aged 16-30 and of 'serious injury and potential death of any female victim'.

'She (the report's author) assessed the risk as imminent and high,' the judge added.

And what do those tasked with oversight say? Would you believe, Reader, the usual? 

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This was a despicable crime and our heartfelt sympathies are with the victim and their family.

'A Serious Further Offence review is underway to establish the full facts of the case and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.'

Ah, a review. More cosy make-work for the State's apparatchiks.  

I'd Recommend 'A Deep Dive' Too...

Speaking at the latest board meeting last month, Stephen Mayo, interim director of nursing for patient experience at Thurrock CCG, called for a “deep dive” into what caused the incidents.

He said: “There were 85 serious incidents across the acute during this period and one never event which related to an angiogram commenced on an incorrect leg.

“This brings the total of never events during this time period to five. Four of them are related to wrong site surgery and one to a medication incident within maternity.

“We have requested that there is a deep dive regarding these never events and reporting to our system quality group. They need to take as part of that reporting process the impact on patients and staff within their investigation and going forward.”

...but possibly, I'd mean something rather different. Something very different!

How Witchhunts Can Start...

A horrified mother was left shaken after a man...

Ooh, flashed her? 

..."took pictures" of her and her children while they waited at the bus stop.

Wait, what? 

The 27-year-old had been warned by a fellow passenger that she had seen footage of the family on the man's phone, which he had just taken.

Both disgusted and frightened, the mother-of-four quickly hopped on the bus and took her children home before calling the police.

So...she didn't actually see this man take pictures of her, she was told this by another complete stranger? And this generated such a panic she fled? 

She explained: "The whole thing has completely shaken me up, to the point I don't really feel to safe (sic) to be out on my own with my kids.

"I was waiting for the bus with my kids in a push chair, the other two were at school, when a woman behind the guy involved started walking towards me.

"The woman stopped me and asked if I knew the man that was standing a bit further up the street, to which I said no.

"As she walked past, she'd seen him taking pictures/videos of me and the kids on his phone.

"I was so shocked, but I knew I couldn't confront him. I didn't know how he'd react and it could've put me and the kids in more danger. "

Note that phrasing: 'more danger'. As if she was in any to start with, unless she's from one of those tribes that believes he was stealing her soul... 

All that was going through my head was I've got to get them on the bus and get them home."

Someone you don't know tells you something you didn't see that in no way harms you and you have to run home?   

Determined to warn other families, the mother is now urging anyone with any information to contact the police.

Oh, FFS!  

"All I know is he had a bit of paper in his hand and a phone, it looked like he was looking at the paper and doing something on his phone.

But I wasn't paying too much attention to what he was doing where I was just making sure we got on the bus safely."

You know, I've often stood in the street taking video of a particular spot that would probably have contained images of people. What am I doing, trawling for victims? No. Scanning a Pokestop. 

Maybe that's what this man was doing. Maybe he was thinking of moving and taking images of the street to show his housebound partner. We don't know and we won't know. 

But now anyone doing any of those things - all quite legal - run the risk of being regarded as a potential criminal. 

All because of two women. And even before this witchhunt has got off the blocks, the next one has started its run, baton in hand, cheered on by the media.

Strange Choice From The Photobank...

...because I don't think young smartly-dressed white boys and girls with attentive parents have most to fear, do they? Unless it's as victims.

But It's Not 'Beyond Shocking' At All, Is It?

On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of his murder and a second boy, also 14, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Both are now in custody at an east London police station.

Detective Inspector John Marriott, of the Met's Specialist Crime Command, said: 'We believe that James confronted a group of youths causing a disturbance and was stabbed as a result.

'The brutality of this response is beyond shocking and our thoughts are with James' family who have been left devastated by their loss.'

But it's not at all 'beyond shocking'. Is it? It's inevitable, when thugs are allowed to do as they please without any fear of the police: 

Today, Mr Markham's wife, Candice, told the Mirror: 'The boys were walking around with metal poles. They were swinging them and shouting at my daughter.

'It's just disgusting. It's not the first time - you see them walking around and smashing bottles in the street.'

Indeed, they are apparently well known in the area. It didn't take the police long to sweep them up, did it?

Chief Superintendent Richard Tucker, responsible for local policing in Waltham Forest, said: 'The Met remains committed to tackling violence across London and I would like to reassure the community that we will do everything we can to track down those responsible for this attack.

'I understand the concern this incident will cause and I would like to reassure residents that you will continue to see additional officers in the area over the coming days.'

Perhaps if you'd come along to bolt the stable door before the horse galloped over that hill, there wouldn't be a grieving widow right now, and a family destroyed. The knife wielders of course bear the majority of the responsibility for that, but I cannot say, hand on heart, that the local police farce that has proven so utterly ineffective doesn't also bear some.  

Can you, Reader?

Sometimes The Jury System Produces The Right Result...

...but Reader, this is not one of those times:

A knifeman accused of threatening to kill a man before stabbing him reacted after “abuse was shouted at him”, a court heard.

The trial of Allan Lindsay entered its second day at Basildon Crown Court yesterday with the 56-year-old taking to the witness box to give evidence.

Lindsay denies intending to cause the man grievous bodily harm in the stabbing on May 2 last year at the junction of Victoria Avenue and Queensway in Southend.

Lindsay was grilled by prosecuting barrister Karl Volz, where he claimed he started to follow the pedestrian because he had abused him.

Yes, you heard that right. The accused pursued the victim with a knife.  

The jury previously heard the victim had been walking when Lindsay had shouted abuse at him, saying he should “go and die”.

He is then alleged to have approached him before producing a knife and stabbing him, which the court heard narrowly missed the victim’s heart.

And hence, the CPS clearly thought "Well, this is open and shut!" 

The trial of Allan Lindsay, 56, of Marine Parade, Southend, concluded at Basildon Crown Court today with the jury unable to decide if Lindsay had intended to cause his victim serious harm.

The jury acquitted him on another charge of making threats to kill by majority verdict.

A provisional sentencing date has been set for July 19 for the charge of unlawful wounding. The Crown Prosecution Service will be considering over the next week whether a retrial will be sought.

For Lindsay, or for the idiot members of the jury on grounds of being idiots? 

Then Sack The Ones Who Couldn't Follow The Guidelines, pour encourager les autres...

Nearly one in five pregnant women in the UK were forced to wear a face covering during labour, according to research by a charity, despite official health guidance saying they should not be asked to do so.

Strange that people so keen to follow official covid guidance to the letter don't seem to have read this far, eh? 

The guidance says that women should not be asked to wear a face covering of any kind during natural labour or during caesarean births because of the risk of harm and complications. Rosie, 39, from London, said she felt as if she was dying because she was in so much pain during advanced labour with her third child, born in December. Yet maternity staff instructed to keep on her face mask.

And of course, she's not allowed anyone with her, under covide guidance, so she's at their mercy... 

“I was frightened that amongst everything else that was happening I was then going to be sick inside the mask,” added Rosie, who has a condition called emetophobia, which is a fear of vomiting. At one point she ripped off the mask but was told to put it back on.

Nor is her's an isolated case. Far from it: 

“Someone put the mask on me and I said: ‘You can’t be serious’, and she replied: ‘Yes’, and then I remember having a contraction,” said Titherington, who has flashbacks of her traumatic birth and has been unable to wear a face covering since because it triggers the memory of struggling to breathe.

She ended up having an emergency caesarean and was told to wear the mask during the entire surgery, which goes against the official guidance.

So...what does the professional body have to say about this? Well, as expected, weasel words and excuses: 

Dr Mary Ross Davie, director of professional midwifery at the Royal College of Midwives said since the start of the pandemic health professionals have had to respond to rapid changes in guidance. “For many on the clinical frontline they have found it really difficult to keep up to date with what the latest guidance is,” she said.

Have they? Oh, the poor dears! Just like...well, everyone else. 

“I think sometimes what has happened is that some health professionals may not have understood when someone is in labour they should be exempt from wearing a mask.”

Then perhaps calling them 'health professionals' is a bit of a misnomer, eh? 

An NHS spokesperson said: “Guidance to hospitals has been absolutely clear that women who are giving birth are exempt from wearing a facemask, and every hospital in England should be following this.”

Well, they aren't. Time to make an example of them. 

Take Away His Driving License Too...

A dad’s gun licence bid has been thwarted after a judge branded him “unfit to be trusted with a deadly firearm”.

Hmmm, why? 

... the 43-year-old misled the authorities on his application form after changing his name three times, to hide his criminal record and “intemperate” short fuse.

Judge Simon James told Barnes his “deliberate lack of frankness” was indicative of someone shrouded in “secrecy and privacy”.

Amongst other things! 

Going by the name Rashid Farooq, Barnes in 2006 was convicted at trial of harassing his former partner and jailed for 24 weeks.

Having changed his name to Taff Morgan in 2013, Barnes successfully launched a shotgun licence bid after failing to disclose the conviction. Police in 2015 seized the weapon following further allegations of violence.

Barnes, who works with animals, soon changed his name to Solomon Barnes-Knight. He was then handed a community order for animal cruelty in 2018 after leaving a dog inside a car. Prosecutors told the court Barnes became threatening towards police officers assisting the RSPCA - claims he denied.

/facepalm 

Under his fourth name Damion Barnes, and with the help of wife Sarah Knight, a Kent Police investigations officer (Ed: Wait, what..?!), he launched another firearms licence application.

You almost have to admire his persistance, don't you? 

But Barnes’ GP surgery declared to police he had a history of depression, difficulties controlling his temper, a suspected personality disorder and was in treatment for ADHD at London’s Maudsley Hospital. Legally, applicants must declare their medical history under the Firearms Act.

Sarah Knight should be expecting an interview without coffee by AC12, shouldn't she? It certainly calls into question her judgement! 

His barrister Graham Gilbert added Barnes’ learning difficulties had led to confusion over which box to tick when declaring previous convictions and he had never been formally diagnosed with a personality disorder.

Anyone think this man should have a shotgun? Anyone? Bueller? 

Barnes, of The Elders in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, was ordered to pay £2,250 legal fees for the appeal heard at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday, April 8.

Can't wait to see what his fifth name will be! 

No, 'We' Don't, Actually...

...because the vast majority of people are well aware of the dangers inherent in deep water.

Emergency services were called to the scene, at Goit Stock waterfall, Cullingworth, on Tuesday night following reports of someone in the water.

“Emergency services attended, including fire service, ambulance and underwater rescue teams, and recovered a body from the water," said a West Yorkshire Police spokesperson.

“There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances and a file has been prepared for the coroner.”

Happens every spell of warm weather. But SOMETHING MUST BE DONE! 

Councillor Naveed Riaz, of the Bingley Rural ward, gave his condolences to the boy’s friends and family, calling the incident a “tragedy”.

Cllr Riaz added that people should take “extra precaution” when visiting areas like Goit Stock, and said that people must learn from the incident.

Learn what, exactly? 

“Last year, there were a number of deaths, across the UK, from drowning.

“I think we all need to learn from this, we should take extra precaution and we all need to think sensibly.”

I don't. Do you, Reader? 

“We have to ensure that we act responsibly. At our next meeting, after the elections, we are hoping to campaign for more signs in the area, and we will see if we can work with the landlord, in the hope that we can implement some more safety measures at Goit Stock, which will hopefully stop things like this from happening.”

Well, there's the triumph of hope over expectation, because they haven't managed it yet... 

Councillor Paul Sullivan, also of the Bingley Rural ward, added that the teenager’s death represents a “tragic loss”.

He echoed some of the same concerns raised by Cllr Riaz, arguing that more safety measures need to be put in place in the area.

Unless you post a lifeguard every 50 feet along every water source in the country, these incidents will continue to happen. It's less a 'tragic loss' than a culling of the unfit. 

The Real Cost Of Lack Of Consequences...

Smart motorways in their current format were signed off by then Tory transport minister Sir Mike Penning at the beginning of last decade.

However, he has always maintained he was misled about the risks of turning the hard shoulder into a live lane of traffic.

He also claims they don't resemble the designs he signed off and that Highways England has 'casually ignored the commitments' made to MPs on safety.

And have any civil servants been sacked? Dragged before PAC? Mildly admonished? 

A Department for Transport spokesman (said): 'As soon as the Transport Secretary took office he recognised the concerns around smart motorway safety and commissioned an urgent stocktake of the evidence, which we published a year ago - along with a £500 million, 18-point, action plan to make them safer still.'

Oh. No, of course not. We're just going to be forking over more cash to try to put it right.  

Highways England is facing possible manslaughter charges over the death of Nargis Begum, 62, who died on the M1 smart motorway in Yorkshire in 2018.

Bet that comes to nothing too.