Good behaviour at core of college’s ethos

As principal of Claverham Community College I was extremely disappointed to see this letter which suggests that the college and its staff take no responsibility for the actions of our students on their journey to and from school.

This is simply not true. All the staff at Claverham are proud of the reputation that the college has in the local community and further afield.

We all work extremely hard to maintain this reputation.

Any complaint received from members of the community is fully investigated and any poor behaviour is dealt with appropriately.

With regard to this particular incident I was obviously saddened to hear that the young boy had been hurt and that his mother was left distressed by the incident.

The incident was reported to one of the deputy principals at the college at the very end of the day on Tuesday.

The gentleman who reported the incident was ‘phoned, however, he was not available and a message was left on his voicemail requesting him to call back in order to speak to the deputy principal. This call was not returned.

Meanwhile the incident was investigated and, although the young people who were involved could not be clearly identified, a general warning has been given to the students of the college with regard to their conduct to and from the college.

On Thursday the wife of the gentleman who reported the incident called to enquire about the initial report.

When called back she was informed about the investigation so far and was told about the ‘phone call to her husband earlier in the week.

She informed the member of staff that her husband sometimes doesn’t check his voicemail regularly and that was probably why he had not received the call.

I can assure the gentleman, and the local community, that the college takes full responsibility for the behaviour of our students in school uniform both before school and at the end of the day.

Whilst I am not claiming that the students at the college never make mistakes with regard to their behaviour, good behaviour and respect are very much at the core of the ethos of the college.

Paul Swatton

Principal, Claverham Community College