When the headteacher of Warren Park Primary School in Havant, Hampshire received a letter from his local MP offering to visit the school, instead of agreeing to the visit, he instead took the opportunity to take the man to task for the Government's systematic attacks on education.
Writing to Alan Mak, who was first elected MP for Havant in May this year, in a letter later published by TES he said:
"Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter dated 2 October offering to visit Warren Park Primary School.
Unfortunately, I have real reservations about such a visit on several levels.
Under the coalition government and ongoing to the present time, there has been an unprecedented attack on our wonderful profession. I have worked for and supported this profession for the last 37 years in what I hope is considered to be a successful way.
Under Mr Gove, we saw the rise of divisive policies which ensured we created true isolation for teaching. These policies have led to thousands of teachers wanting to leave teaching with little hope of replacing either their number or their quality and experience.
My views on academies, free schools, lack of funding, assessment, Ofsted, pay rises, curriculum reform and the demise of local authorities will, of course, be different to yours. However, does it really matter? We have no forum to actually get people to listen to us, as we are now a true political football to be knocked around for the pleasure of both the media and the government at the expense of the future of our children.
I for one am fed up with it and so thank you for showing an interest, but I have to decline the visit until such time as the government really and truly cares about the future of education.
Yours sincerely,
Colin Harris,
Headteacher
The letter has been widely shared by teachers on social media with one Facebook user commentating: “Good for you as well Colin Harris - no way you should let them - whatever party make political capital and interrupt a busy school. Too many leeches in Westminster.”
Figures reported in the Observer on Sunday show that schools are now being forced to conduct mass overseas recruitment rounds as a record 50,000 teachers have left the profession in the last year.
