Letter to Editor: Latest SFG College closure is final straw
Politics / Tue 21st Nov 2023 at 07:59am
Dear Editor, It is hard to believe the latest from SfG. It is hard to believe that tens of thousands of pounds worth of power equipment, connected live to the mains, was stolen over the weekend from SFG without the 24 hour a day security guards noticing until early this morning (Monday). Yet parents weren’t alerted to the school closure until 7 am today.
It’s hard to believe that when parents were told at 7am on Monday morning, that the school would be closed for a day, given the extent of the theft, that the school couldn’t have seen that school would be closed tomorrow. Yet it wasn’t until 5 pm that we were told of tomorrow’s (Tuesday) closure.
Doubtless SFG will wait until the last minute tomorrow to tell us if the school is open on Wednesday. After all this is the pattern of last minute communications, giving parents no time to organise child care and contact employers, that we have grown used to. Its rude, it’s disrespectful, but it seems to have become the SFG way.
Parents deserve the whole unvarnished truth. We deserve the maximum possible notice of probable closures. BMAT, the DfE and Robert Halfon have over promised and under delivered on measures to mitigate the chaos caused by DfE incompetence again and again.
Please let us know, no later than lunchtime tomorrow, if the school will be open on Wednesday so that we can have a few hours to sort childcare and other arrangements.
Regards
Mark Ingall
gary roberts
2023-11-21 08:23:32
Mr. Ingall isn't it time for you and the other parents to call for compensation? Or perhaps a class action against the Department of Education? And attach Mr. Halfon to the claim using his proud response of pushing tirelessly for the school on the grounds of incompetence. Did he have a photo shoot when it opened and did he indeed open it?
JB
2023-11-21 10:07:09
At least they'll be open for a visit by Mr Halfon and the Baroness on Thursday. Nothing like getting your priorities in order. Not to worry about the hundreds of children being failed every day, as long as we're open for the VIP's.
A parent
2023-11-21 11:01:15
Well said Mark Ingall, it's getting beyond a joke now, it seems the dfe are incompetent, will Baroness Barons first words be an unreserved apology for consintent and multiple failures. The prefab class rooms they re currently doing the ground work for looks alittle too permanent. These may be the schools home for many years. WHEN The main buildings demolotion starting and rebuild. It's staggering how much money is being taken from the tax payer to cover dfe consistent failure. I would like to see our MP outside the gates on the school pick up, he needs to represent the anger in parliament. It's dangerous with construction traffic and the various shuttle coaches moving in the herds of people and poorly parked cars. Someone's making a tidy profit however from these contracts. It's scandalous. This is not aimed at the teachers, they are in the same mess.
Luke Burton
2023-11-21 13:19:47
I wonder how much free lunch The Baroness Investment Banker Barran will claim off the back of this one hour visit to Harlow to mingle with the great unwashed?
Year 11 parent
2023-11-21 13:28:09
What next?? None of this is the fault of SFG but every time we think face to face lessons are back on, there is something else! My child is in year 11 and the GCSE exams are getting closer and closer. We need answers as to why this has been allowed to happen but more importantly we need to know what will be done to ensure our children have no further disruptions to their education.
Another parent
2023-11-21 17:29:01
They won’t give the answers we are asking the questions to. Their replies are that they can’t give out the information as it may harm the court case against the developers, just shows where their priorities are focused at the moment.
A Parent
2023-11-21 21:01:14
God I feel for the teachers, parents and children. How can this be escalated? Can anybody give legal advice or take it to national level so it isn’t just articles on Your Harlow (no offence)
A Grandparent
2023-11-22 02:34:44
I'm still unclear what actually happened, who inspected, authorised and signed the building work off. What action is being taken?
Vicki Cowell
2023-11-23 07:07:15
SFG don’t care about the students!
9 Comments for Letter to Editor: Latest SFG College closure is final straw: