Allowed one of its Christmas programmes to be edited by a wild-haired, wailing, lunatic Sixties throwback.
(They gave Yoko Ono a programme as well.)
Cat food
11 hours ago
"Things fall apart, the centre cannot hold" - W.B. Yeats. "We're doomed !" - Private Frazer. "Like scrolling through a decade's worth of Daily Mail editorials in 20 minutes" - TheLoonyFromCatford
Brutal aspects of British rule in India during the 20th century will feature in a syllabus approved for secondary schools in England today.
Pupils aged 11 to 14 will study events like the Amritsar massacre when hundreds of protesters were killed by British troops.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority denied any anti-British bias and said that the optional unit for Key Stage 3 would foster understanding between the mix of nationalities in England.
I have talked to some black and Asian inmates serving time in prison for such (racist) crimes: most justify their actions as collective retribution for attacks on "their people". A knife for a knife, they think, will make for a better world.
"A care home boss whose staff goaded disabled patients into attacking each other was warned she faces jail yesterday.
Diane Butler, 47, was in charge of carers who hurled racist and cruel taunts at defenceless residents with physical and mental difficulties.
A year-long reign of terror included one disabled woman being urged to kick and beat a Down’s Syndrome sufferer.
Margaret Burdfield, 49, was also called a ‘white bitch’ and ‘ugly bitch’ at Craegmoor Residential Care Home, North London.
The three abusive staff were shopped to police by carer Basil Hanson who secretly filmed their taunts on a mobile phone.
London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court heard staff warned Butler to take action against the abuse.
Butler had denied knowledge of the incidents and said she was in the West Indies at the time. She was convicted of one count of wilful neglect but cleared of another. One count was put on court file. Judge Alan Pardoe told her: “The possibility of a custodial sentence is real.”
Islington Council shut the home last September.
Detective Sgt Paul Kingdon said afterwards: “It is abhorrent that they sought to humiliate residents. This appears to have been done purely for their own amusement.”
Carers Noelin Bailey, 31, Eulalee Hall, 51, both of North London, and Glendeen Nedd, 35, of East London, will be sentenced at a later date."
"Despite Islington Council regularly inspecting private care home, Craegmoor, in Holloway, and having “no cause for concern” over care standards, police were dramatically enlisted to shut it down last September amid claims of psychological and racial abuse.
The incident was described by adult social services chief, Cllr John Gilbert as “disturbing but rare”. He said: “Our three residents were quickly moved to an alternative home and have since settled well.”
“It (the home) was registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and subject to its robust inspection regime. Our officers also visited regularly to check on the standard of care as well as to assess and review the level of care needed by our residents."
“In (the) light of what happened, we carried out a review of our procedures for appointing care providers. We are confident our vetting procedures were followed and all the necessary checks into Craegmoor’s affairs were made before appointing them.”
Is selling sex in all its forms, from car adverts through Page Three and ladmag shoots to Amy and Lara, a major cause of gang rape, frustration and impotence, and eating disorders (Ms Bunting), ‘violence against women’ (femiluni Julie Bindel), is it just another job - sex work, or is it ‘a girl power thing’ where the exploited are the poor sad male punters (A Good Thing) rather than the girls (A Bad Thing) ?
Disgraced head's new job angers parents
Nov 29 2006
Parents have voiced anger on learning that a headteacher who resigned after forging a signature to give himself a pay rise has gained a new job – as a schools adviser with the city council.
Alastair Sharp was forced to quit as head of Brookvale Primary in Erdington, Birmingham, earlier this month amid mounting pressure from parents.
The head was originally suspended in January and sacked in June for forging the signature of the school’s chair of governors, Mike Statham. But Mr Sharp was re-instated after an appeal and was due to return this month, sparking a campaign against him by parents and complaints by teachers. He resigned three weeks ago.
Mr Sharp has now been found a new role helping support other schools in the city.
Brookvale parent Lesley Westwood, aged 43, said: "It is terrible. I don’t think he should be given the responsibility for advising schools. It looks to me like the authority gave him this job in return for him resigning.
"But we are glad he is not back at this school."
A teacher at Brookvale who did not wish to be named said: "I was shocked. I think most of the staff are shocked at this. The parents are in uproar again.
"After what he has done it is unbelievable – it has to be a laugh."
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "The local authority is utilising Mr Sharp to support a number of initiatives and projects within the Directorate of Children, Young People and Families."
Sixteen teachers phone in sick
Nov 30 2006
By Shahid Naqvi, Education Correspondent
A Birmingham primary school was shut yesterday after 16 teachers called in sick – days after its headteacher was suspended for alleged gross misconduct.
Parents and children arriving at Adderley School in Saltley were told to go back home and telephone this morning to see if it would be reopening.
The mass illness follows the suspension of Kevin McCabe following a meeting of the governing body on Monday.
Both the school and the local authority refused to comment on the nature of the allegations. A receptionist at the school said yesterday: "We have had a severe staff sickness. They have had various different illnesses."
Roger King, general secretary of the Birmingham branch of the National Union of Teachers, said the illnesses could be due to "stress" following a period of instability at the school which until last year was in special measures.
"There have been problems in the past with the governing body which seems to have destabilised the school," he said.
Mr King also questioned the course of action taken by the school’s chair of governors, Sajid Akram.
"The normal action in these cases would be to speak to the headteacher about it and if they felt it was very serious take advice from the local authority," he said.
"This chair of governors hasn’t done that. He has taken an unilateral act of his own back and said it is potential gross misconduct but hasn’t specified why."
The Birmingham branch of the NASUWT teaching union said it looked like there were personal issues involved between the chair of governors and the headteacher.
"We are aware of a number of staff being off sick which is why the school was closed," said John Hemmingway, deputy general of the branch."There is an issue of governance which the local authority are working on with the school to address. It sounds a bit personal with the chair of governors."
Mr Akram was not available for comment last night.
A spokesman for Birmingham City Council said: "The governing body of Adderley School has taken the decision to suspend the headteacher pending the outcome of an investigation into a complaint.
"The suspension is a neutral act whilst the investigation is undertaken."
It is understood that a number of parents held a crisis meeting yesterday after hearing about the school closure.