Latest news with #HarrisAcademy
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Teacher banned from classroom after encouraging pupils to sign petition to remove headteacher
A former PE teacher has been banned from the classroom after launching an online petition calling for his headteacher's resignation over alleged racism. Joshua Adusei, 31, encouraged students at Harris Academy Tottenham in north-east London to sign the petition in April 2021, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard. He had previously told the headteacher he would "get him out" if he did not resign. Mr Adusei also committed "repeated safeguarding failures" over several months, including retweeting pupils' comments supporting his position on social media. The petition, which received more than 6,000 signatures, claimed the headteacher had permanently excluded three black students within a month of starting and introduced "a zero tolerance behaviour policy that disproportionately affects BAME and SEN students." Mr Adusei's name was later removed from the petition after the Metropolitan Police received reports of four death threats from the school, according to The Guardian. Giving oral evidence to the panel, the headteacher said Mr Adusei came to his office on April 19 2021 and informed him that he and others did not think he was doing a good job, and that he had come to request his resignation. He said there was no attempt by Mr Adusei to specify his grievances or the basis upon which he was asking him to resign at the meeting, but that he said 'If you don't resign I am going to start a petition to get you out', which left him feeling threatened. Another witness told the panel that the following day, they saw Mr Adusei and another member of staff in the playground with around 10-20 students stood around them, which was 'unusual' as he should not have been on duty for their lunch. A Year 10 pupil who was stopped by the witness after walking past with their phone out – which was against school policy – said: 'Not gonna lie sir, a member of staff has told me to get it out to sign a petition'. Mr Adusei was suspended the same day. Addressing the claims in the petition, the headteacher told the panel he had only been directly involved in excluding two students and that the decision was taken in consultation with various other management staff. He said there was 'no basis' for asserting that his actions disproportionately affected BAME or SEN students. A separate Crowdfunder page which claimed Mr Adusei had suffered 'a brutal exclusion and an attempted silencing and tarnishing of his reputation' due to the incident also raised £320. The panel found Mr Adusei had made 'deliberate and pre-determined decisions to publish untrue and/or misleading comments about Colleague A (the headteacher) and then to manipulate the actions of children for his own private purposes', which it considered to be 'an abuse of his position and an abuse of trust.' It had received evidence that the headteacher suffered 'threatening online abuse' as a direct of the petition, which had also led to plain clothes police officers being placed at the school gates. The panel also heard that Scotland Yard had contacted the individual to implement enhanced protection measures as a result of the petition. Further allegations that Mr Adusei had failed to complete welfare calls to 26 pupils in his tutor group and failed to teach online lessons on two occasions in January 2021 were also found to have been proven. The panel was satisfied that Mr Adusei's behaviour 'amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.' Mr Adusei, who had been employed at the school since 2019, provided no mitigation to the panel or evidence of material insight or remorse for his actions. In a written conclusion on Wednesday, decision maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, banned Mr Adusei from teaching indefinitely subject to a five-year review period. She said: 'In this case, factors mean that allowing a lesser review period is not sufficient to achieve the aim of maintaining public confidence in the profession. 'These elements are the seriousness of the findings involving safeguarding failures and the lack of evidence of either insight or remorse.'
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Teacher endorsed petition wrongly accusing headteacher of racism
A former PE teacher who encouraged pupils to sign a petition wrongly accusing the headteacher of racism has been banned from the profession. Joshua Adusei, 31, told the headteacher of Harris Academy Tottenham in north-east London that he would 'get him out' if he did not resign. He set up a petition, which received more than 6,000 signatures before it was ended, said the headteacher had permanently excluded three black students from the school after one month in the role. He also claimed his zero-tolerance behaviour policy was racist. 'I am going to start a petition to get you out' The Metropolitan Police received reports of four death threats from the school, the Guardian reported. Giving evidence to the panel, the headteacher said Mr Adusei came to his office on April 19, 2021, and told him he and others did not think he was doing a good job, and that he had come to request his resignation. He said there was no attempt by Mr Adusei to specify his grievances or the basis upon which he was asking him to resign at the meeting, but he said that 'if you don't resign I am going to start a petition to get you out', which left him feeling threatened. Another witness told the panel the following day, they saw Mr Adusei and another member of staff in the playground with around 10-20 students standing around them, which was 'unusual' as he should not have been on duty for their lunch. Suspended A Year 10 pupil who was stopped by the witness after walking past with their phone out - which was against school policy - said 'not gonna lie sir, a member of staff has told me to get it out to sign a petition'. Mr Adusei was suspended the same day. Addressing the claims in the petition, the headteacher told the panel he had only been directly involved in excluding two students and that the decision was taken in consultation with various other management staff. He said there was 'no basis' for asserting that his actions disproportionately affected BAME or SEN students. A separate Crowdfunder page, which claimed Mr Adusei had suffered 'a brutal exclusion and an attempted silencing and tarnishing of his reputation,' due to the incident also raised £320. 'Threatening online abuse' The panel found Mr Adusei had made 'deliberate and pre-determined decisions to publish untrue and/or misleading comments about Colleague A (the headteacher) and then to manipulate the actions of children for his own private purposes', which it considered to be 'an abuse of his position and an abuse of trust.' It had received evidence that the headteacher suffered 'threatening online abuse' as a direct of the petition, which had also led to plain clothes police officers being placed at the school gates. The panel also heard that Scotland Yard had contacted the individual to implement enhanced protection measures as a result of the petition. Further allegations that Mr Adusei had failed to complete welfare calls to 26 pupils in his tutor group and failed to teach online lessons on two occasions in January 2021 were also found to have been proven. 'Misconduct of a serious nature' The panel was satisfied that Mr Adusei's behaviour 'amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.' Mr Adusei, who had been employed at the school since 2019, provided no mitigation to the panel or evidence of material insight or remorse for his actions. In a written conclusion on Wednesday, decision maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, banned Mr Adusei from teaching indefinitely subject to a five-year review period. She said: 'In this case, factors mean that allowing a lesser review period is not sufficient to achieve the aim of maintaining public confidence in the profession. 'These elements are the seriousness of the findings involving safeguarding failures and the lack of evidence of either insight or remorse.'
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Teacher banned after starting online petition to remove headteacher for ‘racism'
A former PE teacher has been banned from teaching after launching an online petition calling for his headteacher's resignation over alleged racism. Joshua Adusei, 31, encouraged students at Harris Academy Tottenham in north-east London to sign the petition in April 2021, a Teaching Regulation Agency panel heard. He had previously told the headteacher he would "get him out" if he did not resign. Mr Adusei also committed "repeated safeguarding failures" over several months, including retweeting pupils' comments supporting his position on social media. The petition, which garnered over 6,000 signatures, claimed the headteacher had permanently excluded three black students within a month of starting and introduced "a zero tolerance behaviour policy that disproportionately affects BAME and SEN students." Mr Adusei's name was later removed from the petition after the Metropolitan Police received reports of four death threats from the school, according to The Guardian. Giving oral evidence to the panel, the headteacher said Mr Adusei came to his office on April 19 2021 and informed him that he and others did not think he was doing a good job, and that he had come to request his resignation. He said there was no attempt by Mr Adusei to specify his grievances or the basis upon which he was asking him to resign at the meeting, but that he said 'If you don't resign I am going to start a petition to get you out', which left him feeling threatened. Another witnesses told the panel that the following day, they saw Mr Adusei and another member of staff in the playground with around 10-20 students stood around them, which was 'unusual' as he should not have been on duty for their lunch. A Year 10 pupil who was stopped by the witness after walking past with their phone out – which was against school policy – said: 'Not gonna lie sir, a member of staff has told me to get it out to sign a petition'. Mr Adusei was suspended the same day. Addressing the claims in the petition, the headteacher told the panel he had only been directly involved in excluding two students and that the decision was taken in consultation with various other management staff. He said there was 'no basis' for asserting that his actions disproportionately affected BAME or SEN students. A separate Crowdfunder page which claimed Mr Adusei had suffered 'a brutal exclusion and an attempted silencing and tarnishing of his reputation' due to the incident also raised £320. The panel found Mr Adusei had made 'deliberate and pre-determined decisions to publish untrue and/or misleading comments about Colleague A (the headteacher) and then to manipulate the actions of children for his own private purposes', which it considered to be 'an abuse of his position and an abuse of trust.' It had received evidence that the headteacher suffered 'threatening online abuse' as a direct of the petition, which had also led to plain clothes police officers being placed at the school gates. The panel also heard that Scotland Yard had contacted the individual to implement enhanced protection measures as a result of the petition. Further allegations that Mr Adusei had failed to complete welfare calls to 26 pupils in his tutor group and failed to teach online lessons on two occasions in January 2021 were also found to have been proven. The panel was satisfied that Mr Adusei's behaviour 'amounted to misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.' Mr Adusei, who had been employed at the school since 2019, provided no mitigation to the panel or evidence of material insight or remorse for his actions. In a written conclusion on Wednesday, decision maker Sarah Buxcey, acting on behalf of the Education Secretary, banned Mr Adusei from teaching indefinitely subject to a five-year review period. She said: 'In this case, factors mean that allowing a lesser review period is not sufficient to achieve the aim of maintaining public confidence in the profession. 'These elements are the seriousness of the findings involving safeguarding failures and the lack of evidence of either insight or remorse.'
The Courier
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
MARTEL MAXWELL: My message to brilliant Dundee DJ Hannah Laing
There are two types of people in this word: radiators and drains. The radiators give: positivity, laughs, support. The drains take: sucking the joy out of life. I thought of this as I read about Dundee DJ Hannah Laing whose homecoming dance event was by all accounts (of anyone who was actually there) brilliant. Yet while she should have been riding high on the success of her inaugural event, she found herself hitting back at criticism by keyboard warriors online. This Harris Academy former pupil has beaten the odds, becoming a name recognised in her field of DJing, around the world. From Ibiza to the States, she's in demand and has experienced an outpouring of positivity for her sets in a growing list of countries. So, you'd think playing a surprise set at the weekend at Dundee Dance Event – remembering her roots and wanting to start something special – would be applauded. But a vocal and often anonymous minority found what they could to complain about: the crowd spoiled things videoing on their phones; the nineties were so much better – came the moans from Dundee Drains. Hannah replied, saying: 'The Dundee Dance Event was honestly amazing. 'However, Dundee can be a really negative city and the more I explore the world, the more I realise it. 'People in other places I go are kind, welcoming, open-minded. 'If you weren't there, stop judging it. The energy was electric but loads of comments on this post are insane.' A measured, honest response – but why should she have to defend herself? Is it not embarrassing that the most negative place she's ever encountered is her home? She also pointed out that it's 2025, things move on and that while 'phones are not ideal for the dancefloor, which I've expressed many times, people were singing, dancing, loving life with friends/family and that's what it's about.' I wrote just a few weeks ago about the brilliance of Dundee and Dundonians – but the underlying negativity of some that lets us down. It's the minority who do people and our city down – for so many are proud of Dundee – but the bitterness can negate the positivity. Why, when we could all be cheerleading and making people see how great this place we are lucky enough to call home is? That's not to say people shouldn't be honest or critical – but just saying people, events or our city is rubbish – is personal and depressive. Not wanting people to get ideas above their station and remember where they come from is toxic. Look at Hannah – all she was doing was remembering where she came from. She has 'made it' and this is cause for celebration. For all the kids facing the anxiety of exams with a fear they don't fit the mould of going to university or getting an office job – look at what you can do. Be bold, be different. Hannah's journey has taken her from being a dental nurse to selling out gigs around the world. She will have faced gigs to a man and his dog; of not knowing when her next pay day was coming. It's not an accident she's successful – she worked hard and deserves our positivity. Back to the radiators and drains. They exist in every town and city around the world. And I suppose one person's drain might be another's radiator. You know when you've lost a bit of weight or have had your hair done – a radiator would tell you you look fabulous. A drain would clock the change but rather not give you the compliment. They might also frown and say 'my, you were drunk last night' while the radiator tells you not to be daft, everyone was dancing on tables. That's not to say a radiator can't moan or complain – and sometimes they'll need you to be their radiator and buck them up. I have one radiator friend and I take great pride in being her go-to phone call when she needs to feel better. The call for help might only come once a year but she'll say 'Can you please say something to make me feel better?' It might be a sticky situation at work or personal dilemma. I want to be that person – it makes me feel great I can help. The point is that radiators can moan – it doesn't make them a drain. But that vibe when someone just isn't really on your side? That's a drain and the more I live, the more I learn – there's no point trying to please them. If they don't like you, don't try to change their mind. Let the ranting few shout into the echo chamber of social media like the ranting drains they are. To Hannah, and indeed all the radiators out there, just you continue to do you.
The Courier
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
DJ Hannah Laing tells Dundee Dance Event critics to 'stop judging' after social media comments
DJ Hannah Laing has told critics to 'stop judging' after they posted 'negative' comments about her performance at Dundee Dance Event. The former Harris Academy pupil performed a surprise set during DDE on Sunday. She played a set in the Rave Cave, when the car park at LiveHouse was transformed into an underground venue. Several people praised a video of her performance, saying it looked 'amazing'. But others branded it 'awful' and hit out at fans using their phones to record the performance. One wrote: 'The 90s were so much better.' Hannah Laing urges Dundee Dance Event critics to 'be sound' Hannah took to social media to hit back at the critics. She wrote on Facebook: 'Dundee Dance Event was honestly amazing. 'It was fun to do a surprise set back to my roots! 'However, Dundee can be a really negative city and the more I explore the world, the more I realise it. 'People in other places I go are kind, welcoming, open-minded. 'If you weren't there, stop judging it. The energy was electric but loads of comments on this post are insane. 'People saying it's awful, saying the crowd isn't good (because of) phones etc. Some social media comments have criticised fans for using their phones at the show. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson Hannah defended the DDE crowd on social media. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson 'It's 2025, things change! If it bothers you that much, don't go to the events, but to sit at home and judge others having fun is mad! 'Obviously phones are not ideal for the dancefloor, which I've expressed many times, but people were singing, dancing, loving life with friends/family and that's what it's about! 'If the energy is anything like this at doof in the Park I'll be happy. 'Please just think about it before you comment pointless stuff! Be sound.' Meanwhile, Hannah has told Original 106 about her plans for an Ibiza residency this summer. The Courier previously took a look at Hannah's life and career so far, from working in a dental practice to selling out shows worldwide.
