Latest news with #MaxieAllen
The Independent
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Nothing is more toxic than a school parents' WhatsApp group
There is nothing worse than scrolling through the school WhatsApp group when all the class parents are having an epic meltdown over some teacher-related issue – and then finding yourself in the firing line when you get involved. It's bad enough when it's just relentless messaging about 'Has anybody got the homework?' or 'Did anybody take Fleur's Mini Rodini animal print jacket by mistake? She left it on her peg. It's rather expensive. Argh!!'. It never stops – even over the Easter holidays. But when a real crisis kicks off about a mean teacher keeping them in at playtime, or another teacher quitting, it's explosive. Parent WhatsApp groups are so out of control that now schools are reportedly asking lawyers to draw up codes of conduct to help manage them. It comes after a Times Radio producer, Maxie Allen, and his partner, Rosalind Levine, were arrested on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications after complaining on WhatsApp chats about the teacher recruitment process at their daughter's UK primary school. CCTV footage shows six police officers leading them away like they are mafia kingpins in front of their crying daughter. They were detained in a police cell for 11 hours, but after a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary concluded there was no case to answer. It's an extreme scenario, but maybe the dangers of the class WhatsApp finally need to be taken more seriously. The concern for schools is that they could be found liable if parent WhatsApp groups are used to spread misinformation or racist and homophobic abuse about teachers. Under the new Employment Rights Bill, teachers may be able to sue their employer if they receive abuse in a parent WhatsApp group. But what this bill fails to tackle is the abuse parents like me have suffered at the hands of the same group chats, just like the poor teachers do. I've often felt bullied in the class WhatsApp – the parents can be even worse than the kids. Unless I switch it on silent or delete the app, it takes out half my day – and has the potential to trigger anxiety (before I've suffered what can feel like a character assassination). I may not be the most forthcoming helper at the school, as I'm a single working mum of two kids – and I just can't stretch myself to the limits. Maybe the truth is, I should be doing more for the class. But I don't need it to be rubbed in – and chastised by other parents who have taken it upon themselves to throw themselves into WhatsApp chats like it's the US presidential elections. I do not appreciate being put on a WhatsApp hit list of parents who do nothing – and shunned at the school gate. Sorry, I didn't manage to get a Fortnum & Mason hamper for the teacher's end of year present, or bag the school a major sponsorship deal for the fun run. But I don't deserve all the WhatsApp mini-lectures on how more of us parents could help out – 'even dads!'. Yes, we all know who we are! Sometimes the class WhatsApp goes wild for three hours before dying down in a phenomenon known as 'swarming'. If you happen to jump into the heated debate, as I've done, at an emotionally heightened moment, you can get heckled and shouted down loudly like you've been plonked in Prime Minister's Question Time. I've had secret talks with other mums in the local coffee shop who've been hapless victims of the class WhatsApp to work out other class parents' agendas. Is all the finger-pointing to make themselves look perfect? Is it about getting in the headteacher's good books? After one epic WhatsApp takedown, I switched the class WhatsApp to silent for about two months for my sanity. Luckily, it was the end of term, so the long summer break gave us all some distance. I've never recovered from it – and I have one simple rule: Do not get involved in any major discussions such as what's being taught in sex education classes. I've had other major mishaps, such as when my daughter accidentally used the scribble tool on WhatsApp to deface a photo sent on the class group chat at Christmas. 'Why would somebody do something like this?' an upset parent messaged the whole group. As it was Christmas Eve, I hadn't been checking the class messages when it flared up into a mass debate. My silence probably made it worse. They all seemed to be waiting for my explanation. It's not just the class WhatsApp: I have fallen out with my half-siblings over a family group chat called 'What we are going to do with dad'. Any large group chat seems to brings out the worst of humanity – but I believe none more so than parent WhatsApps. OK, they are handy at certain times – for remembering it's World Book Day, for example – but most of the time they feel toxic. I wholeheartedly sympathise with the teachers being gossiped about; it can feel like a witch hunt. I've made the fatal mistake of not scrolling back through hundreds of messages that morning to spot that I should be welcoming a new parent to the class WhatsApp. Then when a few hours later I innocently ask 'Is the school trip tomorrow?', I'm ignored. For some parents, the class WhatsApp is a full-time job. But we are all different – and the parent WhatsApp should not be a place to name and shame others. Rather than police the class group chat, schools should ban them. They are insufferable at the best of times – and it's time we ended their reign.
The Independent
20-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
I've been bullied on the class WhatsApp – the parents are even worse than the kids
There is nothing worse than scrolling through the school WhatsApp group when all the class parents are having an epic meltdown over some teacher-related issue – and then finding yourself in the firing line when you get involved. It's bad enough when it's just relentless messaging about 'Has anybody got the homework?' or 'Did anybody take Fleur's Mini Rodini animal print jacket by mistake. She left it on her peg. It's rather expensive. Argh!!'. It never stops – even over the Easter holidays. But when a real crisis kicks off about a mean teacher scrunching up all of class four's artwork, or the headteacher driving out the wonderful music teacher, it's explosive. Parent WhatsApp groups are so out of control that now schools are reportedly asking lawyers to draw up codes of conduct to help manage them. It comes after a Times Radio producer, Maxie Allen, and his partner, Rosalind Levine, were arrested on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications after complaining on WhatsApp chats about the teacher recruitment process at their daughter's UK primary school. CCTV footage shows six police officers leading them away like they are mafia kingpins in front of their crying daughter. They were detained in a police cell for 11 hours, but after a five-week investigation, Hertfordshire Constabulary concluded there was no case to answer. It's an extreme scenario – but maybe the dangers of the class WhatsApp finally need to be taken more seriously. The concern for schools is that they could be found liable if parent WhatsApp groups are used to spread misinformation or racist and homophobic abuse about teachers. Under the new Employment Rights Bill, teachers could sue their employer if they receive abuse in parent WhatsApp group. But what this bill fails to tackle is the abuse parents like me have suffered at the hands of the same group chats – just like the poor teachers do. I've been bullied on the class WhatsApp – the parents are even worse than the kids. Unless I switch it on silent or delete the app, it takes out half my day – and potentially triggers anxiety (before I've suffered a character assassination). The worst episode for me was when I was singled out by the head of the PTA and shamed on the class group class chat for not pulling my weight at a charity fun run. The tension started after we'd raised more than £60,000 for the school over the year but then heard that music and French lessons, as well as forest school, would still be scrapped to save money at my daughters' state primary. Parents were sharing their mixed views about it for about three hours before I jumped into the heated debate. Some were rightly asking why we couldn't use some of this money to fund these extra creative subjects – when a dictator-like parent told us that we couldn't have any say about how the money we raised was spent and it was used to fund core subjects. I questioned the logic. 'This is a state primary school so surely that gets delivered no matter what?' I said. 'I thought the money raised was to add on top of what the state provides.' Then I thanked all the parents who were 'fighting to allow our kids to do music, French and forest school'. I might not have understood the red tape. But I didn't mean to offend anybody. I was slapped down instantly and told that if I felt so passionate about charity fundraising for the school, perhaps I could consider helping out – and actually get involved in it? The rest of the parents remained silent. I was stunned like a rabbit in the headlights. Another parent did a mini-lecture on how more of us parents could help out – 'even dads!'. Yes her husband had carried a table for the raffle at the fun run! It might not sound glamourous to all the parents but every little job counts to support our children's futures. I felt like a child being told off – and rang my mum friend in floods of tears. I'd already sent a message on the parent WhatsApp making it clear that I did donate money, but as my father was sadly critically ill and I was his carer, I was unable to do more at that present moment. I switched the class WhatsApp on silent for about two months. At the school gates, I was embraced by the parents on my side – and sidelined by the rest. I tried to ignore it all and just get on with the school drop off / pick up as best I could without any drama. Luckily, it was the end of term, so the long summer break gave us all some distance. I've never recovered from it – and I still don't speak to the parents involved in my take-down. I've had other major mishaps, such as when my daughter accidentally used the scribble tool on WhatsApp to deface a mum's photo of her daughter sent on the class group chat at Christmas. 'Why would somebody do something like this? ' the outraged mum messaged the whole parent group, as if I had intentionally destroyed a festive shot. As it was Christmas Eve, I hadn't been checking the class messages when it flared up into a mass debate. My silence made it worse. They all waited for my explanation. It's not just the class WhatsApp: I have fallen out with all of my half-siblings over a family group chat called 'What we are going to do with dad'. Any large group chat brings out the worst of humanity – but believe me, none more so than privileged parent WhatsApps. OK, they are handy at certain times – for remembering to make a hat for the Easter bonnet parade, for example – but most of the time it's toxic. I wholeheartedly sympathise with the teachers being gossiped about; it can feel like a witch hunt. I've made the fatal mistake of not scrolling back through hundreds of messages that morning to spot I should be welcoming a new parent to the class WhatsApp. Then when a few hours later I innocently ask 'Is the school trip tomorrow?', I'm ignored, and the 'Welcome Katy's mum!' message is re-posted in a passive-aggressive way directly under my unrelated message. I may not be the most forthcoming helper at the school, as I'm a single working mum of two kids – and I just can't stretch myself to the limits. Maybe the truth is, I should be doing more for the class. But I don't need it to be rubbed in – and bullied by parents who have taken it upon themselves to throw themselves into WhatsApp chats like it's the US presidential elections. One mum, who I really like, has given up her job to dedicate herself to WhatsApp – she is the oracle. I am hugely grateful to her, as without her the class would fall apart. But we are all different – and the parent WhatsApp should not be a place to name and shame others. Rather than police the class group chat, schools should ban them. They are insufferable at the best of times – and it's time we ended their reign.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
Brickbat: Like Being Back in School
Six U.K. police officers arrested Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine at their home in Hertfordshire after they complained about their disabled daughter's primary school in a WhatsApp group and through emails. The couple, upset over the school's headteacher recruitment process and their ban from the premises, were detained for 11 hours on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications, leaving their 3-year-old daughter crying as they were taken away. The school had reported their actions to the police, claiming the messages and emails were upsetting to staff, but after a 5-week investigation, Hertfordshire Police found insufficient evidence and took no further action. The post Brickbat: Like Being Back in School appeared first on
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
School disputes: a police matter?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. If the story of Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine's arrest had broken a few days later, "you'd think it was an April Fool", said Toby Young in The Times. In late January, six uniformed police officers turned up at their house in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. They detained them in front of their three-year-old daughter, then took them to a police station and locked them in a cell for 11 hours. The reason for all this? Their elder daughter's primary school, Cowley Hill, had lodged a complaint after the couple criticised its recruiting process for the new head. The school also complained that the pair had been "casting aspersions" on the chair of governors in a WhatsApp group. "Instead of telling the school that this was not a police matter – or, indeed, just guffawing", Hertfordshire Police questioned the couple on suspicion of harassment, sending malicious communications and causing a nuisance. After a five-week investigation, the couple were told that no further action would be taken. Following a recent review, Hertfordshire's chief constable found that the arrests were "lawful", but could have been better handled, said Fintan McGuinness in the Watford Observer. The school had accused the couple of a campaign of harassment, and banned them from the premises last June. Even so, teachers claimed, harassment continued via email; so the police were contacted. Officers asked the couple to desist in December, to no avail – hence the arrest. The police ultimately found no offences had been committed; but said they'd had a duty to investigate. Whatever the complexities, it is "outrageous" that the school reacted to parental grievances in this way, said the Daily Mail. And it's absurd that the police response was so "Orwellian". Hertfordshire Constabulary has "the worst burglary clear-up rate in the country". It should stick to solving real crimes. Some may dismiss this as a mere skirmish in the culture wars, said Matthew Syed in The Sunday Times. I disagree: I think it's "a symptom of a disease". We have "lost sight of the wisdom that a bit of suffering, stress and criticism is part of the human condition". These things don't require intervention by the state – or anything except a little "inner resilience".
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police Arrest Parents Over Compaints About Daughter's School
A mother and father in England were arrested over 'reports of harassment and malicious communications' made in a WhatsApp group about their daughter's primary school, according to local news. Footage sent to Storyful by Times Radio producer Maxie Allen shows police at his home in Borehamwood on January 29. The footage shows officers leading Allen away from the house. 'Following reports of harassment and malicious communications, which are criminal offences, a man and a woman from Borehamwood, both aged in their 40s, were arrested on Wednesday 29 January, police told local news. According to The Guardian, the Cowley Hill Primary School said it had 'sought advice from police' after a 'high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts' that they claimed had become upsetting for staff, parents, and governors. According to reporting from the London Evening Standard, Allen and his partner Rosalind Levine said they were questioned by police over 'disparaging' comments made in a WhatsApp group. There was a 'breakdown in relationships between a school and parents that shouldn't have become a police matter,' the Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner said. Credit: Maxie Allen, Times Radio Producer via Storyful I I think we have. Yes. Gordon to worry about. Hello. OK. No I The Yeah. Yeah. makes. Yeah, it's. Yeah I'm assuming your parents would be too. Yeah. I'll say one second. When you come, I'll say you're talking. I did exactly what
