Matthew Offord vs The laws of natural justice

The Conservative candidate for Hendon, Matthew Offord has published a message for his followers on his website. In it he makes the following statement as one of his core beliefs :-

* Our teachers must be free to teach by ability and discipline unruly pupils without fear their decisions will be overturned

So I asked myself, under what circumstances might anyone want to "overturn" a punishment handed out to a child? Well I suppose that the situation Offord is talking about is one where mummy and daddy think little Johnny can do no wrong. Poor old teacher is left in a situation where all those nasty pinko liberals undermine him and Johnny runs riot.

I think back to my own school days at Finchley Catholic High School. I didn't get on with the Headmaster at the time. He had it in for me and he told me so. He told me that he wanted to expel me at the first available opportunity after a spat about my persistent lateness. Shortly after, the opportunity presented itself. A school survey was conducted and someone wrote some lewd comments about a rather attractive female member of staff. They signed my name at the bottom and handed it in as a joke. The school didn't find it funny and I was summoned to the headmasters study. He asked me whos name it was on the bottom of the form. I responded that it was mine. He then said "So you admit that you wrote this?" I replied "No, I admitted that my name was there, someone else wrote it". He replied "So now you are lying as well, this just makes it worse for you." He told me that my parents would be summoned and I was going to be expelled. He ordered me to go to the playground and speak to no-one. I duly went and sat in the rain in the playground. As I sat there, the physics teacher, who I got on with, Mr Shuttler happened to be walking past. Seeing me sitting in the rain, in the playground, he made his way down and asked what I was doing. I explained. He seemed rather upset. He asked if I knew who did the form. I had a fair idea. He asked if I'd tell him, so that he could make amends. I replied that I wouldn't as I didn't want to get anyone expelled.  He said that if I told him, he'd speak to the boys and get them to own up. He'd make a deal with the head, so that if they owned up, they would not get expelled. I agreed and told him the names.

He then went off, explained the suituation to the boys who had done it. They were horrified that their joke had got so out of hand. He then spoke to the headmaster, who had to agree to waive the threat of expulsion. I was summoned back to the headmasters study and he announced to me, Mr Shuttler and the perpetrators "I would have been quite happy to throw you out because you are a troublemaker, but these fine lads have stood up and admitted that they wrote the letter so I'm sorry to say I'll have to let you stay at the school". What would Mr Offord have done if he were John Shuttler? Would he have intervened to get an unjust decision overturned? Of all the teachers who had the misfortune of trying to teach me, I hold John Shuttler in the highest esteem of any of them. Why? because he cared about the boys he taught and he was even prepared to stand up to a very unreasonable headmaster.

Offords suggestion that "Teachers word is final and there is no appeal" is a terrible proposition, it is impractical and it offends natural justice. In short, it is a statement from a man who is completely out of his depth.