Henry Bodkin
THE TELEGRAPH
Thu, 21 December 2023
Hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags gathered outside the school on Thursday morning
A school has been forced to close early for Christmas by a pro-Palestine protest after parents were threatened with referral to Prevent.
Barclay Primary School, in east London, warned of “escalating threats against staff” following a row over a pupil who refused to take off a Palestinian badge on his coat.
The boy, whose mother is from Gaza, was forced to eat lunch and play away from other pupils, and was eventually excluded from the school, according to his family.
They have said he was trying to show “empathy” for family members killed in the conflict in Gaza and have accused the school of Islamophobia and “criminalising” their son.
The school, one of the largest primaries in the country, said it was merely enforcing its “apolitical” code of behaviour, and claimed it had been the victim of “malicious fabrications” spread on social and other media.
Children used as ‘political pawns’
Barclay Primary sent a letter to parents on Nov 17, seen by The Telegraph, warning that pupils had attended Children In Need day dressed in Palestinian colours.
The letter warned against adults using children as “political pawns”, and concluded: “Extremist or divisive comments can and will lead to formal meetings with the school, referrals to the Prevent team or the hate crime team in Waltham Forest.”
Prevent is the Government’s multi-agency programme to tackle the ideological causes of terrorism.
A letter from the school to parents on Oct 16, days after the Hamas massacre, complained about comments posted in parents’ WhatsApp groups, and also made reference to Prevent.
Last month, dozens of parents responded with a joint letter accusing the school’s leadership of being “selectively” apolitical, citing a letter from the school in March 2022 which appeared to express solidarity with Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
The row came to a head this week with a planned protest at the school gates on Thursday morning, prompting Barclay Primary School to announce it was closing early for Christmas.
The demonstration attracted more than 100 protesters chanting slogans both relating to the boy in question and more generally about Israel’s war in Gaza.
Most of the lampposts in the streets surrounding the school in Leyton have been hung with Palestinian flags.
‘We’re really angry’
Speaking outside the school gates, the pupil’s father claimed his son, who has now not attended the school for weeks, had been given an adult’s jacket and “paraded” in front of the other children.
“We’re really angry. We’ve lost family members [in Gaza]”, he said. “I think this is because of discrimination and Islamophobia.”
He claimed the school’s October threat to involve Prevent stemmed from a message his wife posted on one of the parents’ WhatsApp groups in the run-up to Children In Need day, asking fellow parents to remember the young people killed in Gaza.
The mother said: “It is disheartening to witness such a lack of empathy and understanding, especially in times of crisis.
“The additional burden of family pressures from Gaza has only added to our stress as parents.”
She claimed her son had been “traumatised” after being “emotionally abused through a series of punishments”.
Both parents have claimed an arrangement for homework to be sent to the boy while he was excluded had broken down.
‘Misinformation is being used’
In a statement on Wednesday, Lion Academy Trust, the school’s parent body, denied any mistreatment of the pupil, saying the allegation had been investigated by external safeguarding authorities and “found to be false”.
“In the light of escalating threats against staff and the school, based on malicious fabrications being broadcast by various media outlets, the Lion Academy Trust will be closing the school from 20th December 2023 to all parents and pupils for the Christmas break,” a statement read.
“This decision has been made after careful reflection and because we need the school to be a safe place for the children and staff.”
It added: “It is very unfortunate and distressing that misinformation is being used to target a primary school.
“We are bound by our legal duty under Prevent and whilst we have never reported anyone to Prevent at the school, and would not wish to do so, we are seeking to be transparent by making individuals aware of the school’s legal obligations.”
The protest was organised following numerous videos posted on the social media platform TikTok by a user calling himself Zaki who has more than 80,000 followers.
In one clip, he discusses a trustee of Lion Academy who is also a director of an orthodox Jewish primary school.
This was referred to in a further letter to parents from the school on Dec 18 entitled “False and Malicious allegations being made on social media platforms”.
In some of his other videos, Zaki has described cutting off male friends for going to watch the recent Barbie movie, asking: “Are you gay?”, and saying: “Our ancestors fought wars and built empires just for you to sit in a cinema in pink outfits and watch a movie that victimises and villainises and slanders the existence of men.”
Barclay Primary School was at the centre of another row with Muslim parents in 2015 when it banned pupils from fasting during Ramadan.
The trust did not respond to a request by The Telegraph to respond to specific allegations made by parents.
Thu, 21 December 2023
Hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags gathered outside the school on Thursday morning
A school has been forced to close early for Christmas by a pro-Palestine protest after parents were threatened with referral to Prevent.
Barclay Primary School, in east London, warned of “escalating threats against staff” following a row over a pupil who refused to take off a Palestinian badge on his coat.
The boy, whose mother is from Gaza, was forced to eat lunch and play away from other pupils, and was eventually excluded from the school, according to his family.
They have said he was trying to show “empathy” for family members killed in the conflict in Gaza and have accused the school of Islamophobia and “criminalising” their son.
The school, one of the largest primaries in the country, said it was merely enforcing its “apolitical” code of behaviour, and claimed it had been the victim of “malicious fabrications” spread on social and other media.
Children used as ‘political pawns’
Barclay Primary sent a letter to parents on Nov 17, seen by The Telegraph, warning that pupils had attended Children In Need day dressed in Palestinian colours.
The letter warned against adults using children as “political pawns”, and concluded: “Extremist or divisive comments can and will lead to formal meetings with the school, referrals to the Prevent team or the hate crime team in Waltham Forest.”
Prevent is the Government’s multi-agency programme to tackle the ideological causes of terrorism.
A letter from the school to parents on Oct 16, days after the Hamas massacre, complained about comments posted in parents’ WhatsApp groups, and also made reference to Prevent.
Last month, dozens of parents responded with a joint letter accusing the school’s leadership of being “selectively” apolitical, citing a letter from the school in March 2022 which appeared to express solidarity with Ukraine following the Russian invasion.
The row came to a head this week with a planned protest at the school gates on Thursday morning, prompting Barclay Primary School to announce it was closing early for Christmas.
The demonstration attracted more than 100 protesters chanting slogans both relating to the boy in question and more generally about Israel’s war in Gaza.
Most of the lampposts in the streets surrounding the school in Leyton have been hung with Palestinian flags.
‘We’re really angry’
Speaking outside the school gates, the pupil’s father claimed his son, who has now not attended the school for weeks, had been given an adult’s jacket and “paraded” in front of the other children.
“We’re really angry. We’ve lost family members [in Gaza]”, he said. “I think this is because of discrimination and Islamophobia.”
He claimed the school’s October threat to involve Prevent stemmed from a message his wife posted on one of the parents’ WhatsApp groups in the run-up to Children In Need day, asking fellow parents to remember the young people killed in Gaza.
The mother said: “It is disheartening to witness such a lack of empathy and understanding, especially in times of crisis.
“The additional burden of family pressures from Gaza has only added to our stress as parents.”
She claimed her son had been “traumatised” after being “emotionally abused through a series of punishments”.
Both parents have claimed an arrangement for homework to be sent to the boy while he was excluded had broken down.
‘Misinformation is being used’
In a statement on Wednesday, Lion Academy Trust, the school’s parent body, denied any mistreatment of the pupil, saying the allegation had been investigated by external safeguarding authorities and “found to be false”.
“In the light of escalating threats against staff and the school, based on malicious fabrications being broadcast by various media outlets, the Lion Academy Trust will be closing the school from 20th December 2023 to all parents and pupils for the Christmas break,” a statement read.
“This decision has been made after careful reflection and because we need the school to be a safe place for the children and staff.”
It added: “It is very unfortunate and distressing that misinformation is being used to target a primary school.
“We are bound by our legal duty under Prevent and whilst we have never reported anyone to Prevent at the school, and would not wish to do so, we are seeking to be transparent by making individuals aware of the school’s legal obligations.”
The protest was organised following numerous videos posted on the social media platform TikTok by a user calling himself Zaki who has more than 80,000 followers.
In one clip, he discusses a trustee of Lion Academy who is also a director of an orthodox Jewish primary school.
This was referred to in a further letter to parents from the school on Dec 18 entitled “False and Malicious allegations being made on social media platforms”.
In some of his other videos, Zaki has described cutting off male friends for going to watch the recent Barbie movie, asking: “Are you gay?”, and saying: “Our ancestors fought wars and built empires just for you to sit in a cinema in pink outfits and watch a movie that victimises and villainises and slanders the existence of men.”
Barclay Primary School was at the centre of another row with Muslim parents in 2015 when it banned pupils from fasting during Ramadan.
The trust did not respond to a request by The Telegraph to respond to specific allegations made by parents.
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