Jo Shuter must never return to King Solomon High School!

#22: -

Well, I made my views clear to her as well, when I had a meeting with her. The fact that I am highly educated has nothing to do with it.  I express my views as a teacher and as a person who has good ethical standards. Something thay in my view Ms Shuter lacks. And yes I interrupted her several times during the meeting because she was saying one thing and I knew she would go the other way.

80% of the parents are happy with her, but what would be of the world if we didn's have an opposition?

#23: -

Well I for one am not afraid and I never hid my discontent.

Another thing why would I move my kids from the school if they were there before Shuter?

I knew for a fact that all of this was going to happen, and another thing she is not the most helpful person in the world.

#24: Shocked and disgusted at your vitriol! -

well excuse me, you are all offended with my level of education, the fact that I stated it was because as a teacher I see thing in another way.

I am sorry but could you list her achievements at KS?

Thank you 25, you are very wise in your words. I feel for those who cannot take criticism.

I will not apologize for my level of education, it seems to madden people, here. I don't know why, because after all they are saying that their aim is to keep Shuter on so their kids can get a good level of education, a bit contradictory?

I speak about Shuter not on a personal level, but as an experienced teacher and Lecturer. My vision is very different from those who think that just because she got an award all is OK. How many celebrities got awards and then were found out to have abused children?

If some parents are angry at my achievements well I am sorry, but the same way that Shuter got her achievement, I got mine. BTW did I mention that I got my fourth award from the University this year yet again?? 4 years in a row from a very prestigious French university, voted best lecturer!!! Sorry just want to make sure that Shocked and disgusted at your vitriol! #24 vomits happily....
I know many parents who do not want to give their names as they are as well afraid of the parents that support her.
What I find amazing is that we who contradict the parents that support her are immature, rude, and the fact that we can debate due to good common sense they get annoyed and accuse us to boast about our qualifications. Well why the hell do you go on about Shuter's award?
I am sorry Shocked and disgusted at your vitriol! but if you come to this petition that is against her to give your view, we will always welcome it, but the fact that you come here and attack the people that are against her and you are annoyed with what they write or their level of education, maybe you shouldn't be here. There is after all a petition supporting her, why aren't you there praising her, rather than wasting your time here?
Unlike the petition that supports her we do not delete the messages posted because we are not afraid of the truth and we value everyone's opinion,which is something that is not happening on the petition supporting her, all comments that go against her are deleted. That shows a lot of maturity doesn't it??

#29: -

That is QK and not KS and the following year she was done for using money that doesn't belong to her.

#29: -

and the following year after this project she was done for taking money that doesnt belong to her. 1+1=2

The £3m appeal to create Quintin Kynaston House will be launched with the backing of celebrities including Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal and England player, and Madness singer Suggs, who is a former pupil. The school is also appealing for experts who can help it to apply for charitable status and handle the legal aspects of a property purchase.
IT WAS A £3M APPEAL, IMAGINE HOW MUCH SHE GOT??

I believe that the school does not depend only on the head and the teachers. It also depends on the kids and the support they get from there parents. If they have a bad example at home they shall bring this to the school. If the children cannot take criticism they will retaliate when criticism is given. KS has many good teachers. Like every school you have the good ones, great ones, memorable ones and the bad ones. It is the general rule of life, but it is not Shuter who makes KS better, it is the teachers, my kids have received a lot of support when needed from their teachers, from Rabbi Bruce, Ms Shutz, Ms Carmel Brown. Changing teachers is something that any institution does. Teachers get new opportunities and move on, new one comes, some good some bad. But the whole of a school is not the HEAD, it is a unison of all those who work in the school, it is making decisions by consulting the staff and taking into consideration their opinion and coming to a solution that shall be good for all and not a small portion.
When Mr Lewis was head I never had any problem with him, all the times I need to speak to him, or his help he was very helpful.
I am really struggling to see what great changes she made, a part from trying to get rid of the Jewish studies and Jewish festivals.

#30 you're welcome I was #25 I agree with everything you say. Not one post has been deleted from here however the other petition is constantly deleting posts which are not abusive as I wrote some of them and I was merely stating that we should not condone what Jo Shuter has done by rewarding her with her job. I'm also not convinced she wants the school to remain Jewish. The rumours of no Purim party less JS lessons and not doing much for Yom hatzmaut proves this. All you jewish parents that support no Jewish festivals should be ashamed! You might as well go to a non faith school.

Those who are scared to speak out for fear of being an outcast by so called friends should be brave and sign this petition. It's for the future of YOUR kids. You can add your name anonymously if you need to. Let's get this Jewish community back together and send Jo Shuter home. There are plenty of other people who can replace her. No one is irreplaceable!

#37: -

I think very few people are on the same page as us. It is a pity, I moved to Redbridge so my kids could go to a nice Jewsih school. My youngest went to IJPS then into KS and my eldest to KS from a mainstream school in SE London.

When I first visited KS I immediately felt welcomed and liked the school. as I before it is not only the head that makes the school successful it is also down to teachers, admin staff, security, canteen workers, cleaners.... You have to work as a team, this hasn't been happening at KS.

People quote the Torah saying that you must forgive, but you can still forgive someone for doing you harm but you may still want them to learn a lesson..

I find that the majority of parents who support her attack us viciously and show that by trying to demean us. In my opinion people who say forget it, she hasn't done anything bad to anyone at KS,  she has turned the school around are clearly parents who need to understand the case.

If any teacher would have been rude to their child, would have abused their position as a teacher these parents would want this teacher struck off ASAP, why is it then that they make so many allowances for Shuter?

Sometimes I feel like I live in a third world country where people bow and say amen to the people who are clearly in the wrong.

By getting rid of JS and the JEwsih festivals she was aiming towards turning the school into an academy, where more money would be available, JS was a barrier in her path. Do notice that during her probation period she was acting all nice and pleasant. As soon as it was over her attitude changed a lot. Starting with making JS a core subject.

It is a pity, our community is small, and I would like to see it survive, but if Shuter continues it will be wiped out and more parents will move their kids to Jcos, JFS or Yavneh. Can you imagine this happening in any of these schools? No, so much so that Mr Lewis went to Yavneh a good Jewish school. If he was so rubbish as they say why did Yavneh want him?

I have followed this with interest and am definitely no expert but I think the following is clear to me:
1) teachers are in a positionif trust and are role models to our impressionable children. 2) people in a position of trust should not abuse that trust 3) it would appear that ms shutter breached this trust by missapropriating and misusing public funds that were entrusted to her as head mistress. As such she has breached the standards that are expected of someone in a headmistress role and hence is unfit to perform this job.

Like I said I am no expert and am only going on what I have read in the press but it seems quite straight forward to me.

I am surprised that she has not been banned from working in a position like this if what has been reported is even half true surely someone should be taking proper action.

#11: NL -

wonder what?......I've always wonder why a Head Shuter or otherwise hadn't got involved with the Proms as often they are not too well organised and kids haven't enjoyed it that much since it's the kids that have to offer to volunteer to do it! pretty irrelevant talk re Shuter

#39: D - I'm not an expert but

that's the point proper action was taken in the courts last year and they knew the same info as they do now.  True, Mrs Shuter has been no saint, several years ago though that does not make a difference but if she had obviously commited fraud wouldn't the courts have given her some kind of sentence? The truth is no-one actually really knows the Whole truth except the headteacher herself and the original Courts that DISMISSED her so that she could be reinstated in her old school where all the trouble took place!!! Now think about your children.  Who will replace actually a fantastic Super Head with a Proven track record?  Who is now going to find the good teachers out there which she had lined up for us to come in and teach our children?  Look at the whole picture.  When Osted came in the only really decent comment was about Mrs Shuter and what she has and was going to do to improve the school, and in a relatively short timeframe too.  It's a shame it has come to what I understand is almost a slagging match.  Everyone concerned here remember, we are all entitled to our views and differences. Noone is better or knows best so calm down and have a rational debate.

#38: - Re:

In reply to the issue with JS.  This to me is an extremely important subject so much so that my son wants to take JS up next year but it also clashed with Business studies.  This week my son went to Rabbi Bruce to decide.  I thought he would have told him being who he is to definitely take JS but he said not to bother as Core JS was sufficient for him to still take an exam in and to take Business Studies too....so the point is rumours are not always true!  Just because Mrs Shuter was a non-practising Jew doesn't mean she was not interested in keeping the ethos of the school.  There are far too many rumours and judgements made on the back of them inc the media which most people should know always twist truths.  Look what they say about Israel!!!

#36: -

Read my last comment, u r right it was just rumours.  A friend phoned up the school because she was appalled there was not much done for Yom Haatzmuat.  It turned out since Mrs Shuter didn't know how this is usually celebrated she left it up to the JS teachers.  In otherwords they didn't put on much and I think a witch hunt has possibly taken place because she is not an observant Jew and I am saying this as an observant Jew!  RUMOURS it is a word that keeps coming up yet u all make judgement on these Rumours and not true fact telling both sides of a story

#30: -

I thank you for listening to all opinions but take note, there are many learned parents that make their point of view but they do not need to massage their ego by giving their status!  Don't think your judgement is clearer than anyone elses.  Was you in the court rooms last year where they dismissed her case and reinstated Mrs Shuter back to her old school?  No, of course not.  Can you read the mind of Mrs Shuter herself? No, of course not.  You as well as everyone else actually does not know the full story and that's the truth of it. Rumours have flown around created by malicious people who have nothing better to do with their lives.  Judgements have been made based on these rumours and that includes the tv since we all know that truth always gets twisted or is one-sided.  I for one believes since some of it must be truth a punishment is in order but not at the expense of our children.  There are not enough Headteachers in this country and certainly not many great ones.  You may not feel she was great but perhaps you made your mind up without all true information before she even came to our school, but to me she had already set the ball rolling to make this school outstanding.  My children are testimony to that and so that is why so many parents would have liked her to stay....because the majority of children loved her already and that .... is a fact!

The bottom line is she used school funds for personal use and that is not acceptable. How can the media twist it if she has already admitted to it. She's given her side of the story but her excuses are poor. How can you not know that you shouldn't use school money to fund you're birthday party. For someone who is so amazing as a head she sure is stupid!

#45: -

You are right I never said she was an angel all those years back it certainly was not acceptable but whatever she did or did not do went infront of a court of law.  Yes to regain trust in her using school funds again without supervision would be hard so supervise her.  In the meantime her teaching abilities and her turning schools into outstanding ones is not questionable.  The bottom line now is will we get another Headteacher that can sort out KS issues?  I hope for all our children's sakes it happens and it happens quickly.  I am disappointed that the teaching agency knowing they were going to dismiss Mrs Shuter since they had all the original evidence to work with couldn't think about the school that is now in disarray.

#95 May 11, 2014, 10:10
People, just don't get the whole idea of wrong... By continuing she will kill thenjewsih Ethos, by killing the Jewish Ethos,she will turn the school into an academy, by turning the school into an academy IJPS will suffer as well, because parents from IJPS would like their kids to continue is a Jewish school. KS losing its Jewish ethos will not be an option for them, hence they will send them to Jcos, JFS, Yaveneh and so on. By doing that the Jewish community of Redbridge, which isn't that big, will dimish in time.
When Shuter decided to change Jewish studies to a core subject there was a reason behind it all.
She began saying that new courses would be introduced. Fair enough. Drama, French, photography, philosophy. Why photography it is beyond me, anyway., to fund these course she needs money, KS doesn't have money, so what better way to do it the turning JS into a core subject, this way they won't need as many JS teachers and with their wages she can use it for the other courses. Now what message does that send out to you parents. Many will say, yes I am happy JS became a core subject. But let me ask you something, why did you put your child in KS to start with, this of course to the Jewish parents? I did because I wanted my kids to be raised in a jewsih community, with jewsih values. Call me old fashioned but to me the sense of community always brought me a feeling of well being and a place I knew I belonged..
Now having a Jewish head is something rare to find, but I am sorry Shuter has no Jewish values and she does not enjoy the Jewish festivities.
In regards to the sum of money that she admitted taking, her excuses are feeble . She told the year 11's not to judge her on what is in the papers, but went on to explain some of the reasons why she did it. " I bought furniture for my house, it didn't fit well, so I swapped it with the school's furniture?"
Come on, does she love the feeling of being in a school that much that she takes the school furniture. Her reasons for what she did are feeble and you can see right through them. Had she said yes I took them because I was dishonest then it would be another story, but still she wouldn't be able to continue the work.
What also amazes me is why with such a high salary she couldn't fund her own birthday. Do parents take money from their work to fund their kids bar/bat mitzvahs?
Also let me question the board of governors, why the hell did they hire someone who was still being investigated, wasn't it irresponsible, they knew that the story wasn't over. Wouldn't it have been better to wait till she was cleared and if so all of this could have been avoided. But in light of desperation so much from their side and her side they struck a deal. She took it because she needed to restart building her reputation, KS needed a head.
But all in all they did both wrong and if Shuter is banned from teaching the board of governors should as well go and a new one created, hopefully with a bit more sense.
There are always people up for a challenge and in need of a job, I don't believe there is no one wanting a job as head.
As I said before a school works as a team, the head does not do miracles.
If she stays our community dies, if you parents want that then fair enough, why did u put your kids in KS to start with? No other options? I put my kids there because of the Jewish ethos and community, and so far they have done really well.

#47 I couldn't have said it better myself. Exactly what I've been trying to say too. My view is on the same page as yours. It's just a shame that the Jewish parents aren't really bothered about being Jewish. You might as well all go to a non faith school and take Jo Shuter with you!

Oh dear Natacha'. You are a naughty girl and did not do your homework. Go to the back of the class!

If you had bothered to check before you moved to the area you would have found that both feeder schools to KS, IJPS and Clore Tikva, were reducing in their numbers of Jewish children. In fact when my son was Year 6 in Clore, IJPS only had one year 6 class of 14 children, almost half were not Jewish.

So you see, anyone could have told you that maintaining KS as a wholly orthodox Jewish school was unsustainable in the future, especially with JCoSS becoming a viable alternative choice.

The point is, we all want it to remain Jewish with the current ethos and celebrate the festivals which I see as still happening under the Kehila department, just as it did before. But you cannot teach children to believe. That is their right of choice.

What is happening here between 2 sets of parents with differing view points is incredibly disappointing to see. Why can't both sides respect eachothers right to an opinion and just agree to disagree. This is like a thread on Babies Babies Babies, a forum of predominantly NW London mums, where things get nasty and personal all too often. I moved to Essex because I had the impression you lot behaved differently as a community, with less self righteousness and bitchiness. Please just stop all this nonsense.

The side that are for Jo Shuter: understand that those without any personal liking towards her will view this no differently than you all viewed the politicians expenses scandal. No differently! In fact, what did you think of Cameron showing favour for Maria Miller to the point of saying she could return 'in due course'? I'm sure you didn't think 'well Cameron can clearly see she's done a lot of good which must outweigh the bad, here here!'

The side that are against Jo Shuter: there are always 2 sides to every story and there is a genuine risk that KS will not get the headship it needs. The 'pro-Jo' parents are justified in their concern of her leaving and you also need to respect their viewpoint.

So really parents, stop taking it as a personal outrage that someone's view differs to yours. Embrace it. Debate it. But don't hate it.