93% of parents favour information before expulsion in private schools. 

The results of our survey aren’t really that surprising, of course parents want their children to be safe and of course schools shouldn’t be able to treat people the way we were treated.  It’s not rocket science, just common sense.

Our position has remained consistent throughout. We maintain, and have evidence to back this up, that the school was not managing to implement it’s own behaviour policy in Class 3/4.  When we continued to flag this up, our whole family was kicked out.

So why were our kids expelled

Of course we have questions about the reasons for the school not being able to implement the policy. Was it because:

a) there were just too many “boisterous” bullying boys for the teacher to be able to control?    and/or

b) there is an inherent contradiction between “taking bullying very seriously” and believing that “boys need to behave like that”?

The reasons the school’s policies broke down may be interesting, and are deserving of further exploration, (Steiner education is the subject of much heated debate at the moment), but they don’t change the facts. 

And in rather dramatic contrast to the constancy of our position, the Titirangi Rudolf Steiner School have simply not been able to stick to one reason for five minutes together without it simply disintegrating in the light of day, leading to the need to find some other pretext for such a revolting treatment of children in the name of education and of Rudolf Steiner, and as a response to our legitimate concerns about the safety and well-being of children, children who the school contracted to look after and failed.

Here are the various reasons they have given for getting rid of our family (so far),

1.“Because the school practises social inclusion”

this was the first reason, and arguably the most hilarious.  This term was bandied about liberally in the first few days after the expulsions. The irony was sadly lost on many....as was any grasp of the fact that the people who were actually about to introduce socially inclusive ideas of stopping the bullying were, yes that’s right, us.  

2.“Because we had a “fundamental disagreement” with the behavioural policy”

yes, it wasn’t being followed, another broken contract....

3.“Because there was no bullying”

yawn, what do you call slinging out an entire family who observe that their child is getting bullied and ask the school to implement its behaviour policy?

4.“Because we made such a fuss when “it was only a “bit of teasing between girls”

the lie the school trots out when some prospective parents ask about the Titirangi Three.

5.“Because we were there “all the time”

Sean Gribben told us this one during our “secret meeting”.  Ask any parent who is involved in work for the school and has more than one child there, (especially in Kindy where hours may be different) how much time they spend there......

6.“Because we're taking things “way too seriously”

children’s welfare is serious.  the words “pot” and “kettle” come to mind here.

7.“Because we are “immature” in our reaction”

Let’s just remind ourselves that according to the Chairman “90% of parents thought Mark Thornton handled it badly”  Yet he then chose to use even our “anxiety” afterwards as a reason for chucking us out.  We think all that behaviour is very immature.  What kind of  education is it when the people who are running it can’t admit they’ve made mistakes and say sorry?

8.“Because we brought cameras into the school”

yes, parents do circulate this fiction, put about by Mark Thornton, and the College of Teachers, when in fact we  brought cameras in only after, and because we had been kicked out.  If you can think of a situation that would justify doing so more than finding out your kids have been expelled on the day that you were supposed to be having a meeting about the situation in which you were about to discuss social inclusion, please let us know.  The inference that the trespass notices were issued and police called because of a “growing concern” is easily disproved here, where you can see that Mark Thornton issued them and called the police almost immediately, with no parents or children in sight.

9.“Because we shot videos of children at the school”

see 8 above. In fact, when we came in we purposely did our best to avoid this.

10.“Because we gave our daughter money for a slushy”

yes, I’m afraid Sean Gribben did actually put this forward as being the reason.

11.“Because we stood outside the class door looking in”

Sean Gribben again, you couldn’t make it up, except that obviously he did.

12.“Because Mark Thornton felt we were a “threat to the health and safety” of the school”

this one was a mysterious phrase from the Ministry of Education, extrapolated from Mark Thornton’s letter. This was the extent of the Ministry’s involvement, and they have since admitted that nobody actually said this at all.

13.“Because we are anti-Steiner”

an obvious one, it’s very easy to be “anti-Steiner”, all you’ve got to do is express an independent thought apparently, or object to your children being bullied, and then expelled.  So watch out.

14.“Because taking us back would be like saying "I want to be a Christian but I don't believe in Jesus"”.

Mark Thornton at the secret “meeting” that he and Susanne Cole held at the school. Interestingly, this opinion appears to be a response to the question “is bullying on the curriculum at Titirangi Steiner School?”.  

15.“After events”. 

Our justified anger and peaceful protest as a response to wilful abusive acts towards our children have been used as a justification for having expelled us in the first place, just like in totalitarian regimes the world over.   It is rather unbelievable that people (including trained lawyers) who are prepared to re-write history in such a bald and transparent manner, should have responsibility for children but there you go, it’s all in the name of Rudolf Steiner, after all.

16.“Because it is our Karma”

Paddy Delaney and Sean Gribben suggested this at the “secret meeting”.  They said that nothing happens without a reason and that we had to own the reason that our children were no longer in the school. It is an interesting one isn’t it.  Because given the enormous amount of people who have learned of these heinous actions through this site alone, completely without us promoting it at all, and the people who will hear about them in the future, what does that say about the school’s karma?