Honywood School head had 'personal attacks' over skirt ban
Mr Saunders also highlighted concerns from some that the parents of Muslim children had influenced his decision to initially ban skirts.However, the school said the policy idea came from uniform issues, understood to be related to skirt length.
Mr Saunders compiled a lengthy report outlining some of the parental feedback he had received."Some parents express strong ideological backlash against the term 'gender neutral,' viewing it as 'forced upon our children' or linked to 'trans-gender activists' and 'LGBT+ being pushed down [their] throat'," Mr Saunders wrote.Others said it was "exhausting" having to fight for girls "to be seen as human and not sexual objects".One suggestion made by a parent was to introduce a "strike" system against pupils wearing inappropriate skirts.
'I am a human being'
The head teacher said the debate "exposed underlying tensions" within society."The uniform debate has become a battleground for broader societal discussions around gender roles, victim-blaming, and the interpretation of 'wokeness'," he added.Department for Education guidance stated that schools had the power to set uniform policies, and it encouraged them to have dress codes that promoted "good behaviour and discipline".Mr Saunders said any future uniform changes would be implemented with clear guidelines via a phased introduction from September 2026.Writing to parents about his report, Mr Saunders criticised "disrespectful" emails that had been addressed to him."Whilst I am the head teacher of Honywood School, I am also a parent and a fellow human being, and personal attacks achieve nothing," he said. "I have been asked what my personal values are, as if this drives how I lead the school."The school was contacted for further comment.
Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Starmer suggests UK will play role in Gaza aid air drops
Sir Keir Starmer has suggested that the UK will play a role in dropping aid into Gaza by air after more than a third of MPs signed a letter calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian Friday, Israel said it would allow foreign countries to deliver air supplies in the coming days amid mounting international concern about humanitarian conditions in the territory."News that Israel will allow countries to airdrop aid into Gaza has come far too late – but we will do everything we can to get aid in via this route," the prime minister wrote in The Keir also said the UK was "urgently accelerating efforts" to evacuate children who need critical medical assistance to the UK for treatment. It comes as he faces growing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state - on Friday, France committed to recognising Palestinian statehood within 220 MPs from nine political parties - more than half of them Labour – signed a joint letter which said such a move would send a "powerful" message and a vital step toward a two-state President Donald Trump suggested French President Emmanuel Macron's announcement "doesn't matter" as he left the US for a visit to an earlier statement after an emergency phone call with President Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Sir Keir said recognising Palestinian statehood would have to be part of a "wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution".On Friday evening, Sir Keir said the government would "pull every lever" to deliver food and life-saving support to Palestinians. "This humanitarian catastrophe must end," he added in a post on X. The UK has been involved in previous efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza – a method aid agencies have cautioned is an inefficient way to deliver supplies. The previous Conservative government struck a deal with Jordan to deliver aid by air in 2024. Tonnes of supplies including medicines, food and fuel were dropped into northern Gaza by parachute from Jordanian Air Force same year the Royal Air Force began conducting air drops directly. The RAF went on to deliver over 100 tonnes of food over the course of 11 flights between March and May, according to the government. Israeli media reported that the United Arab Emirates and Jordan would carry out the latest drops, but a senior Jordanian official told the BBC that its military was yet to receive permission from Israel to do UN has described the move as a "distraction to inaction" by the Israeli food aid programme warned that almost one in three people in Gaza are going days without eating."Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment," the World Food Programme said in a which controls the entry of all supplies into the Palestinian territory, has repeatedly said that there is no siege and blames Hamas for cases of the outbreak of war in Gaza, two children with serious health conditions have been brought to the UK for private medical treatment. The young girls were granted temporary visas, arriving in the UK in May from Egypt with the assistance of Project Pure Hope, a humanitarian healthcare initiative.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: president dismisses continued Epstein and Maxwell furore as ‘not a big thing'
Donald Trump continued to face questions about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein as he landed in Scotland ahead of meeting British prime minister Keir Starmer and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. The US president denied reports that he was briefed about his name appearing in the Epstein files after landing on Friday evening local time. He was also asked about the justice department's questioning of Ghislaine Maxwell and suggestions he might offer her clemency. Trump: 'I don't know anything about the conversation, I haven't really been following it.' 'A lot of people have been asking me about pardons [for Maxwell]. Obviously, this is no time to be talking about pardons' he went on. 'You're making a very big thing over something that's not a big thing.' Here are the key US politics stories today: The furore over Donald Trump's ties with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continued on Friday as new revelations about the pair's relationship threatened to mire the president's golfing trip to Scotland, where he arrived late on Friday. After landing at Glasgow Prestwick airport at about 8.30pm local time, the US president denied reports that he had been briefed about his name appearing in files pertaining to the case against the late Epstein. He also said he had not 'really been following' the justice department's interview with Epstein's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Read the full story The EU appears to be on the verge of signing a trade deal with Donald Trump after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, announced she would meet the US president on Sunday during his four-day trip to Scotland. Trump landed in Scotland on Friday evening before the opening of his new golf course in Aberdeenshire. He said he was also planning to meet the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, on Saturday. Read the full story The deputy US attorney general, Todd Blanche, held a second in-person meeting on Friday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and longtime associate of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche had confirmed the two met behind closed doors in Tallahassee, Florida, on Thursday, at the federal prosecutor's office within the federal courthouse in the state capital, and they met again on Friday. Read the full story Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio was driving to his landscaping job with his mother and two male friends when they were pulled over by the Florida highway patrol. In one swift moment, a traffic stop turned into a violent arrest. Video of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men. The video has put fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used by US law enforcement officials as the Trump administration sets ambitious enforcement targets to detain thousands of immigrants every day. Read the full story The White House has announced that it will release $5.5bn in frozen education funds back to US states. That announcement came on Friday after Donald Trump's administration decided to abruptly withhold the congressionally approved funds a day before their 1 July release for the 2025-26 school year. South Park co-creator Trey Parker had the briefest response to anger from the White House over this season's premiere, which showed a naked Trump in bed with Satan. Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were placed on administrative leave on Friday, fueling speculation that the Trump administration was retaliating against them for actions taken during the president's first term. Catching up? Here's what happened on 24 July 2025.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Ending Russia's war in Ukraine key issue in Trump talks with EU, UK, sources say
British and US sources say key issues on the agenda for US president Donald Trump's visit to Scotland to meet with British prime minister Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen include ending Russia's war in Ukraine. Before he left Washington, Trump said on Friday that he is looking at secondary sanctions on Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Von der Leyen said later she would meet Trump in Scotland on Sunday. British officials have been heartened by what they see as a clear shift in Trump's rhetoric on Ukraine and Russia in recent weeks. The United States told China at the United Nations on Friday it should 'stop fuelling Russia's aggression' in Ukraine, as China accused Washington of trying to shift blame and spark confrontation. Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea urged all countries, specifically naming China, to stop exports to Russia of dual-use goods that Washington says contribute to Russia's war industrial base and enable its drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. China's deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang responded it is not a party to the conflict, has never provided lethal weapons, and has always 'strictly controlled dual-use materials, including the export of drones'. The Kremlin said on Friday that a summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy could only happen as a final step to seal a peace deal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that it was unlikely that such a meeting could occur by the end of August, as Ukraine has proposed. Ukraine says a leaders' meeting is required in order to achieve a breakthrough in the slow-moving process, which has seen the two sides hold three brief sessions of peace talks in Turkey since mid-May. In comments to journalists, Zelenskyy said Russia had begun to engage over the possibility of such a meeting. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday toured a factory producing interceptor drones, increasingly seen as a solution to protecting Ukrainian cities from Russian air attacks, and said a goal had been set to make up to 1,000 of the weapons each day. Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, said newly appointed defence minister Denys Shmyhal had reported on foreign assistance that would enable Ukraine to 'ensure a reliable flow of weapons for Ukrainian soldiers.' Civilian casualties in Ukraine are on rise as Moscow has deployed a nightly blitz of drones, decoys, cruise and ballistic missiles – increasingly aimed at a single city or location. 'A plan has been approved to reach production of 500-1,000 interceptor drones per day. The deadline has been set,' said Zelenskyy. Ukraine has received confirmation from partners that they will provide funding for three Patriot missile defence systems and discussions are under way to finance seven more, Zelenskyy said: 'I have officially received confirmation from Germany for two systems, and from Norway for one. We are currently working with Dutch partners.' Ukraine's top anti-corruption investigator said on Friday that he did not expect attempts to derail his agency's work to end, despite an abrupt U-turn by Zelenskyy on curbing their independence that fuelled rare protests. Semen Kryvonos said he was taken aback by attempts this week to curtail his agency's fight against graft. He spoke a day after Zelenskyy sought to defuse tensions by submitting legislation restoring the independence of NABU and its sister agency, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). Thousands of protesters took part in protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this week after lawmakers fast-tracked a bill granting a Zelenskyy-appointed general prosecutor power over the two bodies. Kryvonos applauded Zelenskiy's reversal, but said NABU and SAPO remain a high-priority target for vested interests aiming to stymie their closely watched efforts to clean up. Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces are facing fierce fighting around the city of Pokrovsk in the east, a logistics hub near which Russia has been announcing the capture of villages on an almost daily basis. Russia's defence ministry on Thursday announced the capture of two villages on either side of Pokrovsk – Zvirove to the west and Novoekonomichne to the east. A third village near the city – Novotoretske – was declared by Moscow to be 'liberated' earlier in the week. Ukrainian officials have made no acknowledgment that the villages have changed hands. Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian forces were also 'continuing to act' in border areas in the northern Sumy region, where Russian troops have gained a foothold in recent weeks. In Sumy, where Russian troops are trying to establish what Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin calls a 'buffer zone', the popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState said Kyiv's forces had retaken a previously lost village. DeepState said Ukrainian troops had restored control over the village of Kindrativka. There was no official comment from either side. SpaceX's Starlink satellite network was back up and running on Friday as engineers hunted for the root cause of one of its biggest international outages the night before, a rare disruption for the powerful internet system set off by an internal software failure. In Ukraine, where troops rely heavily on Starlink for battlefield communications, the outage affected combat operations as service was 'down across the entire front,' said Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces.
