Pupil's father seeks judicial review of suspension

(An edited version of this piece was published in the Impartial Reporter March 19th 2015)

The High Court in Belfast has heard a Judicial Review against the decision of St Joseph’s College to first suspend and then expel an Enniskillen boy who suffers from learning difficulties. Harry Reid is taking the Review on behalf of his son, Shaun Reid. Harry Reid is also seeking to judicially review the decision of the Western Education and Library Board’s Schools Expulsion Appeals Tribunal to uphold the expulsion.

Shaun Reid was first suspended, then expelled, from St Joseph’s following a classroom incident in March 2013. The other boy in the incident suffered a broken nose.

A lawyer for Shaun Reid accused the school of not using proper procedure because it wanted rid of a pupil seen as troublesome. The lawyer told the Court that the version of events which school principal James Jackson-Ware gave differed significantly from the statement given by the teacher present at the time. The teacher, Ms Sproule, said: “I became aware that Shaun Reid and (another boy)  had started to fight at the back of the room. … I realised that it was a serious fight and not just giving each other a push. I observed both boys throwing punches and saw one punch landing on (the other boy’s) face.  I ran across the room and separated them. (The other boy’s) nose was bleeding and I walked him over to a seat at the front of the room and told Shaun to go to his seat (at the back corner).”

In a further statement, Ms Sproule said that, when she approached them: “The boys immediately stopped.”

The lawyer said that, in evidence to the Western Education and Library Board Expulsion Appeals Tribunal, Jackson-Ware said: “He (Shaun Reid) did not stop when he was told and broke Ernest’s nose.” Judge O’Hara commented there was nothing to indicate that Reid had continued with the attack when told to cease.

The lawyer said that Harry Reid always accompanied Shaun Reid to and from school. On the day of the incident, Jackson-Ware met Harry Reid at the gate and took him to the office. There he told Harry Reid: “Shaun had been involved in an unprovoked attack on another pupil.” Jackson-Ware then suspended Shaun Reid, telling Harry Reid this was to give him time to find another school for his son. The lawyer said this was before Jackson-Ware saw Ms Sproule’s statement. Shaun Reid was first suspended for 10 days. A second letter, received on the same day, reduced that to five days.

The lawyer said “the Principal had already come to a conclusion.” Shaun Reid had caused difficulties in the past and “this brought it to a head.”

A Board of Governor’s meeting in April 2013 expelled Shaun Reid. This was upheld by the Schools Expulsion Appeals Tribunal.

The lawyer accepted there had been problems with Shaun Reid’s behaviour. He quoted school records indicating this had improved since November 2011, when Shaun Reid had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He also accused the school of breaching the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools scheme for suspension and expulsion. ‘Fighting’ is not given as a reason for expulsion.

A lawyer for St Joseph’s College said it was “a school that cares. … This is a school that has provided continuous supportive assistance to this individual.” He said there had been a whole series of “red flag” disruptive incidents. Shaun Reid was “someone who has caused a lot of difficulties for the school,” and given inconsistent versions of the incidents. St Joseph’s College had a “duty of care” to staff and other pupils.

Judge O’Hara interjected that, on the statement of Ms Sproule “the one who came off best was suspended.”

The College’s lawyer said the expulsion was “a last resort measure” because of an accumulation of events. “It’s not just the 13^th of March,” the lawyer said. “It’s not just the previous incident. It’s the two together.”

Judge O’Hara interjected to query whether there was anything in the Board of Governors’ minutes regarding Shaun Reid’s future education being discussed. The lawyer said this was only when raised by Harry Reid.

A lawyer for the Western Education and Library Board said the Schools Expulsion Appeals Tribunal “have to have regard to other pupils and teachers in the school.” He called the fight “a last resort incident,” and said Shaun Reid was guilty of “persistent unacceptable behaviour.”

Judgement in the case is expected in the next couple of weeks. Shaun Reid had been charged with assault in connection with the incident, but the charges were later dropped.

  

Pam Brighton - making the voices of the voiceless heard

(An edited version of this was published in the Irish Times March 7th 2015)

Pam Brighton born October 22^nd 1946; died February 22^nd 2015

Pam Brighton, who has died in her adopted home of Belfast, was a Yorkshire-born theatre director who was central to developing people’s theatre in West Belfast. She mentored almost a generation of the city’s playwrights and actors, and was a founder of the innovative DubbleJoint company.

Brighton’s theatre was about making the voices of the voiceless heard. She had little interest in directing classic texts, and preferred working outside the established theatre. Her commitment was to making theatre relevant and accessible to working class people, which flowed from her Marxist beliefs. In her later years she specialised in work which articulated the feelings of Catholic West Belfast.

Brighton was an excellent script editor, because she could spot the flaws in a script. Another gift was the ability to find nuances in a character which the playwright hadn’t identified.

Pamela Dallas Brighton was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in October 1946, the only child to Norman Brighton and his wife Marjorie (née Peel). Norman Brighton worked in a garage, installing insulation in vehicles. He died of asbestosis when she was 15.

After secondary education at Bradford’s Grange Girls Grammar School, where she won the prize for Senior Scripture, she studied Politics at the London School of Economics.

After graduating, she worked at London’s Royal Court Theatre, in charge of its Young People’s Theatre Scheme. The language used in some productions provoked protests from the Inner London Education Authority, and questions in the British parliament. After leaving the Royal Court she worked at other theatres in London, Toronto, and Stratford (Canada), with some forays to Australia. She lived in Canada for a number of years. A couple of times, she seemed to be on the verge of mainstream success only to have it elude her. Her complex personality and honesty did not help. A Toronto newspaper interviewed her the day before one production opened. She said: “It’s very depressing to do a play that’s terribly flawed. But there’s no use pretending it’s good when it isn’t.” She was bankrupted by a High Court action against playwright and close friend Marie Jones over the authourship of hit play ‘Stones In Our Pockets’.

She came to Belfast by accident. She met playwright Martin Lynch at the Edinburgh Festival in the early 1980s. He needed a director for a play he had written for the Charabanc theatre company. She came over, found West Belfast was a home, and moved there permanently in the late 1980s. For a while she worked there with the BBC’s drama department. However, she was not a woman who fitted into such a structured organisation – particularly as she only wanted to do work she was interested in.

At one stage she abandoned theatre altogether, and qualified as a barrister in 1986, working for a while in the human rights field. The sirens of the theatre called her back, though, and she answered them.

Pam Brighton is survived by her son Ned Cohen, daughter-in-law Jeanette, and grandchildren Oisín and Dearbhla.

GAA Centre of Excellence in legal battle

Tyrone GAA’s £6million Centre of Excellence at Garvaghy is at the centre of a legal battle. A sub-contactor who claims he was not paid for work done during construction is taking legal action against the Tyrone County. Fintona-based Top Tools is seeking £26,879.40 from the County Board

A lawyer for the sub-contractor told a short hearing at Omagh County Court that the Board first main contractor hired to build the Centre had agreed a contract to supply items with Top Tools. This first main contractor then “went bust.” The lawyer said that a senior GAA official offered payment for work done. “Afterwards, the Tyrone County Board denied the existence of any contract,” the barrister said. However, the County Board subsequently settled one invoice for work carried out for the first contractor. This was done “when faced with the inevitability of legal action.”

A barrister for the Board told the Court that another main contractor took over construction at Garvaghy. As a result “Tyrone County Board circulated a letter that they would pay for works completed after (the first contractor went bust).” He accused Top Tools of seeking that “the Board should pay for work, which the Board had already paid for, but McCann Brothers (the contractors) did not pay the subcontractors for.”

The barrister for Top Tools denied this. He said that the County Board had authorised payments to subcontractors after the first main contractor had gone bust. He named a senior County Board official as having “paid for materials after McCann Brother went bust from his own credit card.”

Judge McReynolds said it was “a very Tyrone case.” She suggested both sides “spit on their hands” and shake on a deal, in the traditional way. After a short adjournment for discussion between the two sides, the case was adjourned for hearing on April 15^th.