An east London primary school has closed early for the Christmas holidays over “escalating threats against staff and the school” after allegations an eight-year-old boy was bullied by teachers because he is Palestinian.
In a letter to parents Barclay Primary School, in Leyton, said there was “no evidence to support any allegations of bullying or misconduct” after the claims were made on TikTok.
Protesters gathered outside the school, which is rated outstanding by Ofsted, on Thursday chanting “Barclay, Barclay, shame on you,” and “teachers and families must unite, education is a human right”.
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It comes after a TikToker calling himself Zaki, who has more than 80,000 followers, alleged an eight-year-old pupil had been “bullied, harassed and mentally traumatised by his teachers” because he is Palestinian.
In the clip, which has attracted more than 1,000 comments, he says parents were told they and their children could be referred to the government’s Prevent anti-terrorism programme after students showed support for Palestine on Children in Need day on 17 November.
He also claims 170 parents signed a letter of complaint against the school, citing concerns over “freedom of speech, disparity of approach and Islamophobia”.
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Claims are ‘malicious and false’
In a letter to parents on 18 December following the post, the school’s executive headteacher Aaron Wright said: “Over the course of the weekend, a video was published on TikTok which has made and amplified a series of false and malicious allegations against Barclay Primary School and a Lion Academy Trust board member.
“This has been further shared on social media and misdirected and unhelpful commentary about the school and our staff are being circulated.”
He said the school was working “with the police, the Department for Education, Ofsted and local safeguarding structures to tackle the disinformation being produced”.
“Sadly, it seems that there is a tiny minority of carers/parents who have elected to work against the school have been directly responsible for the malicious and false content being published online,” he added.
In a later clip, Zaki reads out the letter and claims the school is “trying to silence me for exposing them”.
‘Misinformation used to target school’
The school had been due to remain open until Friday, but a statement posted online on Wednesday said it would close that day due to “escalating threats against staff and the school, based on malicious fabrications being broadcast by various media outlets”.
“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.
Addressing the “alleged mistreatment” of an eight-year-old child, it said external and internal investigations had found “no evidence” of bullying or misconduct.
“This has been formally referred by the school to the relevant external safeguarding authorities who have reviewed the allegation and found it to be false,” it added.
“It is very unfortunate and distressing that this misinformation is being used to target a primary school.”
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The statement also said the school has never reported anyone to Prevent and would not wish to, but is “seeking to be transparent by making individuals aware of the school’s legal obligations”.
“We believe we are acting firmly on the basis of the range of evidence at hand and to suggest otherwise is a distortion of the facts,” it said.
