Angry Bangladeshi parents force headteacher Karen Ford into early retirement after 23 years. Shocking. We need more Ms Fords not less.

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Really sad to report long-serving headteacher Karen Ford is to take early retirement from her primary school after Bangladeshi parents complained a note she sent blamed them for a rise in Covid cases.

The Bangladeshi community wanted Karen Ford to go after 23 years at Richard Avenue Primary School, Sunderland, when her note made a number of points aimed at the parents.

1. They were attending wedding ceremonies at their home.
2. They were hosting Mehndi nights “against the law.”
3. They were working as taxi drivers or in restaurants while waiting for Covid-19 tests.

​In her note Ms Ford said she felt “totally let down” by those in the “Bangladesh community”.

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Bangladeshis were angry at what they saw as being “singled out” and stereotyped as rule breakers. They went on Facebook and protested to the local authority.

Ms Ford apologised but hadn’t been seen at the school for five months until May but now two months later she has said it is with a “heavy heart” she has decided to take early retirement.

I particularly liked one paragraph in her note; “Most importantly I will miss the children…their kindness, their humour and their innocence. I will, from the bottom of my heart, truly miss them.”

That was said by a woman who really cares. About her kids and her community.

The parents may have triumphed but the school will be poorer for her going. We need more Ms Fords not less.

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