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St Bernard's High School
Secondary · Academy · Westcliff-on-Sea
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This is a good school
Shocking
I really do not know where to start.
You can cover poo with icing and call it a cake but it does not change that fact it’s still poo!
This is a school that puts on a show. They (head teacher and deputy head) say the right things, make the school out to be a caring and a safe environment. Motto is “ love one another as I have loved you” this is preached over and over again by these so called caring leaders. But they should really practice what they preach.
The only thing these leaders care about is how the school is perceived, bragging about GCSE grades and what bystanders think of the students outside of the school grounds.
Don’t get me wrong if you have a daughter who is very reserved, has no opinion and is a “yes miss, no miss” type of girl then this is the school for them. Academically this is a good school.
Now if you have a daughter that is as bright as a button but has a sense of humour and does not tell tales on other girls this is not the place for your daughter.
And heaven forbid if your child suffers with mental health issues, these leaders will push them further and further down untill your child self explodes. There is no care given, nowhere for these girls to go when they really need someone to talk to and off load their thoughts and worries. Safe guarding is non existent.
The way these leaders treat these girls that struggle mentally is on the verge of abuse. Definitely a breach of power here. Instead of having a system in place to help they are punished and mistreated.
Do not get drawn in by the show that is put on or the good speech’s that are given, you do not know what life is like behind closed doors. But what I can say is behind some of these doors , girls that are struggling to cope and crying out for help and teachers that could not care less and take no action to help and rectify.
Such a sad experience. If it was not for one teacher (and I really mean just one teacher) I can honestly say my daughter would no longer be living.
Shame on M-D and B. There is more to running a school than grades and a show. Should consider building these girls up rather than knocking them down. Total power trip.
Ps. My daughter was A*(7-8) student. In the end not at this school.
You can cover poo with icing and call it a cake but it does not change that fact it’s still poo!
This is a school that puts on a show. They (head teacher and deputy head) say the right things, make the school out to be a caring and a safe environment. Motto is “ love one another as I have loved you” this is preached over and over again by these so called caring leaders. But they should really practice what they preach.
The only thing these leaders care about is how the school is perceived, bragging about GCSE grades and what bystanders think of the students outside of the school grounds.
Don’t get me wrong if you have a daughter who is very reserved, has no opinion and is a “yes miss, no miss” type of girl then this is the school for them. Academically this is a good school.
Now if you have a daughter that is as bright as a button but has a sense of humour and does not tell tales on other girls this is not the place for your daughter.
And heaven forbid if your child suffers with mental health issues, these leaders will push them further and further down untill your child self explodes. There is no care given, nowhere for these girls to go when they really need someone to talk to and off load their thoughts and worries. Safe guarding is non existent.
The way these leaders treat these girls that struggle mentally is on the verge of abuse. Definitely a breach of power here. Instead of having a system in place to help they are punished and mistreated.
Do not get drawn in by the show that is put on or the good speech’s that are given, you do not know what life is like behind closed doors. But what I can say is behind some of these doors , girls that are struggling to cope and crying out for help and teachers that could not care less and take no action to help and rectify.
Such a sad experience. If it was not for one teacher (and I really mean just one teacher) I can honestly say my daughter would no longer be living.
Shame on M-D and B. There is more to running a school than grades and a show. Should consider building these girls up rather than knocking them down. Total power trip.
Ps. My daughter was A*(7-8) student. In the end not at this school.
Do not work here
Senior leaders do not support or protect their staff. Staff well-being is at the bottom of their priorities. Teachers are generally good but pastoral support across the school is poor with the heads of years themselves being bullies with the backing of SLT.
balls
JESUS H CHRIST ITS HELLLL KILL ME THIS SCHOOL MAKES ME WANT TO JUMP OFF A BLOODY 17 STORY BUILDING AAAAAAAAAAAOEOARGH
Genuine Warning
This school is the reason i tried to end my own life at 14.
Priests were allowed to wander the school without any form of supervision when I attended under Mr S, despite youngest students being 11 years of age- a really concerning safeguarding issue (although of course I don't need to say that).
In addition, teachers always seem to side with the perpetrators of bullying rather than the victims; within the time I spent at this school i witnessed genuine mental distress from peers that were scared to attend for fear of both what would potentially happen to them and the ways the faculty would disrespect them after.
there were multiple times when the school would bring in substitute teachers that were at the very least very questionable: one gentleman telling us that all dogs go to hell because they don't have souls stands out in my mind.
I also remember my year 8 form tutor being forced to resign after coming out as a lesbian and being targeted by the rest of the faculty; these are meant to be the purveyors of morals that are teaching our next generation! How is it that they cannot even practice what they preach?
The entire school upholds a broken and outdated hierarchical system that no-one should ever subject their child to. It both creates and reinforces the terrifying notion that children should be seen and never heard.
Priests were allowed to wander the school without any form of supervision when I attended under Mr S, despite youngest students being 11 years of age- a really concerning safeguarding issue (although of course I don't need to say that).
In addition, teachers always seem to side with the perpetrators of bullying rather than the victims; within the time I spent at this school i witnessed genuine mental distress from peers that were scared to attend for fear of both what would potentially happen to them and the ways the faculty would disrespect them after.
there were multiple times when the school would bring in substitute teachers that were at the very least very questionable: one gentleman telling us that all dogs go to hell because they don't have souls stands out in my mind.
I also remember my year 8 form tutor being forced to resign after coming out as a lesbian and being targeted by the rest of the faculty; these are meant to be the purveyors of morals that are teaching our next generation! How is it that they cannot even practice what they preach?
The entire school upholds a broken and outdated hierarchical system that no-one should ever subject their child to. It both creates and reinforces the terrifying notion that children should be seen and never heard.
Worst experience of my life!!
I went to this school year 7 - 11. The worst time of my life.
It affected my mental health so badly. I was bullied for years and years, no sign of change even after several statements, conversations with the former headteacher Mr S and the deputy head teachers which will remain anonymous.
My mental health has plummeted downwards even after leaving this school last year and that's when I knew this was going to sit with me for the rest of my life, because of the lack of care given towards my bullying issues.
I started self harming because of the bullying and the school did absolutely nothing about it.
My head of year, who is still the head of year 11, was absolutely rubbish at their job. No idea why they hired them. They drove me to a panic attack one day last year and all they spoke about was my GCSES!! Which lead to me stressing out more! I lost the ability to breathe properly and there they were, carrying on, running her mouth about how I'm going to fail my GCSES if i keep causing myself to have panic attacks due to me not being comfortable in the lessons. Absolutely astounding. They're the reason why I did not achieve some of the grades I wished to achieve! So thanks for that, I hope they fire you soon.
There were also times that I was punished for being the victim in a situation for retaliating, and the bully was let off with no punishment at all?
Don't send your children here, I can't sweat it enough.
I would also like to mention the amount of time this school wastes on unnecessary religious events for the older years when they could be using that time for GCSE studies. It's absolutely outrageous. The fact we did not and they still don't get a choice to whether they attend these religious events astounds me.
This school does not show any sign of improvement, so again, don't send your kids here!!
It affected my mental health so badly. I was bullied for years and years, no sign of change even after several statements, conversations with the former headteacher Mr S and the deputy head teachers which will remain anonymous.
My mental health has plummeted downwards even after leaving this school last year and that's when I knew this was going to sit with me for the rest of my life, because of the lack of care given towards my bullying issues.
I started self harming because of the bullying and the school did absolutely nothing about it.
My head of year, who is still the head of year 11, was absolutely rubbish at their job. No idea why they hired them. They drove me to a panic attack one day last year and all they spoke about was my GCSES!! Which lead to me stressing out more! I lost the ability to breathe properly and there they were, carrying on, running her mouth about how I'm going to fail my GCSES if i keep causing myself to have panic attacks due to me not being comfortable in the lessons. Absolutely astounding. They're the reason why I did not achieve some of the grades I wished to achieve! So thanks for that, I hope they fire you soon.
There were also times that I was punished for being the victim in a situation for retaliating, and the bully was let off with no punishment at all?
Don't send your children here, I can't sweat it enough.
I would also like to mention the amount of time this school wastes on unnecessary religious events for the older years when they could be using that time for GCSE studies. It's absolutely outrageous. The fact we did not and they still don't get a choice to whether they attend these religious events astounds me.
This school does not show any sign of improvement, so again, don't send your kids here!!
BULLYING AND ZERO MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
Bullying is rife, zero mental health awareness and teachers speak to the children appallingly. Would not recommend this school to anyone. 6th form has a mean girl clique, even though people have complained about them yet nothing is done. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILDREN HERE
Concern regarding teacher misconduct
There was an encounter I had (in November 2018) which I go into below. My daughter attended the school and left in June 2022 after 6 years. In this encounter, I found that the Teachers involved did not listen, or show capacity to or indeed speak up. Neither did the teachers take responsibility for their own behaviour.
Rather I felt that they ganged up on me, I found it to be disgraceful and shameful and mirrored exactly the behaviour my daughter sometimes complained about.
The teachers never redressed their behaviour, in all the time my daughter attended the school which indicates they see it as acceptable.
To me it showed lack of resourcefulness, consideration, professionalism and it could be described as dismissive and even bullying behaviour (abuse of power and authority).
So given the original matter concerned disciplining my daughter for not listening to a teacher, I was left stunned and wondering how said teachers could possibly teach her anything about this, when they behaved as they did.
Briefly for context: a teacher told her to attend a 1 hour detention at a particular date and time, I confirmed that she would. She attended and was sent home after 15 minutes because they did not have a slip from me to confirm this. The teacher then asked if she could resit the detention at another time. I said no because the error was yours as teachers who did not communicate with each other, I had confirmed in writing. There was a lot of back and forth which then ensued.
Anyway, eventually it was stated that either my daughter attended the detention or she 'would be in isolation for a day and if I don't want the latter I should complete the paperwork as requested'. I felt completely silenced. This statement was full of contempt and showed me that what's important to the teachers is that they are obeyed and that they will make a child wrong in order to feel right.
Although the teachers showed no capacity to handle this better it certainly could have. I remain concerned that this is standard behaviour from the teachers and that students and parents could be treated like this under watch of the assistant head teacher (Mrs B) and the then head teacher (Mr S). I would therefore imagine that this is indicative of a toxic culture at the school and that teachers alike receive such treatment if they do not do as told.
I wonder where the space is for compromise and what type of climate this then creates in the school? And therefore how ultimately this affects the children who are most vulnerable of all.
I even considered pulling my daughter out of the school as I was so concerned. (Other staff involved/aware: Mrs B, PA to then headteacher, Mrs W (JAW), Mrs A, HofY).
Rather I felt that they ganged up on me, I found it to be disgraceful and shameful and mirrored exactly the behaviour my daughter sometimes complained about.
The teachers never redressed their behaviour, in all the time my daughter attended the school which indicates they see it as acceptable.
To me it showed lack of resourcefulness, consideration, professionalism and it could be described as dismissive and even bullying behaviour (abuse of power and authority).
So given the original matter concerned disciplining my daughter for not listening to a teacher, I was left stunned and wondering how said teachers could possibly teach her anything about this, when they behaved as they did.
Briefly for context: a teacher told her to attend a 1 hour detention at a particular date and time, I confirmed that she would. She attended and was sent home after 15 minutes because they did not have a slip from me to confirm this. The teacher then asked if she could resit the detention at another time. I said no because the error was yours as teachers who did not communicate with each other, I had confirmed in writing. There was a lot of back and forth which then ensued.
Anyway, eventually it was stated that either my daughter attended the detention or she 'would be in isolation for a day and if I don't want the latter I should complete the paperwork as requested'. I felt completely silenced. This statement was full of contempt and showed me that what's important to the teachers is that they are obeyed and that they will make a child wrong in order to feel right.
Although the teachers showed no capacity to handle this better it certainly could have. I remain concerned that this is standard behaviour from the teachers and that students and parents could be treated like this under watch of the assistant head teacher (Mrs B) and the then head teacher (Mr S). I would therefore imagine that this is indicative of a toxic culture at the school and that teachers alike receive such treatment if they do not do as told.
I wonder where the space is for compromise and what type of climate this then creates in the school? And therefore how ultimately this affects the children who are most vulnerable of all.
I even considered pulling my daughter out of the school as I was so concerned. (Other staff involved/aware: Mrs B, PA to then headteacher, Mrs W (JAW), Mrs A, HofY).
You'll get depression here
This school is questionable. They don't care for your mental health. They just push you and push you to "succeed" when really it's just extreme pressure and expectations too high. Some of these teachers actually show their hate for kids and teens on a daily basis someone could literally die and the school would probably just try to keep their reputation. Detentions and certain punishments are unfair and teachers favourite students when there are arguments or disputes. This school needs to fix itself.
So bad
Doesn't care about you at all and we’re very racist towards my black friends. Please don’t send your child here for there safety
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I agree they could communicate with parents a lot better but this is not a concern yet.