SUPPORT PETER HARVEY

Peter Harvey (pictured) and [PUPIL'S NAME WITHHELD*] have shown us very clearly where Great British
society is going.

50-year-old Peter Harvey had taught science for over twenty years. During this time his authority had
been eroded by successive governments and “do-gooders”. He couldn’t use physical punishment on
disruptive kids, nor keep them after school on detention, he couldn’t even use red ink to mark their
books in case it upset the little darlings in his charge. They could put up two fingers (metaphorically or
literally) at him and he was not allowed to do a thing about it. But he could expect to be in trouble
if his SATs results are below the “national average.”

From December 2008 until April 2009 he had been off sick, with the stress of trying to teach a crowd of
disrespectful little oiks day in, day out. Having recently returned to work it was obvious that all was not
well. He was spotted muttering to himself in the school corridors, and had developed a twitch. The kids
had noticed the change in his personality, but it seems that his superiors chose not to notice it, and kept
him on the front line as his condition deteriorated.

14-year-old [PUPIL'S NAME WITHHELD*], a pupil in his science class, watched as a girl swore at him and tore up a school text book. She stuffed it in her bag and refused Mr Harvey’s demands that she hand it to him. The class then taunted him, singing “looking at a psycho in a mirror”, a take-off of a Michael Jackson song. At this point the “good quiet lad” (his family's description!!!) told him to “F*ck off” and this dedicated hard-working teacher’s career was over.

Mr Harvey finally cracked, and attacked [PUPIL'S NAME WITHHELD*] with a 3 kg dumbell, causing life-threatening injuries. He was charged with attempted murder, and his trial finally started on Monday 26th April 2010 - over nine months after the incident, during which time Mr Harvey was held in prison.

Kids everywhere now know that they can do absolutely anything they like and no one can legally touch them for it. If anyone dares to confront an under-16 they can be prosecuted, and usually are.

Teachers cannot discipline kids, because they will get no support from the so-called parents. These are the apathetic, scrounging, foul-mouthed, trash that let their kids roam the streets until all hours of the night, not caring where they are or what they are doing, and woe-betide anyone who dares to criticise them. The Police are equally powerless. Even if they arrest the scumbags, the most they can expect is an “ASBO” or supervision order. And an ASBO is the only qualification these wastes of space will ever achieve!

The BBC even broadcast a programme telling kids their rights, making them aware that bus drivers cannot refuse to let them travel just because they can’t (or won’t) pay the fare. Under 16’s cannot be ejected from public transport even if they are blatantly causing trouble. In fact, under-16’s can do what the hell they like and no one can stop them without being accused of "child abuse".

So where was the help and support – the duty of care – that Peter Harvey’s employers owed him? Why was he still active in the classroom when he was obviously not in a fit condition?

Maybe the attempted murder charge was a good tactical move by the Police. Murder is usually pre-meditated, this incident obviously wasn’t. So if real justice is done, the charge would not stick and Mr Harvey would be free to get the help he needs.

On July 27th, Mr Harvey appeared in court and was remanded to appear in the last week of September. No application was made for bail. Subsequently he was remanded again to appear in November, then again on 18th December 2009. After nine months in jail his trial has finally ended on 29th April 2010! Meanwhile [NAME WITHHELD FOR LEGAL REASONS*] is back at school and free, in spite of being revealed as a serial trouble-maker.

STOP PRESS: (26th May 2010) Finally, Mr Harvey has been found NOT GUILTY of attempted murder, and NOT GUILTY of GBH with intent. His guilty plea of GBH without intent was accepted and he was released. Judge Stokes passed sentence on 24th May. He said, "You are a thoroughly decent man and for well over 20 years you have been a dedicated and successful school teacher...... you were suffering from depression, stress and a serious lack of confidence." He was given a two-year community order. Now he has to face a disciplinary hearing with his employer, and will never work with children again. At last, a spark of commonsense in the British Justice System. We could do with more like Judge Stokes.

*PUPIL'S NAME WITHHELD - The name of the pupil allegedly injured by Mr Harvey has been visible on this page since July 2009. However, on 28th April 2010, I received an e-mail from Nottinghamshire Police informing me that "since December 18 2009 there has been a section 39 order in place (ordered by Judge Stokes) preventing the publication of any details that could lead to the identification of the alleged victim in relation to the Peter Harvey case". Needless to say I speedily removed it!! However, I still hold the opinion that Mr Harvey is the victim here and [PUPIL'S NAME WITHHELD*] simply reaped the consequences of his own actions - but that is just my opinion.

Meanwhile, there is a group on Facebook called “Justice and Support for Peter Harvey”, which has attracted 3064 members (as of 26th May 2010). If you are on Facebook, please join. You can also view it without logging in on www.peterharvey.org.uk  (This Facebook Group will be archived and taken off-line during 2011).

If not, send your messages of support to justiceforpeterharvey@dns-squared.co.uk   Failing that, send them to me, I will forward them to his home address.

MESSAGES OF SUPPORT
Below are some messages that I have received through this website. I will pass them on to Mr Harvey in due course.
1. From RJ (Bury-St Edmunds): Please extend my sincere best wishes to Peter and his family. Common sense has prevailed, I hope he can rebuild his life in the knowledge that many people who he has never met wish him all the best.
2. From J (Glasgow): Just heard the brilliant news that teacher Harvey has been found not guilty! Thank goodness that Jury understood what was going on in: a). that man's life and b). that classroom that day. I hope Mr H can get his life back together and move on. It's time people took responsibility for their actions - whether they be 13 or 113 ! Please send best wishes to Mr. H who has clearly inspired many kids who wanted to learn and had parents who taught them that they were in school to learn, NOT to abuse their teachers!
3. From VB (Burntwood, Staffs): Thank God for the right verdict, I have a son who is a Head Teacher, his wife also a teacher; she has told us of behaviour that is hard to comprehend by children as young as five, they are both committed people to their profession and I know make a valuable contribution to the young lives they have in their care. My generation knew and understood the meaning of good behaviour and had parents that supported our teachers.....I hope that this terrible incident is never repeated and that Peter in time finds the peace he so deserves from the support shown by so many people that care about him and his family....
4. From A (Rotherham):  Congratulations to Mr Harvey. I wish you all the very best for the future. We live in times where a lack of discipline in the home is reflected in behaviour in the classroom. Parents need to support schools more and stop taking their child's side and children need to take responsiblility for their actions. Students seem to know all their rights but not their responsibilites. I wish you well Mr Harvey

Schoolkids are not just out of control in the classroom. Click HERE to see what happened on an Arriva-Yorkshire school bus recently. This article in the Wakefield Express tells how the 67-year-old bus driver disarmed a 13-year-old maniac with a knife!

And to the thicko who sent me a "message" at 4.00 am recently littered with obscenities and malicious comments, I would say that you are a symptom of the sickness in our society that leads to decent people like Peter Harvey being pushed over the edge. But you probably don't have the intelligence to understand this paragraph, and you can't have much of a life if you're sending rubbish like that at 4 o'clock in the morning. I've spotted your rants on Facebook as well but won't give you the pleasure of having your name published on here. However, your details have been passed to the Police.......