I HAD to write in defence of both the head and staff of Nyland School. People seem very quick to say how bad a school or staff are but rarely do we hear praise for the fantastic job they do. My son attended Nyland School for over three years within that time the level of support given to both him and myself was astounding. Mr Sunners and his staff were always professional and were dedicated in offering the highest level of education they could. They dealt with children fairly but of course had to be firm with them as these pupils had emotional and behavioural problems. I have witnessed staff being hit by pupils and when dealing with this level of behaviour they always remained professional and fair. I never felt my son had been unfairly treated and think it is a sad situation when such great staff are forced out jobs they adore.

Jobs that many teachers don't want to do due to its nature, jobs that require that extra something, something which all staff at Nyland had.

There where many rewards systems put in place by Mr Sunners in order to reinforce good behaviour but unfortunately this did not always work.

Most of these children have been excluded from mainstream school due to them having problems; this could have been mental health problems, autism, but sometimes the fact is they were just plain naughty, but in today's society we are not allowed to say that children are just naughty, they have to have some other problem. Nyland School gave them a chance to have an education, some children did not want this and clowned about constantly but still they were given a chance. Sometimes children had to be restrained in order to avoid them hurting themselves and others or causing damage to property. The staff attended professionally run courses on how to do this and never once did I feel it was done unprofessionally, speaking to my son neither did he. He saw what went on in Nyland School and never saw anything that was inappropriate or unprofessional; in fact he would tell you the complete opposite. My son has become calmer, more willing to learn and has had a good education, he has been given a great start this is due to Mr Sunners and staff at Nyland School. Its about time we celebrated these dedicated teachers and praised the work they have, and should still be doing, with children who have more problems than most. The education system needs more teachers who are willing to take on roles like those at Nyland School not force them to resign or sack them. I have nothing but admiration and could not express my thanks enough to those staff at Nyland School. It is just a very sad day when staff are treated this way and the teaching profession have lost some wonderful, dedicated, professional members.

NICOLA HART

Newtown

Hullavington