Facebook 'attack' page used to wage 'campaign of abuse' against headteacher
A claim for harassment brought by a secondary school headteacher against the parents of two girls who attended his school has settled.
Kevin Flanagan, the headteacher of Pensby High School in Merseyside, brought proceedings against Keith and Stephanie Critchley after they started a campaign seeking to have him removed from the school. The centrepiece of their activities was a ‘Families Fight Flanagan’ Facebook page, which contained an offensive video using material taken from the school’s website as well as posts accusing Mr Flanagan of being a bully and of failing to address their daughters’ needs. The Critchleys had maintained that their conduct was non-harassing and reasonable.
The claim, which was due to be tried by a MAC List judge sitting in Manchester in October 2025, has settled on the basis that the defendants would give wide-ranging undertakings to desist from their conduct and pay Mr Flanagan £10,000 by way of damages and a contribution to his costs.
Mr Flanagan’s claim is believed to be the first in the UK to have been successfully brought by a teacher against a parent over an alleged harassment campaign. It comes at a time when the Department of Education has reported that many teachers feel parents are not supportive of their schools’ behaviour rules and, according to Alistair Wood, chief executive of Edapt (which offers legal support to teachers), “declining trust in institutions, heightened parental expectations, and the breakdown of external support services, which leave schools managing challenges beyond their remit”.
The case has attracted widespread interest in the media, including in the Sunday Times, the BBC and the Liverpool Echo.
Godwin Busuttil of 5RB was instructed for Mr Flanagan by Nick McAleenan of Brabners.