Parents outraged after headteacher pretended to phone God about naughty children

The headmistress of St Joseph's Roman Catholic Primary School in Devizes, Wiltshire, has been accused of making children lie face down on the floor while she pretended to ring God on her mobile phone to say they have been naughty. Parents say they were outraged that head Sheila Jones humiliated their children and have written to Ofsted and the school governors. Ofsted has asked Wiltshire Council's safeguarding team to look into a number of complaints made by parents.



Tammy Brimble, whose son Cyrus, 11, was one of those who received the punishment in the prayer room at the school, said: "I don't think this was at all appropriate. We are not Roman Catholics but it was still distressing for my child for her to call on God like that. I didn't find out about it until we got home. Cyrus was very quiet and I could tell something was bothering him. When he told me what had happened to him and three other boys I was upset about the treatment but I wanted to find out why she did it.

"He didn't think he had done anything wrong so I tried to speak to Mrs Jones about it but she refused to talk to me." She said she made a number of attempts to speak to the head but eventually wrote a letter of complaint and later complained to the governors and Ofsted. Another parent Alexandra Jones, said: "All the children were whispering about something and then it came out that Sheila had made some of them lie face down in the prayer room while she pretended to ring God on her mobile phone." She has also made an official complaint to Ofsted about the head.



Colette Culligan, chairman of the governors, said: “The governors of St Joseph’s Primary School are aware of an allegation against one of the teaching staff. In order to follow due process, all enquiries regarding this issue need to be directed to Wiltshire Council. This is to ensure that any investigation currently being conducted is not unduly influenced.” A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “Once we have received the letter from Ofsted we will look into any concerns raised.”