AN MP has used Parliamentary privilege to launch an extraordinary attack on the interim head of a school in her constituency.

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman raised a point of order in the House of Commons to state that Whitworth Park School headmaster David Stone and his deputy Amy Aspland had pressurised teachers, pupils and parents not to contact her – something denied by the school – and were interrogating them about the content of any conversations.

The MP, who said the school, in Spennymoor, had gone through a period of considerable turmoil, also claimed teachers had been accused of radicalising children.

She said: “Even prisoners are allowed to have confidential communications with their constituency member of parliament.

“Further more quite misleadingly people have been accused of radicalisation which is the language the Government intends to prevent extremist terrorism.”

The MP asked deputy speaker Eleanor Laing if she agreed that all citizens had a right to contact their MP and it was essential for the health of our democracy.

Mrs Laing replied that constituents should be able to contact their elected representative in every case without fear of reprisal.

She said: “It is clearly wrong of anyone, let alone public sector employees, to make any attempt to intimidate constituents in order to stop them contacting us [MPs].”

In 2016 inspectors found Whitworth Park School – which is due to join the Advance Learning Partnership multi-academy trust in September – to have serious weaknesses, while poor exam results also led to the closure of its sixth form.

Pupils also staged a protest to voice their anger after learning that three popular teachers were being made redundant in a restructuring.

However there was better news earlier this month when following a fresh inspection Mr Stone and other leaders were praised for taking decisive action to begin addressing the fundamental weaknesses previously identified.

Steve Shaw, Her Majesty’s chief inspector of education, also said positive steps had been taken to improve the quality of teaching and learning and there had been signs of improvement in the engagement of boys and pupils’ progress overall.

Ms Goodman recently submitted a Freedom of Information request to the school, asking 25 questions in order to gather the full facts about its previous difficulties, which she said was necessary to understand its position and the best course of action to take.

But she has yet to receive a reply and said letters she had written to Mr Stone, the school’s chair of governors and the local education authority, Durham County Council, had received no substantive response.

The MP told The Northern Echo: “It is always going to concern me if people try and discourage my constituents from bringing their concerns to me and this is what I was referring to.

“I have never before had a situation where the person complained about, instead of dealing with the complaint in a professional manner, than flips back against the person who is doing the complaining.

“These people haven’t even answered my letters and obviously don’t see themselves as having any sort of accountability.

“This is not about me having an argument with the headteacher, this is about me trying to represent the interests of my constituents.

“He [Mr Stone] and the school seem to find difficulty in accepting this is my role and responding appropriately.”

She said a major issue at the 800-pupil school had been the level of staff turnover and she also wished to know if the closure of the sixth form was temporary or permanent, as she felt strongly the facility should be retained.

Margaret Whellans, Durham County Council’s corporate director of children and young people’s services, said: “We are aware of Mrs Goodman’s comments and have been assured by the site’s leadership that at no point have parents, young people or staff been discouraged from exercising their democratic right to contact her.

“We were pleased to learn that Ofsted found improvements to both standards and leadership at the school following an inspection last month and we remain committed to working with the leadership and the academy trust which takes over the site from September to ensure a smooth transition and that the best interests of pupils continue to be put first.”

County Councillor Olwyn Gunn, cabinet member for children and young people's services, added: “I support Helen Goodman one hundred per cent in her electorate having unrestricted access to their MP and to their county councillors.

“If anyone has any evidence that they are being deterred from this access, I would encourage them to contact me through Durham County Council.

“My office will be contacting Helen to discuss the issues she has raised.”

:: Ms Goodman is holding a private meeting for parents at the school at 6pm in Spennymoor Town Hall on Thursday (19) evening.