Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of the stories we think you might have missed.
“We feel we are not being listened to. The emotional toll – last year I went off sick because of it. I couldn’t keep children safe anymore.”
Teaching staff at two Greater Manchester primary schools say attacks on their colleagues have reached such a point that they now fear what each working day could have in store. They say their concerns are not being listened to – and in some cases, they claim they are being blamed for episodes of violent or disruptive behaviour.
Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed. Over the weekend we published a story from Stephen Topping and George Lythgoe about staff who are on strike at two Greater Manchester schools. The staff allege that rising violence, a lack of support and fear for their safety have pushed them to industrial action. It’s a fascinating and worrying story – you can read it HERE.
The Manchester Evening News has been covering the problems with GMP’s iOPS system since it was brought in, with some fanfare in July 2019. It cost the force a whopping £27m and was meant to drag GMP kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Instead, writes John Scheerhout, it brought the force to its knees. Now, seven years later there is still no sign of its replacement.
On the subject of GMP, Neal Keeling’s premium feature this morning is a hard but important read about how officers investigating child abuse and managing offenders are increasingly suffering a psychological toll.
Neal reveals how these officers are supported and offered help in these most-demanding but important areas.
Another of our special reports over the weekend focused on the ‘speeding for clicks’ phenomenon, whereby people post videos on social media showing them travelling at ridiculous speeds on public roads.
Stephen Topping wrote about some of the most disturbing and horrifying cases involving such videos.
Did you know Levenshulme has a waterfall? No, me neither. Described as the Niagara of the North and a stunning natural wonder a wooden signpost in Highfield County Park now directs you to the Levenshulme waterfall.
This “iconic” south Manchester landmark has been described by one Reddit user as Mancunians’ “refusal to be serious about anything”.
The “waterfall” in question is barely knee-height but that hasn’t stopped people who stumble over it admiring its sheer majesty, as evident in the Google reviews for the landmark.
Read this wonderfully weird tale from Lee Grimsditch HERE.
