A parent has come out in support of an “incredibly positive” headteacher who was heavily criticised in a letter to governors.

Jacqueline Treacy began working at Christ Church Primary School, in Barnet, in September 2014 after the previous headteacher left.

But in a scathing letter written to the board of governors, parents raised serious concerns about what they perceive to be a number of failings within the school.

Katie Goodson-Thomas, who has a ten-year-old daughter in year 5, said she despised the “group mentality” and that she disagreed with points in the letter.

Speaking in support of Ms Treacy, she said: “I’m not criticising the parents who wrote the letter but don’t think we need to gaggle together. That group mentality can be very dangerous. Parents arguing make things unpleasant for those at the school.

“Why are they trying to embarrass someone into doing something? Some of the comments people have written about her are awful and simply untrue.

“I’ve had a one-to-one with her and I’ve been very impressed. I thought she was well spoken and informative. I find her very reasonable. She's actually incredibly positive. As adults, that’s how we should approach things.”

Ms Goodson-Thomas’s daughter is in the class that has not had a teacher since term began, but she says Ms Treacy is doing a “fantastic” job at running the school.

In the letter, parents claimed that four teachers and assistants have resigned since Ms Treacy joined in September, but that parents were not told.

However Barnet Borough Council now say that two teachers were promoted elsewhere and two left to take on other opportunities.

They say that whenever staff leave, parents are informed either in a letter or in a newsletter.

Ms Goodson-Thomas added: “Ms Treacy understands boundaries and she’s just trying to assert them. We’ve got to give her a chance and respect the fact that she’s doing her best.

“If one talks to her about why teachers are leaving she’s got a very open view on that. We’re not trained to say how the school is going to be run.

“We should be trying to support the school rather than criticise it. We’re going through a hard and dark time which is frightening for the children, but we should help the school, not attack it.

“There’s a fine line between being constructive and bullying and we must make sure we don’t cross that.

“I am uncomfortable that this has become a personal attack on a good headteacher who doesn’t deserve this. I for one want to say thank you to her – that’s not a word we hear enough in the playground.”