Taken From Home in Front of Children
Two parents were arrested by six police officers and held in custody for 11 hours — all because of messages sent in a school WhatsApp group. Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine were detained on suspicion of harassment and malicious communications on January 29 after exchanging texts with other parents about Cowley Hill Primary School in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
Footage showed the couple being taken from their home while their three-year-old daughter cried. They were later released without charge. Police have now admitted there was no case to answer.
Complaints Over Headteacher Hiring
The drama began when Mr Allen, a former school governor, raised concerns about the recruitment of a new headteacher. He questioned why there was no open process six months after the previous head had announced retirement. When the school did not respond to his concerns, he and Levine took to a parents’ WhatsApp group to vent their frustration.
“They Seriously Need to Get Lives”
In screenshots seen by Metro, Rosalind Levine wrote:
“Maybe there’s other stuff too doing on. No idea. But what I do know is they can’t control what anyone says. Anywhere.”
She added:
“Love the way [they] have her little spies in WhatsApp and Facebook groups to keep an eye on what’s being said 😂 They seriously need to get lives lol.”
Mr Allen chimed in:
“No public body has the power to control what people say about it.”
School Threatens ‘Action’
In the group, Levine joked:
“Can you imagine what the ‘action’ they say they’ll take? ‘Hello 999? One of the school mums said something mean about me in a school mum WhatsApp group. Please can you arrest them?’”
The school had warned that “inflammatory and defamatory” comments on social media would not be tolerated. Levine and Allen were banned from school grounds — meaning they missed their daughter Sascha’s Christmas play and parents’ evening.
Police Drop Case, Parents Demand Answers
The couple were later told the investigation was being dropped due to a lack of evidence. A 55-year-old woman arrested separately will face no further action.
The couple have since moved their daughter to another school and are calling for transparency from both the school and the police. Mr Allen said the entire situation was an attempt “to silence parents”.
School and Police Respond
Cowley Hill Primary School said: “We sought advice from the police following a high volume of direct correspondence and public social media posts from two parents, as this was becoming upsetting for staff, parents and governors.”
Hertfordshire Police added: “The arrests were necessary to fully investigate the allegations… Following further investigations, officers deemed that no further action should be taken.”
