Had Mike Kent seen Katharine Birbalsingh’s performance at the Tory party conference (“Scapegoat deputy was right to fight”, October 15)? Since when did showing a photo of a vulnerable young person, indentifying him by name, holding him up to public ridicule and encouraging an audience to laugh at him become acceptable, professional practice from anyone working in a school?

I used to work with boys with emotional and behavioural difficulties, many of whom had anger management issues and who would not be able to speak in an articulate way about their problems. I cannot believe Ms Birbalsingh can have clearly explained the context in which she proposed showing the photo. Had a child of mine been exploited in this way I would have been up in arms.

Barbara Veale, London.