Pupils punished for having too shiny shoes at ‘one of Britain’s strictest schools’
Parents say their children’s human rights are being breached at King Edward VI Academy
Pupils are being punished for having shiny shoes and given oversized “clown trousers” if theirs are too tight at “one of Britain’s strictest schools”, it is claimed.
Parents say their children’s human rights are being breached at King Edward VI Academy (KEVI) in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, with the misuse of isolations and suspensions.
One parent said her child was reprimanded for her shoes being too shiny while another was forced to colour in a white Nike tick on her socks with a black marker.
A mother also claimed her daughter was suspended from the school for going to the toilet without permission, despite having a medical pass.
Another girl was put into isolation for her trousers being “too skinny” and given a pair of adult size 12s to wear instead which made her “look like a clown”.
Charlie Rich, 45, and wife Emma, 35, started a Facebook group to find out if other families had concerns with the school’s use of sanctions back in June.
Within a matter of weeks, they had 140 mothers and fathers in the group telling their own stories and a letter of complaint to the school was signed by 70 parents.
Father-of-three Charlie, a sales director, said the school could be one of the strictest in Britain. He said: “Our kids are not bad kids but their school life became miserable.
“I started the discussion group because I thought we can’t be the only parents going through this.
“I knew our children were not difficult children at home – they were not naughty children.
“We believe in discipline but it needs to be proportionate and fair.
“We moved one of our daughters from a grammar school and within a few months of being at this school she had been suspended 17 times and put it isolation 30.
“The reasons just seemed extreme so we started a Facebook page and in no time we had 140 people sharing their stories.
“All of our sudden what was happening to our kids looked minor in comparison.
“We fully support a reasonable behaviour policy – but the school has taken it beyond the realms of reasonable.
“We’ve had girls being refused access to the toilet at times of the month they shouldn’t be refused, which is a breach of their human rights.
“One girl was forced to colour in the white Nike tick on her socks. The teacher even offered to take her to a shop to buy new ones there and then.
“It’s just so over the top. The correct response would be to send a letter home or say ‘if you wear those tomorrow, then you’ll be put in isolation’.
“When they made one girl forcibly change her trousers as they were too tight, that is just degrading. And the ones they gave were ridiculously baggy, like clown trousers.
“Again a polite request to not wear them again would suffice. We are not against the uniform policy or the behaviour policy - it is just not being implemented properly.
“Discipline is being handed out disproportionally and unfairly in a lot of cases and over used for minor misdemeanours.
“Things have slightly improved this term but there’s still a long way to go.”
Hairdresser Emma added: “It’s just go out of the classroom to isolation - and that can’t be the answer every time.
“Seeing your children being broken down - you are sending them everyday to somewhere where you know they are going to have the worst day.
“And that’s horrible as a mum.”
Another mother, called Gemma, said her daughter was suspended for going to the toilet without permission, despite having a medical pass.
She told the BBC: “Unfortunately, the school take it beyond the realms of reasonable and it’s detrimental to the kids’ mental health.
“It’s against basic human rights. She’s got a medical toilet pass for a reason.”
In another incident, she said her daughter was placed in isolation as a punishment for not completing her homework.
She said her daughter had weak eyesight and had been unable to read the “small” text on the worksheet.
She added: “It angers me because it’s not a behavioural issue.
“Every phone call from their number makes my stomach turn.
“No children are perfect especially not teenagers but there are ways to handle this and battles to pick.”
Another parent Alex said on social media: “When they gave my daughter the school trousers she had to wear them over her trousers as they were too short her.
“They are humiliating the kids.”
A spokesman for KEVI said: “At KEVI, we work hard to create a respectful and purposeful culture in which students can learn and reach their full potential.
“This begins at the start of the school day when pupils are met by staff and offered welfare support and replacement uniform if they have incorrect items.
“We have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and always seek to reward pupils’ good conduct, with positive reinforcement far outweighing any sanctions. Pupils are taken out of class where they are disrupting others from learning.
“These pupils are offered restorative conversations to help them learn how to improve their behaviour after which they continue their education under supervision.
“Suspensions are used proportionally to help keep the academy calm and safe, and as behaviour has improved, the number of these has fallen significantly.”
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