A DALE village school has been criticised by parents who say their children were “segregated” at a father’s day lunch because they didn’t have a male figure to join them.
The event was held at Cockfield Primary School last Wednesday (June 13), when dads, grandads, uncles and brothers were invited for dinner.
Some parents were left angered after discovering that their children had been made to eat their dinner in a separate classroom because they did not have a male role model in attendance.
However, headteacher Kathryn Heatherington explained that this was due to lack of space and some of the children enjoyed lunch with their teachers.
She said: “Alongside many other schools, we invite all pupils to bring a dad, uncle, grandad, brother or even a male friend each year on Father’s Day for a celebratory lunch.
“We do exactly the same each Mother’s Day when children can bring their mum, sister, aunty, grandma or a female friend – both are very popular with the pupils and those they bring with them.
“On this occasion, due to the sheer number of people present and the size of our dining room, arrangements had to be made for some people to eat elsewhere in the school and pupils who were not able to bring someone enjoyed their lunch with staff.”
Cherylanne Lowther says her ten-year-old son Cameron was left upset.
She said: “Cameron is affected by father’s day every year. He got put into a classroom to have lunch. He was not able to have anyone there and it is like he was punished. I am not happy about it.”
Cameron’s aunt, Kirsty Lowther, complained to the school and will write to the school governors and Ofsted to voice her concerns.
She said: “This has been going on for a couple of years now. We have been into the school before to express our concerns and it fell on deaf ears. To put them in a separate classroom beggars belief.
“What about single mothers who play mam and dad and don’t have that male role figure? It is like the children and the parents are being punished and discriminated against.”
Mrs Lowther, who is mother to one-year-old Joey with her wife Stephanie, believes the event should be changed to a “bring someone special to school” lunch.
She said: “Joey will never have a male figure. Why should I have to go to my brother or my dad to step in when me and my wife play mam and dad?
“Joey is happy and healthy and gets everything he wants but he does not have a dad. Does that make it wrong? I don’t think so.”
Similarly, Katie Burton spoke out after her seven-year-old son Jack was also separated from the rest of the school.
Ms Burton said: “Jack was affected a lot by it last year due to not having a father in his life.
“I went to the school to make sure people who didn’t have a dad there weren’t going to be excluded from the rest. I was told they would be sat with the others in the hall as normal. This wasn’t the case.
“They were excluded into a classroom out the way of the rest and once again he came home upset.”
Mrs Lowther added: “If you were in a new job and you didn’t have a mother or a father and the company made you sit on your own rather than with other staff in the staff room it would be wrong.
“Don’t our kids deserve the same respect?”
