Mum's fury after school 'punished' and suspended son, 14, over 'simple, short haircut'

A fuming mum has blasted her son's school for having "outdated" uniform policies after he was put into isolation for his new hairstyle.

Kirsty Sabin, 37, said her 14-year-old son had a "simple, short haircut with a single shaved line on the side" at his local barbers in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire which "boosted" his confidence, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

But his teachers were less than impressed when he turned up to Bulwell Academy school the next day on December 7, where he was told he would be given isolation.

He refused to accept the punishment, leading the school to suspend the pupil "until his hair grows out". A spokesperson from the school said the uniform policy makes it clear that pupils are not allowed to have "shaved patterns and unnatural hair colouring".

Bulwell Academy in Nottinghamshire says the policy makes it clear makes "shaved patterns" are banned (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

Mum Kirsty has since gone public with her anger about the decision, and labelled the policy as "ridiculous".

She said: "My son refused to go into isolation out of principle. He did nothing wrong and I supported him in doing that."

Ms Sabin said her son, who is in year 10, has ADHD and was left feeling affected by the incident.

She added that she believed the after-effects of the Covid pandemic on pupils meant the school should relax its rules, saying: "I think they are at such a vulnerable age right now. And they had a long time out of school because of the pandemic - it was hard for them.

"This is a very crucial year for him with GCSEs coming up as well."

Ms Sabin said that she stands by her son's decision and awaits an apology from the school. She wanted staff to "address their outdated policies".

She picked up her son from school at about 8.35am on Wednesday, and said she was expecting a meeting with the headteacher the next day.

Responding to her complaints, a spokesperson for Bulwell Academy told Nottinghamshire Live: “Our uniform policy has been in place for a number of years and makes clear that shaved patterns and unnatural hair colouring are not allowed, and we work hard to ensure that this is made clear to our pupils and their families.

"We continue to work collaboratively with pupils and their parents so that that all pupils are supported to reach their full potential.”