A furious mum has called out a Nottingham school for its "outdated policies" after her son was ordered into isolation over his new haircut. Kirsty Sabin, 37, said her 14-year-old son went to the local barbers in Bulwell and chose to have a "simple, short haircut with a single shaved line on the side".
Ms Sabin, a nurse in Bulwell, said the haircut "boosted my son's confidence". But when the teenager turned up to school the next day on Wednesday (December 7), he was told he would be sent into isolation due to his new hairstyle.
Speaking of her anger to the Nottingham Post, the mum labelled Bulwell Academy' s policy as "ridiculous". A spokesperson from the school said its uniform policy had "been in place for a number of years and makes clear that shaved patterns and unnatural hair colouring are not allowed".
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Ms Sabin said: "My son refused to go into isolation out of principle. He did nothing wrong and I supported him in doing that."
Because he refused, the school decided to suspend the pupil "until his hair grows out", Ms Sabin said. "If he goes to school until then he would just go into isolation," she added.
Ms Sabin said her son, who is in year 10, has ADHD and was affected by the incident. She added: "He wrote a letter to the school to tell them how it all made him feel like.
"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." She said that she stands by her son's decision and awaits an apology from the the school and for staff there to "address their outdated policies".
She picked up her son from school at around 8.35am on Wednesday. "On Thursday I have had a meeting with the headteacher," Ms Sabin added.
"I feel like they have failed my son. He is a confident boy but they did not respect that.
"Why can't my son have the hair he wants? While I was waiting to pick up my son, I have noticed that other girls had their hair bleached - so why don't the same rules apply to everyone?
"It is 2022. There is no study showing that a hairstyle has any impact whatsoever on education. But my son missed out on education, he was punished over his hairstyle, he thought he did not deserve to be punished and I support him."
A spokesperson for Bulwell Academy said: “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.”
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