A school’s “disgusting letter” to parents after Storm Franklin left one mum ‘feeling like a bad parent’.
Parents at All Saints Catholic Primary School, in Bootle, Merseyside, received a letter on Monday after the storm battered Britain, bringing winds of up to 70mph.
This was the third storm to hit the country within a week.
In the letter, it explained that the school was ‘staggered’ due to the absences of “many children” The Liverpool Echo reported.
One mum slammed the letter and school’s behaviour, calling it “disgusting”.
"For safety reasons I didn’t want him walking on his own, there were many people who I’m aware have kept their kids off too.
"When I saw the email from the school I was crying to my sister about it because they were making me feel like a bad parent for putting my kid first."
The letter read: "Welcome back to a new half term to all who returned to school this morning. It was lovely to see our children excitedly reunite with their friends and with staff.
"Unfortunately, we have many children absent today, not because of Covid or other illnesses but apparently because of the wind!
"I have to say I find this staggering, not least because most live in very close proximity to school.
"Given the amount of pre-school and school experiences that our children have already missed in the last two years, missing a whole day's learning today is unacceptable.
"For staff, many of whom travelled considerable distances here this morning, eager to introduce new learning topics to their class, it is incredibly frustrating."
The 'tone deaf' letter went on to speak about how they were "in awe" when seeing photographs of children walking barefoot to school "for miles" or "clambering over rubble past bombed out ruins" in war-torn countries.
It said: "I'm always in awe when I see photographs of children and parents around the world who value education so dearly that they walk barefoot for miles or clamber over rubble, past bombed out ruins, in order to get to school.
"I wonder what they might make of our attendance rates in school today."
The mum, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I’ve kept my son off school due to the winds as I work from 8am being a single mum he has to take himself to school.
"For safety reasons I didn’t want him walking on his own, there were many people who I’m aware have kept their kids off too.
"When I saw the email from the school I was crying to my sister about it because they were making me feel like a bad parent for putting my kid first."
"I was shocked at the last bit of the email, there's no comparing kids here and people in really poor countries. It was awful."
All Saints Headteacher Angela Holleran said she regrets any upset caused to parents and explained "it wasn't our intention".
She said: "We are aware that we did experience windy conditions on Monday morning and that the Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for our area, indicating possible low-level impact.
"In line with schools across Sefton, we were open as normal to all pupils. All risk assessments on the site had been completed well in advance of the children arriving.
“All of our staff were in school ready for the start of the new half term, fully expecting pupils to arrive, given that the overwhelming majority live in very close proximity to the school.
"For pupils who did attend, classes went ahead as normal and following a further risk assessment, children were able to play and learn outdoors.
"We regret any upset caused to the parent who felt the need to contact the Liverpool Echo. This was not our intention.
“Pre and post -Covid, our focus was and remains, on the entitlement of every child to a full-time education.
"Governors and staff at All Saints are mindful of the well-established link between school attendance and a happy and successful life. The disruption to children's learning and development, as a result of the pandemic, is significant and far- reaching in all year groups.
"In response, from September 2020, we extended the school day at both ends to provide additional teaching time to all children. Comprehensive tutoring and pastoral programmes have also been implemented across the school to support children.
"We want all children to be in school every day to benefit from as much of this support as possible and we hope parents will work with us to ensure this is the case."
