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Thoughts about the letter?
A headteacher has been branded ‘cruel’ on social media for punishing children whose parents are unable to pay for school lunches.
Single mum, Dionne Kelly, claimed she received a ‘threatening’ letter from Michaela community school in Wembley for falling behind on her child’s school dinner payments, reports Mail Online.
The letter warns that if the overdue fee of £75 is not paid up, her son will be placed on ‘lunch isolation’ for an hour and given a restricted meal, which consists of a sandwich and a piece of fruit.
But headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh received a huge public backlash after the ‘unforgivable’ letter was posted to Twitter.
Dionne claimed she received the letter only two weeks after Reon had started at the school, and had not yet registered for free school meals.
Despite the mother paying the outstanding amount, she claimed her 12-year-old son was still punished.
She told Mail Online: ‘I found the letter quite threatening. Isolating children for their parents not paying upfront is degrading. It’s embarrassing for poor families.’
The letter, signed by deputy head Barry Smith, told the mother: ‘If the full amount is not received within this week your child will be placed into Lunch Isolation.’
The mother has since moved her son to a different school.
Thoughts about the letter?