A Middleton dad says he is ‘furious’ after his son was sent home for wearing shoes that his school deemed as trainers.
Damion Norbury, says his 15-year-old son Jayden was excluded from Newhouse Academy in Heywood on Thursday (December 2) after teachers said his school shoes were ‘unacceptable’.
Mr Norbury says Jayden has been wearing the shoes since the start of the academic year with no issue and has been left baffled at the school's choice to send him home over the footwear.
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Damion told the MEN: “He’s had them on all year and on Tuesday, the school decided they were trainers.
“There’s absolutely no resemblance to trainers in the shoes, I don’t get where its coming from.
“I had a meeting on Tuesday and I felt disrespected with the way they spoke to me.
“I said he’s happy with the shoes he’s got and he’s comfortable with them.
“So they decided they were either going to exclude him on a fixed term or give him an internal exclusion.
“He went into to school the next day and they tried to give him an internal exclusion which he refused, so they’ve sent him home on a fixed term exclusion but haven’t told us how long for.
“He’s (Jayden) quite annoyed by it, he’s flying, he’s a brilliant pupil, gets all his work done to great standards and now this is standing in the way of him getting good marks.”
Mr Norbury says he has been in a back-and-forth dispute with the school in which he feels his family has been disrespected, but conceded that he has used some ''colourful' language when speaking to the school.
Mr Norbury described his son Jayden as a ‘brilliant’ student, and with GSCEs coming round the corner he’s worried that the fixed term exclusion could hamper his opportunity for good grades.
He also told the MEN that childcare will prove difficult for his family
He said: “I’m furious with this, it’s disrupted our day.
“I have to look after my wife who’s disabled so it’s making it harder.
“I’d send him to my mum, but she’s got enough to do, I’m not putting that on her as well.
“When I’ve been on the phone, I’m not going to lie, I used some colourful language towards them because I was fuming.”
“The shoes have been no problem all year, and now all of a sudden there’s a problem.
“Jayden feels like he’s been spoken down to and he doesn’t want to go back to school, but I can’t let that happen.
“I want them to reinstate him immediately with a full apology.”
A spokesperson for Newhouse Academy said: "The school will not comment on any specific case with a student. However, as a school, we have clear uniform guidance on our website; this includes photographs of acceptable uniform.
"In circumstances where parents/carers need support, we are able to provide shoes from our stock, or in medical circumstances, a payment towards shoes that adhere with the school’s uniform rules."
