A dad says he is embroiled in an “ongoing battle” with his child’s school after his son was given detention for complaining about freezing classrooms.
John Kidger revealed his irritation after his 12-year-old son was reprimanded twice for “disturbing” the class when he raised issue about the lack of heat in the classroom.
The 33-year-old voiced his concerns last month following the incident hearing complaints from his son but says the matter has been “ongoing” ever since.
Mr Kidger, who is a postman, has since set up a Facebook group where parents have echoed his concerns, after he heard he was not the only parent complaining.
John told Nottingham Post : “It has been an ongoing battle since then.
“My son said he was cold when he came home one day.
“And the following morning, I went into the school just to talk to the headteacher and explain that my son said he was cold.
“It was minus three degrees outside and snowing.”
When the father asked the school if his son could wear a coat over his uniform in the class but it was refused by Farnborough Spencer Academy.
The worried dad said he was not the only one complaining about it, and he has since set up a Facebook group where parents have echoed his concerns.
The Clifton dad added: “I asked them if they could at least let the children wear their coats over the uniform - but it got rejected straight away.
“They said they made an amendment to the uniform policy allowing children to wear unbranded jumpers and a hoodie underneath the blazer, but that they were not going to commit any children to wear anything on top of the blazer.
“I suggested that the jumper and hoodie were not suitable insulation for the children, but they did not address that at all.”
A week later, Mr Kidger said he received a call from the school, informing him that his son has been given detention for “disturbing the class” by saying it was cold.
“I just could not believe that he has been given a detention for complaining about being cold,” he added.
“And that it disturbed the class, and he got penalised for it.
“I went down to the school and picked him up because I was not going to tolerate that.
“I am just not happy with how they addressed the issue - where do you draw the line?”
He also added that he is now concerned for his child’s safety based on how his complaints were addressed by the school.
“They made it out that I am an awkward parent and my son is an awkward child, rather than accepting that I am a concerned parent who is looking after the welfare of his child.”
Mr Kidger said he was notified on two occasions via the school’s app that his child “raised concerns about being cold and disturbed the class” which resulted him in having detention.
“It is a draconian tactic,” he added.
“I am just concerned because it is just the beginning of winter - what are they going to do in January and February?
“I have not challenged that they have got the windows open because of the Covid restrictions.
“I totally understand that their hands are tied to a certain extent.
“But amending a uniform policy just slightly for the next three or four months if the children need to wear a coat - I think that is pretty reasonable.
“The welfare of the children should be paramount over anything else.”
In response to these concerns, a spokesperson for Farnborough Spencer Academy said: “Unfortunately, data protection means that we are always unable to comment on individual cases.
“That said, we made an adjustment to our uniform policy so that students can wear additional jumpers and hoodies (including their own), when classrooms feel cold.
“Their well-being is always paramount and public health advice is that ventilation is key to keeping our students and staff safe.
“We are grateful that the vast majority of families continue to work in partnership with us at what is a very challenging time for all.
“This means that we can be proud of the progress our students are making and their resilience at this time.”
