Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Lee Grimsditch & Kirsty Bosley

Mum 'disgusted' after ten-year-old is sent 'inappropriately sexual' homework by primary school

A ten-year-old was sent home from primary school with "inappropriately sexual" homework, her mum says.

Annette Farrington, 27, said her daughter brought home the English hand-out just before half term.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, the mum says she saw the creative writing task and felt 'mortified' by it.

The paper was given to the child by staff at the Our Lady and St Philomena's Catholic Primary in Fazakerley and it includes references to terms which could be viewed as sexual.

Annette said: "She got the homework just before half term but because there was so much we had some left over so we were doing it yesterday.

"She was doing work on the Holocaust, and I think it had got mixed up with that.

"When I was looking at it I thought that doesn't even make sense, why it would be there? But after speaking to the school they said it was part of an English lesson giving examples to help kids make their own story."

The homework contained questionable phrases (Annette Farrington)

The paper contains short sentences that describe how somebody might feel.

Under the header "How do I feel?" examples were given that could be deemed inappropriate.

They include "When I ran my hand along it, I...", "She fondled", "I stroked", and "She felt his".

Annette said: "I just said to her we won't do that one today, saying I was confused with it.

"It took me about half an hour as I was in two minds thinking had I been reading into it too much but when I rang the school they said no you're definitely not.

"The deputy head rang me back himself because he was mortified with it.

"He couldn't apologise enough and said they'd been using a service that provides work for home schooling and he was sorry that it had not been noticed before it was sent out to kids.

"I was mortified because at first I thought am I looking at wrong, but I asked a few other people's opinions and I was stunned by it.

"It made me feel a bit disgusted to be honest, because whoever actually provided that work they must have known what they were doing.

"It's strange, surely no one can overlook that. No one could see what's written on that paper and think that's fine."

A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council said: "This resource was included in a paper pack for offline home learning that was sent to a very small number of families in January.

"It had been sourced online by the teacher as part of a set of creative writing prompts and was used to supplement the other work provided.

"The material had not been recommended or provided by the council or School Improvement Liverpool.

"All other families who received this pack have been contacted by the school and asked to remove the worksheet.

"All schools in the city have also been advised to double check any third-party resources and we have alerted the online provider to the issue."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.