Parents have criticised a secondary school for 'pedantic' rules they say are making pupils' lives a misery.
Almost 200 people have signed a petition about school rules and inadequate meals at Co-op Academy Swinton.
They say the return to the Salford school this academic year has 'been marred by the introduction of several new rules and omissions in duty of care to the children'.
Among the issues highlighted by the parents are pupils having to line up outside while bags are checked to make sure everyone has the necessary equipment.
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"If raining - this means damp/wet clothing and discomfort for the child who is trying to concentrate on their lessons," it says.
The parents say certain styles of school bags and shoes have been banned - measures they claim are 'petty and unreasonable' - and have questioned why it's 'necessary to punish a willing student when their education has been so severely disrupted this past 20 months'.
'Poor provision of school meals' is another issue raised in the petition, as well as children not having enough time to eat and visit the toilet on their 35-minute lunch break.
"Children, other than Year 7s (who are given an additional 10 minutes to access lunch) expecting to receive a hot healthy meal at school so far this term have been woefully disappointed," it says.
"JB's and the food ‘hut’ have offered poor choice, very limited hot food, and items with questionable nutritional value. It is surely inappropriate for children to stand in a lengthy queue, especially in colder months, to be offered little choice and no hot food, then to concentrate on lessons with empty stomachs?
"Surely an educational setting should be able to offer each child a nutritious hot meal, appropriate time to eat their food, and a comfortable environment to consume it."
The petition was launched by a group of mums including Anna-Marie Evans, Anna Anobile and Ann Roughley.
"We were fed up seeing messages from parents on Facebook complaining about the issues and the school doing nothing about it," said Anna-Marie, whose daughters are in Years 9 and 10.
"We wanted to see if the issues were more widespread and we found they were.
"We are concerned that there is a lack of duty and care and the school has a failure to accept the strength of feeling from parents and families. We accept rules are needed but with the effects of Covid still being felt on most families extra pressures aren’t needed."
She added: "Children have been so detrimentally affected by Covid-19, both mentally, socially, and physically that it is our priority to ensure they receive the best education and the best care whilst at school, to bring them back together and to facilitate learning.
"Pedantic rules, lack of hot nutritious food, and inability to carry out hand washing and self care go completely against this."
Anna-Marie said she and the other mums have complained to the school via telephone and email, but the issues remain.
"Food still isn’t resolved as I know from my daughter telling me today and having the chat with the year head who said I should 'consider packed lunches, I know in winter this isn’t ideal but as least she is getting something to eat'.
"We just want the issues highlighted and the children kept warm, fed and less anxious."
A spokesperson for Co-op Academies Trust said: "We are always improving the standards at Co-op Academy Swinton. The changes we’ve made this year are in response to feedback from parents and students.
"These changes are inline with most other schools nationally but we are going above and beyond in ‘poverty proofing’ our school. Children who arrive without equipment are provided with it. Those who cannot afford school shoes or a rucksack will be given them for free.
"At the beginning of the year we had an issue with tills at two of our five serving stations which led to some delays with students getting meals in those areas - but no student went without. This is now resolved and all meals this week have been served with an ample amount of lunchtime remaining.
"Where parents raise concerns we respond to these individually to reassure them."
All students at the school benefit from a free breakfast at JB's Cafe, which is served from 7.30am to 8.15am Monday to Friday.
They're able to choose from bagels and toast with various toppings, a range of cereals, fresh fruit, hot drinks and fresh juice.
