Naughty pupils made to stand in the cold

Bywell Junior School sent a letter to parents this week explaining what had happened and that children would not be sent out again without coats, but not everyone is satisfied.

Mum Kimberley Pickles said: “We understand that children are noisy. If they have to be punished that’s fair enough.

“What I’m annoyed about is that my seven-year-old daughter has been made to stand outside for 20 minutes with no coat on.”

She said she also thought it was unfair that the whole class had been punished for the behaviour of a few pupils.

The class of year three pupils had been queueing outside the dinner hall last Thursday when some pupils started making noise.

Lunchtime supervisors moved the whole class to the back of the queue at first, but all the pupils were sent outside when some of them continued to misbehave.

The children were not given the chance to get their coats or outside shoes, and were kept outside for around 20 minutes.

A school spokeswoman said: “A letter was sent from the headteacher to parents explaining the situation.

“Staff were reminded of the school procedures about outdoor clothing and footwear and have been informed that if a similar sanction for poor behaviour is taken in the future, they must ensure that the children wear their coats and shoes”.