Parents’ fury over pupils made to sit in ‘freezing’ classrooms with coats on after
Primary school pupils had to wear coats indoors to try and keep warm in ‘freezing’ classrooms after the heating system packed up leaving parents furious.
The broken heating system at the school in Plymouth meant parents were told via social media to send their children to school with an extra layer of clothing.
This was met with fury from parents who say their children have been left ill due to the cold conditions at Weston Mill Community Primary Academy.
The school, part of the Discovery Multi Academy Trust, has admitted there was an ‘issue with the heating’ but said it has now been fixed.
It comes as hundreds of schools are closed today due to widespread snow across the UK in the worst cold snap of the winter so far.
One mother, Sarah-Jane Dore, from Keyham, has kept her four children at home today, with one daughter, Annabelle, poorly with asthma, which she attributes to the cold temperatures at the Plymouth school yesterday.
‘She was up all night coughing,’ said Mrs Dore.
‘She was in class yesterday with no heating and her coat on, and has been telling us how cold she was. It’s ridiculous.’
The school, part of the Discovery Multi Academy Trust, has admitted there was an ‘issue with the heating’ but said it has now been fixed.
Mrs Dore has informed Plymouth City Council and Ofsted of the situation and said she is considering moving her children to another school.
She said did not know about the problem until she saw other parents discussing it on social media last night.
When she asked her daughter Annabelle, she told her that children had been wearing coats in class.
‘I was raging,’ Mrs Dore said.
‘I could not sleep last night knowing my kids were sitting in classrooms with coats on, freezing cold and we were not told about it.’
On the school’s social media posts, many parents and carers reacted angrily to not being informed of the issue yesterday.
Jessika Bailey posted: ‘Issue with the heating? It was broken and loads of parents are being told our kids were freezing even in coats and jackets yesterday.
‘Not even an email sent out to the parents and some parents have children with health conditions.’
Natasha Locock wrote: ‘I can’t believe we weren’t informed of this.
‘Had to hear it from our kids that they were sat freezing in class yesterday.’
Kim Turner said: ‘I think it’s awful you didn’t let the parents know.
‘I have also emailed you and you’ve ignored me.
‘Is the heating working or not? If not the children shouldn’t be made to come in, it’s freezing.’
The school this morning posted a statement on social media which said: ‘The children had a great first day yesterday full of tales from their holiday breaks.
‘We were very happy to have everyone back in school even though we experienced an issue with the heating.
‘Please send your child into school with an extra layer today so they have this handy if the problem persists.
‘The heating engineers were working late into the afternoon yesterday so we are hopeful that everything will be back up and running as usual today.
‘Rest assured, we will continue to work hard to resolve this if the problem persists and will keep you up to date.
‘With more cold weather predicted today, please remember to take extra care on your way into school this morning.’
The school later followed this up by posting: ‘Good morning all parents and carers. Thank you for all of the feedback that we have received overnight and this morning regarding yesterday’s heating issue and communication.
‘We have taken this on board and will make sure all future communications are shared with all parents and carers.
‘The heating has been fixed and is working as normal so do send in your child as usual.’
The Daily Mail has approached Discovery Multi Academy Trust for comment.