Our kids’ school is like a PRISON with pupils ‘punched in canteen fistfights’ & toilets locked up behind bars
PARENTS have slammed a school for locking kids' toilets behind "prison" bars - after footage emerged of a fistfight in the school canteen.
Around 50 parents turned up at a protest outside Discovery Academy in Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent this morning, following complaints about metal bars being put over the doors to toilets.
From around 9am, parents and children stood outside the gates with placards displaying slogans like "No Bars on Toilets", "Basic Human Rights" and "It's Not a Jail".
Dad Rob Cooper, 39, said: "Toilets are a human right. It’s a school for children, not a prison.
"People are here because they’re angry."
Mum Tracey Barnett, 43, said: "On Friday my 12-year-old son asked the teacher twice to use the toilet and they refused to let him go."
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Some protesters at the scene this morning also raised concerns over bullying at the academy, after footage emerged of a schoolgirl being punched in the head in the school canteen.
Simon French, CEO of Alpha Academies Trust, which runs the school, addressed parents at the protest.
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He said: "We’re going to have a parents' meeting on Thursday, after school, to go through the feedback and the findings.
"As a Trust we’re only going to solve this by working together.
"It’s got to be mutual respect from both sides."
A spokesman for Alpha Academies Trust said: "At AAT we have high expectations of learning and clear processes in place to support.
";We have high standards of uniform ready for the world ahead and have processes in place for those who truant.
"We encourage students to go to the toilet at regular set times during the day and support those with medical needs by accessing toilets at any time.
"Parental engagement is extremely important to us and we value opportunities to listen to concerns and explain the reasons for our decisions."
This morning those attending the protest wrote their concerns into a book which will be handed in to the school.
Police were also at the scene.
