Schoolgirl sent home for having dyed hair and wrong shoes is kept out of lessons by fuming mum who says ‘she’s missing out on education’
Casie Ann Port, 15, was sent home from school on the first day back after summer
A MUM keeping her stepdaughter, 15, off school after teachers moaned about her hair dye and shoes is complaining that the teen is missing out on her education.
Casie Ann Port, 15, said she was sent home from Harris Garrard Academy in Thamesmead, Kent, on the first day of term after teachers clocked her shiny loafers and blonde-tipped hair.
But stepmum Kelly Richards, 36, claims her dip-dyed hair has been the same for two years and that she believed the loafers complied with uniform regulations.
She said: "She has smart, shiny shoes and the blonde on the tips of her hair has never been problem before - she's had it like that for two years.
"But since the school has been renamed again, they've had all this stupid rubbish about shoes and hair.
"We've never had any uniform issues before, this is the first time ever, and about 15 other students were sent home too."
Kelly, who claims to have reported the school to Ofsted, said she is keeping Casie off until her new shoes arrive.
She added: "If she goes back in on Monday and they've got a problem, I'll keep her off again - there's no need for it.
"I've reported them to Ofsted because it's ridiculous, I was fuming when they said they were sending her home but I've got no choice."
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The school has undergone two name changes in the past year - from Business Academy Bexley to Garrard Academy, before its current name.
Ofsted rated the academy as "inadequate" in June, and was taken over by the Harris Academy in a bid to transform its image.
The academy chain - which said it is known for turning around troubled schools - bought all students uniforms leaving parents to pick up shoes in line with its policy.
But Kelly, a checkout assistant, said she read the school-issued booklet on uniform, and believed Casie's shoes adhered with it.
She said: "It says in the booklet that loafers are acceptable, but it doesn't mention patent leather.
"The poor girl is now losing out on valuable education - I would understand if her hair was purple, but it's not."
She added: "It shouldn't matter what they look like if they turn up and do what they're supposed to do."
Sun Online approached Harris Academy which declined to comment on the case.
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