Parent criticises 'completely out of control' Northampton school over new set of rules and compares it to prison

A parent has compared a Northampton school to a prison after the school released its rules ahead of the new school year.

The parent, who wishes to remain anonymous, has criticised Abbeyfield School, Mere Way, for its latest set of rules pupils must follow as they return this week.

The rules, which have been seen by Chronicle & Echo, include a controversial blanket ban on trainers. Any students found to be wearing trainers will be made to wear a pair of ‘smart’ shoes provided by the school.

Other rules have been highlighted by the parent and labelled as “not normal”, concluding that the school is “completely out of control”.

The parent said: "The school has invested money in shoes, so when children arrive at the school gates and the teachers don’t like their shoes, they will be given ‘school approved’ shoes. This is NOT normal.

"The school does not want to provide children with lockers, even though there are empty lockers throughout the school. They are expected to carry everything around with them, laptops, bags, lunch boxes and PE kits. Why? This is NOT normal.

"Toilets are locked and children are not permitted to use a toilet during class time. This is NOT normal.

"The whole school goes to lunch at the same time, so a thousand children in the lunch hall all at one time, there is not the space for it. Most children miss out on getting a hot meal because the queue is half an hour long…when they get half an hour for lunch. This is NOT normal.

"My point to all this is that there is a newly appointed head of school whom clearly doesn’t understand how the school runs and is going to cause many, many unnecessary issues

"Out of ALL the things I have mentioned… none of these matters are education based.

"It’s a whole bunch of unreasonable demands which make this sound like an actual prison as opposed to a school, which educates and protects children.

"The system is completely out of control."

Abbeyfield School responded saying its rules have reverted to those in place prior to the Covid pandemic.

A school spokesman said: "Abbeyfield school remains committed to achieving the highest standards of learning, behaviour and pastoral care. After adaptations to expectations during Covid disruption, the school has now reverted to its existing uniform policy that has been in place since its original launch in 2014.

"There have been no changes to the expectations in this regard, and trainers are specified as not being permitted. This remains the policy linked to the home school agreement that all parents have signed.

"Spare uniform stocks have been purchased so that any students who are in need of uniform can access these without issue or sanction and free of charge. We have also extended this to include accommodating students who arrive in incorrect items - this way alleviating parent need to purchase replacements in September.

"The principal and senior leadership team have organised opportunities for parent voice over the coming term. As always, we value parent input and welcome the opportunity to work with them."