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A school in London has come under fire after they threatened to place students who had not paid for their onsite school lunches in isolation.
Michaela Community School in London, sent a letter to parents saying they would place their children in isolation with a sandwich and piece of fruit for 60 minutes, missing ‘family meal time’ until their outstanding payments had been received.
Many have said the move ‘stigmatises’ the children, but the head teacher of the school, Katharine Birbalsingh, said it was being done to encourage parents to ‘change their ways’.
The letter, which was sent to Dionne Kelly who had fallen behind on lunch payments for her 12–year–old son, said:
The deadline for this term's lunch payments was 1st June 2016. 'You are currently £75 overdue. If this full amount is not received within this week your child will be placed into Lunch Isolation.
They will receive a sandwich and piece of fruit only. Only when the entire outstanding sum is paid in full will they be allowed into family lunch with their classmates.
Ms Kelly told The Daily Mail she had already paid the money when the letter arrived, but that her son was still placed in isolation for his lunch.
She added: “I found the letter quite threatening. Isolating children for their parents not paying upfront is degrading. It's embarrassing for poor families."
