A school in Bath has caused national controversy after a letter was sent home requesting that parents do not use school time to distribute party invitations, unless the whole class was invited.
The headteacher’s decision to ban the pupils from handing out their birthday party invitations has met a backlash from angry parents who say that it would cost them too much to host a party including a whole class.
Headteacher Mark Brearey, from Kingswood School here in Bath, has said that leaving classmates out of these events could have a ‘serious impact’ on their wellbeing and went against the school’s inclusive ethos.
A letter was sent out to parents explaining the school’s decision, saying: “Please could you avoid bringing any party invitations into school that do not include all children in a particular class or year group.
“This goes completely against our policy of inclusion for every single child and is divisive and unkind.”
Though Mr Brearey says he has 99.9% of backing from local parents, a number of posts were made on Facebook regarding the situation.
The decision has now also been discussed on BBC Radio 2 and featured in national newspapers.
Lisa Speigal, local mum and editor of the Bath-based parenting website Bath Mums, told NOW Bath: “I might be missing something here but I think the Kingswood School party story has been blown out of all proportion.
“The various headlines suggest parents must invite all their children’s classmates to birthday parties but that’s not what they’re saying. They’re simply asking parents who don’t intend to invite all, to do so away from school.
“The school has a duty of care to all children and they operate an inclusive policy. If they feel children not being invited to a party is unkind, they’re right to ask parents to make their arrangements using alternative methods. If Kingswood provide parents with a contact list, I don’t see a problem.”
Alternatives for parents who do not want to invite a whole class have been suggested, including sending invites by post or email.
