'School banned our kids from bouncy castle treat'

Danielle Hall said she was considering withdrawing her twin boys from the school

Parents have expressed anger after their school provided a bouncy castle reward for children with 100% attendance records.

Lanesend Primary School in Cowes, Isle of Wight, did not allow several other pupils to take part in Thursday's end-of-year treat.

Some families said the excluded children were being "abused" and "emotionally damaged" by the school.

However, in an email to parents, executive principal Alex Augustus said the reward was "never designed to punish or discriminate".

He wrote: "We wanted to reward children for something we thought was an exceptional accomplishment."

The email said children who missed school because of medical appointments were exempted.

However, Stacey Dale-Lamb said her daughter was excluded because of one day off sick.

She was among several parents who gave their children a day off on the day of the treat to avoid them feeling punished.

Ms Dale-Lamb said: "Who gets 100%? Illness - you can't help it, can you? Understandably, she was very upset on the way home, crying."

Peter Crates said his son had special educational needs and hospital appointments and could not attend school full-time.

He said: "He wouldn't have understood at all. I don't see that as a reward. It's more of a punishment to the children that aren't allowed on there."

Riana Neocli (left) and Stacey Dale-Lamb said their daughters were upset at missing the treat

Riana Neocli said she was "heart-broken" that her seven-year-old daughter thought she had been punished for not working hard enough.

She said: "I don't think she should be punished for being late for school because we are homeless and don't have transport other than bus... let alone having to sit and watch the children go on it, which is what they wanted."

Danielle Hall, the mother of twin boys at the school, said: "This is not down to the staff at all.

"I have had staff members crying on the door to me, trying to explain to the children why they can't [go on the bouncy castle]... It is the senior management."

She said she had been falsely accused by a member of staff of taking part in a "riot" over the issue.

Another parent, who did not wish to be named, wrote in an email: "This is abuse! There are children who will go into crisis at the hands of this teacher."

A second anonymous parent said: "Singling out kids like this damages their confidence, emotional well-being and sense of belonging."

Mr Augustus' email to parents concluded: "We are sorry if this has caused any upset and will take your feedback on board."

The school joined the Diocese of Chichester Academy Trust (DCAT) in February 2024.

It was rated "good" by Ofsted inspectors in a report published on Wednesday, an advance on "requires improvement" in 2022.

No-one at the school was available to be interviewed on Thursday and DCAT did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.