A fuming mum has accused a school of bullying after her son was taken out of class – for having a short HAIRCUT.
Shocked Joshua Crossman, 14, was put into isolation after teachers objected to the way his mum Claire cut his hair.
The schoolboy said he had wanted the close crop because he was “too hot” so Claire used her clippers leaving him with only a few millimetres of growth all over.
But when Joshua arrived at Budehaven Community School in Bude, Cornwall, on Monday morning, teachers described the new look as “inappropriate” and removed him from the classroom.
When the school phoned Claire to say what they had done, she demanded that her son should not be treated differently to other pupils.
She also pointed out t that some teachers have close-cropped hair – and asked for him to come home.
She said: “I don’t know when he will be going back to school.
“That depends on the school. He’s not a skin-head and he’s not trying to make any statement. It’s just an old-fashioned close-crop hair-cut.
“It’s quite wrong for the school to embarrass him like this – it’s almost like bullying.”
Although the school has a uniform policy, which also makes a reference to facial piercings, it does not say anything about haircuts.
The school’s behaviour policy also says nothing about haircuts or instances when a child might be put in isolation.
Department for Education advice to headteachers, issued in January of this year, says isolation should be used only for disruptive pupils and that the punishment must be used only when it is “reasonable” to do so.
Claire added: “Joshua is a good lad and had not the slightest intention of causing any trouble.
“It’s not as if he’s dyed his hair bright pink or anything like that, and it’s not a symbol of belonging to any kind of organisation or group. It’s just short hair.
“There are some pupils at the school with dreadlocks, and that’s considered OK.
“I think some teacher has really over-stepped the mark. Not long ago it was quite common to see youngsters with short hair like this. I really don’t see what the problem is.”
Budehaven School headteacher David Barton says he was off site when the incident occurred and described it as a “misunderstanding.
He said: “I hope that Joshua is back in school (soon), and in class with his friends.
“It might be that Joshua’s hair is a bit shorter than we would like, but it’s probably not extreme, and there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding between the school and his Mum.
“Our uniform policy doesn’t mention hair, and maybe in future it should.
“This incident will probably prompt us to take another look at that aspect of the uniform policy.
“It wasn’t our decision that Joshua should have not been at school (on Monday).”
