School slams 'selfish' parents who 'dragged kids over fences' as lockdown lifted
A school has slammed "selfish" parents after they allegedly dragged their kids over fences and through windows after a lockdown was lifted.
Bloxwich Academy in Walsall, West Midlands, blasted the "disgusting" behaviour during angry scenes on Thursday morning while a safety procedure was rolled out, due to fears an unauthorised person had "briefly entered school site".
Parents were told about the temporary lockdown before being informed when police eventually gave the all-clear. However, with the school day resuming as normal, parents allegedly gathered outside and some began "barging their way past staff" before some pupils were "encouraged to climb the security fencing".
Lynsey Draycott, chief executive officer of the Matrix Academy Trust, which runs the school, said it gave leaders "no choice but to close the school" for the safety of pupils as some had become "very anxious and upset". She condemned the actions of those involved in a lengthy letter sent home to parents.
BirminghamLive reports it read: "Thank you to everyone who has sent us messages of support after the events of today. Many of you have thanked us for keeping their children safe while having to endure abuse from some parents. The word so many of you have used to describe some parents' behaviour is 'disgusting' and it is entirely appropriate.
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"Today, as part of our safeguarding procedure, the school went into a lockdown after we believed that someone who was not a member of the school community had briefly entered school site. We followed our procedures, putting the school into a lockdown state, notifying police and parents. The police arrived and quickly concurred with our assessment that the site was safe.
"As soon as they gave us the all clear, we messaged parents again to tell them that school was returning to normal. Pupils' behaviour was superb during the lockdown. The procedure was flawless from start to finish. However, despite the school clearly communicating that the school day was continuing as normal, some parents decided to gather outside the school.
"Some parents were communicating with their children, even though they had been informed by the school that everything was back to normal. Some parents tried to access the school site, barging their way past school staff whose job is to ensure no one unauthorised enters school site, therefore keeping children safe. Some even encouraged children to climb the security fencing."
She continued: "At no time before parents started coming up to school was any child in any danger. Some parents illegally forced their way onto school site. Some verbally and physically assaulted staff. Some broke school property. We have identified names of several offenders, passed them to the police and we are pursuing prosecutions.
"Staff were imploring parents not to put students in danger by having them climb the security fence. Rather than help staff, a small number of parents dragged their children over the fences, putting them at risk of serious injury. Some pulled children through ground floor windows, despite staff pleading with them to stop."
Ms Draycott said some parents "exercised very poor judgement, behaving selfishly without considering the impact of their actions on others" as she revealed there would be a "phased return" for different year groups to ensure "calm". Years 11, 12 and 13 would return to the academy tomorrow (February 2), with Years 7 and 10 going back on Monday (February 5). Those in Year 8 are due back on Tuesday (February 6), followed by Year 9 next Wednesday (February 7).
West Midlands Police told the Mirror: "We responded to a call that an intruder had gained access to the premises of Bloxwich Academy yesterday morning (Thurs) shortly before 10.30am. Police attended immediately and pupils were initially kept in school. Officers carried out enquiries and established pupils from the school had in fact jumped over the fence. Some parents attended the school but no criminal offences have been recorded at this stage."
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