Kids 'humiliated' at Stockport school because of a 'disgusting rule'
Children are being told to carry lanyards revealing learning disabilities
Last updated 31st Oct 2024
Parents say their children have been “humiliated” at school after being told to carry lanyards revealing learning disabilities.
Parents say Werneth School in Stockport has told children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to wear or carry sunflower lanyards this week and show them to staff when asked.
Messages from the school, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), say the pass can be worn or concealed and that breaching the policy ‘based on defiance’ may result in disciplinary action.
Furious parents have complained it has left their children feeling “embarrassed” at having to share their disabilities.
The comprehensive school, on Harrytown road in Romiley, has pupils aged 11 to 16. It is part of the Education Learning Trust (ELT).
A spokesperson for the ELT said: “We are currently working alongside the school to fully investigate the issues raised by the parents.
“This will include a review of current practices used by the school to ensure they align with the ELT ethos that promotes an environment where all pupils feel safe and valued.”
Werneth School was contacted for comment.
Leigh Jones from the Brinnington SEND group has a 12-year-old neurodivergent daughter who attends the school.
Ms Jones said her daughter “feels embarrassed that she has to produce this lanyard” showing she has a disability.
She added that the local SEND support group has been inundated with messages over the past few days from concerned parents.
“They want a child wearing a sunflower lanyard to show people they have a hidden disability,” Ms Jones said.
“Last night from 3.45pm to 10pm the number of messages I got was shocking, there are families who have not sent their kids to school because of it.”
Jennie Fabri is a parent with a 12-year-old son named Finlay at the school, who she claims was targeted by other children after being made to wear the lanyard.
She also said the school has stopped access to a quiet room for neurodiverse children and taken away her son’s pass to leave early.
Ms Fabri has kept Finlay away from school because of the rule and said she only found out about the policy when her son “burst through the door having a meltdown” due to questions about his disability from other children.
“Some of the children didn’t know he was autistic, loads of kids were asking him questions and saying things about him,” she told the LDRS.
“Finlay retaliated to one boy but he Finlay got hit. It makes me really upset because it’s my child and all my life I have protected him, but somewhere he should be safe they forced him to comply with something he can’t do.
“He didn’t ask to be born with autism, to force him to wear a lanyard and take away the safe room and his pass, it’s disgusting.”
Another parent named Debbie said her neurodiverse daughter, 15, has been told to carry the sunflower lanyard at school.
“The lanyard itself is great away from the school, the idea of it is good, but the point is that it was made to be worn voluntarily,” she said.
“But we’re being told if they don’t wear it there will be disciplinary action.
“She was upset because she was humiliated in front of the whole school when she was refused in for not having her sunflower lanyard.
“It makes me feel quite upset that these kids are being outed for having a disability, no one would want to have to carry their medical records around their neck.”
Stockport councillor Christine Carrigan said she was “appalled that children are being forced to identify themselves in this way.”
She added: “As the mum of a child living with ADHD, I am of course very supportive of any inclusion and tolerance initiatives, as the head teacher seems to be suggesting is the motivation for this approach.
“But this must always be the individual’s choice and not a societal imposition. We absolutely should not be suspending children for their refusal to comply with this.
“I would urge the school to take a step back and work with parents, children and the council’s excellent education team to find a way forward.”
Werneth School’s most recent Ofsted report, published in January 2024, rated the school as ‘inadequate’ after inspectors raised concerns about absence levels and behaviour.
The report stated that some students ‘continue to have their learning disrupted by the poor behaviour of others’ at the school, and that some pupils with SEND ‘do not receive the support that they need to access the curriculum.’