It's not unusual for children to come home from school having lost a pen or forgotten to pick their coats up at the end of the day. But one mum has been left furious after her son came home wearing a different pair of shoes to the ones he was sent to school in that morning - as his teacher had confiscated his original pair.
The woman explained she bought her four-year-old son a pair of "light-up superhero shoes" for Christmas and had let him wear them to school because they were not strictly banned from the uniform list.
But when her sister picked the little one up and brought him home that evening, the mum was shocked to find her son wearing his PE shoes instead of his light-up ones, which he claimed his teacher took away from him because he had been "kicking his feet" to make the lights come on.
What's more, when the mum spoke to her son's teacher the following day, she was told the shoes had gone missing and the teacher "couldn't find them" - and was assured they would just "turn up".
As the shoes were a Christmas present and are now outside of the mum's price range, she is thinking of asking her son's teacher to replace them, especially as they were lost on her watch.
In a post on Mumsnet, she said: "My 4-year-old son is in reception. He got shoes for Christmas that he loves and has been wearing every day. They are light-up superhero shoes which are allowed, many kids have them.
"On Friday, he comes home crying in his gym shoes saying he was kicking his feet to make the shoes flash so the teacher took them away. I was going to ask about it yesterday but my sister picked him up.
"Today I asked his teacher she said she took them away, but then looking in the classroom she can't find them. I asked where they were and she said they might turn up.
"Am I being unreasonable to ask them to replace his shoes if they can't find them? These were shoes he was asking for for ages. He was so happy when he got them for Christmas and has been crying about having them taken away.
"I can't afford to buy him new ones at the moment. I understand taking them away for the day but not giving them back and then losing them is too far."
Commenters on the post agreed with the mum that it was "unacceptable" for the teacher to just lose her son's shoes, and many encouraged her to speak to the school and have them replaced.
One person said: "It's not good enough for the teacher to confiscate property and then shrug after losing it."
While another added: "Yes the school should replace them. If the teacher confiscates property then he/she assumes responsibility for its safekeeping."
And a third posted: "They might turn up? What a terrible attitude. The teacher should feel awful and be looking everywhere for them. And yes, if they're not found, I think it's for the school to replace them in this case."
But some urged her not to "be too aggressive or critical too soon", and said she shouldn't place blame on the teacher but should instead calmly ask the teacher via email to look for the shoes, and approach the prospect of replacement shoes if she still can't find them.
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