Parents who have children studying at a number of North East schools are being urged to sign a 'code of conduct' which prevents them slamming teachers on social media, whilst controlling the attire they sport at the school gate. Around 50 schools across the region wish to see guardians agreeing to the rules - which include a ban on bikinis as parents wait to collect their kids.
It will come into force through the Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust - which covers schools across County Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Northumberland. It is also thought to be the first code of conduct of its kind across UK schools.
It lands after teachers expressed their ever-growing concern over the influence and behaviour of parents with The Times reporting that the action has come about after mums and dads were spotted smoking and drinking in the playground.
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The Mirror reports that the wearing of t-shirts with offensive slogans during pick-up and drop-off times also raised alarms, while some of the most serious accusations came online. It is said that teachers have been receiving abusive messages on social media, with one falsely branded a paedophile by a parent, who was in-turn sent a legal letter for their behaviour.
Chief Executive of the Trust, Nick Hurn, said that a parent even once attempted to punch him - but was so drunk that the blow failed to connect. He detailed: "Parents and children’s behaviour is much worse since the pandemic - there is a breakdown in civil behaviour, courtesy, good manners.
"Some of the primary heads are getting upset by people turning up in pyjamas, sometimes leaving little to the imagination. A minority of parents do not follow the rules of acceptable behaviour. I thought, ‘Why do we not try to create a code of conduct that outlines what our expectations are for our parents?'
"Teachers and pupils are being subjected to abuse on social media, at the school gates, and there is never any consequence. One teacher was branded a paedophile on social media. I thought, ‘This has to stop’."
Parents have been told to sign the contract in the first week of term, as the new school year fast approaches. It warns that 'persistent concerns or breaches may result in banning the offending adult from entering school grounds and may lead to prosecution'.
Back in 2016, Kate Chisholm of Skerne Park Primary, wrote to families and carers of youngsters at the school in Darlington for wearing their pyjamas and slippers. The teacher requested that parents take time to dress appropriately in daywear to drop off and collect their children.
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