School scheme 'bans children from using sports equipment if their parents haven’t paid towards it'

Parents launch petition against scheme criticising 'social and financial discrimination'

Parents at Wednesbury Oak Academy, Tipton, have launched a petition against the scheme (Google Street View)

Parents have criticised a school after it launched a scheme to see each child pay £6 to use new sports equipment, but said those who had not paid were not allowed to use it.

The parent council at Wednesbury Oak Academy in Tipton, West Midlands, asked for a voluntary donation per child to buy the equipment for pupils to play with.

When the scheme launched, however, parents claimed their children had been separated into those who had paid, who could use the equipment, and those who had not.

A petition against what is described as a “no pay no play” scheme has been launched, which criticises “social and financial discrimination”.

The petition reads: “The parents that have paid and parents that haven’t are totally against the separation of the children as this can cause upset, bullying and social exclusion amongst other things.

“We therefore request the ‘scheme’ to be discontinued as it’s just not something that any of us wish to be associated with.”

The school refused to comment on the scheme to The Independent, but principal Maria Bull told local newspaper Express and Star the scheme was a “parent council initiative” which was thought up in May 2017.

“It was shared with the parents via our newsletter – we then shared it again back in October time because we had very few voluntary payments.

“We currently have 80 children whose parents have made this payment out of 450.

“To be fair the parents have had since May so as I say, they are running this for the 80 children concerned.

“It is not like the children haven’t got other equipment on the playground.

“It is being run as an extra, just like we ran extra activities, we run school discos as extra activities, we run all of this as a voluntary basis.”

Ms Bull said: “The equipment is things like extra bats and balls, footballs, normal run-of-the-mill stuff.

“The initial feedback we got was not that they couldn’t afford it, it was them saying they didn’t know.

“I have been at the academy since 2006, we regularly bring in equipment – we are an outstanding school.”