A school has stopped two children going to an end-of-term Christmas disco after their father died.
The siblings could not take part due to the school's policy of 100% attendance needed for a child to be allowed to attend the party.
The boy, 5, and girl, 7, missed two days of school when their father died of throat cancer recently, and two more days the following week for his funeral. The children's mother, Samantha Watson, had warned the school of her husband's terminal illness.
Samantha commented that, "I don't see why they should be punished for taking just a few days off when he died. I phoned the school and tried to explain, but the admin assistant wouldn't listen."
The boy, Sean, was left confused when all the other children were taken to the school disco and allowed to play games, whilst he was left in the classroom.
The school in question, Ryecroft Primary School in Bradford, has now released a statement admitting that the decision was a "genuine mistake", and the children's mother had spoken to the "wrong person".
Ryecroft Primary School has improved its attendance record and climbed up the achievement tables in recent years due to new policies.
Do you think the children should have been refused entry to the party? Or should their circumstances have been taken into consideration?
Source: Metro