'It's draconian,' shout furious parents forced to pay £6 if they are late to pick up their children from school

PARENTS are furious over plans to give them a 'draconian' £6 compensation if they are late to pick up their children from school.

St. Peter's Church of England Primary School in Folkestone, Knows said late parents prevent teachers from continuing their work.

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Any students who has to wait for mom and dad is now placed in an after-school club – and their parents could be sued.

Head teacher Toni Browne warned parents about the possible costs in a newsletter to parents.

She said: “An increasing number children are collected late at the end of the day, without notifying the office or offering any apology to the staff.

“The staff has work to do once the children are discharged.

“If you are late to pick up your child, the staff cannot continue with their work.

“From block 2 onwards, children who are picked up late will be taken out school on more than one occasion an after-school club is used – and a charge of £6.00 applies.

“We understand that occasional lateness cannot be avoided.

“In these cases, it is important that you call the school office so we know you will be late.”

The school says that late arrivals have occurred since the warning went out and that it has not yet had to issue any fines.

A spokesperson added that no parents have complained to the school about the allegations made.

Dad-of-two JL Casey said: “I think it's a bit harsh. Families that often have these problems also have other things going on in their lives.

“They hit with one financial punishment is a bit harsh.

'I understand that they have to ensure that teachers can continue marking and such.

'But there are always extenuating circumstances.

“There is a good chance that parents who are late are trying to deal with other issues, including financial burdens.

“It's not going to be great to give them another point of concern.”

The father added that not everyone can call the school if they are going to be late.

He said: “Not everyone is allowed to use his or hers mobile at work.

“If you're in the workplace or something, and you just don't want to get in trouble.

“You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. There are two sides to every story.'

CLASS WAR

A mother-of-two, 38, has slammed the primary school's 'draconian' new rules.

She said: 'I think it's so unfair. Sometimes parents can't help it if they are late.

“Every parent wants to pick up their child from school on time. If that doesn't work, there's a good reason for that.

'Some people cannot afford these costs. It's too much, especially right now.

“€6 is a lot of money for some people, especially if they have to pay it multiple times.

'They should try to be a little more understanding. With the cost of living crisis, we pay enough for things.

“Everything is going up – and now if you pick your child up late from school, that's more money.

'You could spend that money on the children, for example food and clothes and things that are really necessary.”

The school has been contacted for comment.

I THINK IT'S FINE

Other parents supported the school's crackdown on late mothers and fathers.

Danny Wilkinson, 49, a father-of-two, said: 'If children are constantly being picked up late, teachers should be left behind.

'They also have their own lives. They may even have their own children to pick up.

'If you call with a reasonable excuse as to why you're going to be late – an emergency or something like that – then it's obviously different.

“I think there should be a little bit of leniency if that's the case.”

School principal Mark Champion, 54, said: 'The problem isn't that people are late, it's that people don't inform the school.

“Kids sit there after school and say to the teachers, 'Where's mommy, where's daddy?' and the teachers don't know.

“The children get very upset. And we don't know if anything happened to the parents.

'If you are late, it is customary to tell the school.

'And I think it's a requirement to let your children know where you are.

“There were a few people who were consistently late and that stopped, so it worked.”

SCHOOL STATEMENT

In a statement, the school said: “We do not and have never planned to charge any fine to our parents who do not pick up their children on time.

“We offer after-school care for families who require it, for which there is an additional charge of £6.00.

“The facility runs from 3.15pm to 5pm daily and includes a light meal.

“We had a very small number of families in period 1 who were regularly significantly late to pick up their children – more than 15 minutes late, sometimes up to 25 minutes late.

“These children were placed in an after-school club for free until their parents or guardians arrived.

“We are always very happy to support families who notify the school in the rare event that they are a few minutes late.

The school added: 'We would never charge for such real occasions.

“However, where parents are regularly significantly late and the children need to be placed in an after-school club, the school has informed parents that they would have to pay for the provision.

“Following the sharing of the information in the October newsletter, there will be no end to the regular, significant delays without notice.

“We have not charged any family to use the after-school club due to unannounced significant delays.

“We have not received any concerns or objections from parents and guardians in our school community regarding the information shared in the October 23 newsletter.

“We have good relationships with our parents and the pastoral support provided at St Peter's is considered excellent.”