School children banned from looking at SNOW as killjoy teachers pull down blinds
KILLJOY teachers pulled down classroom blinds to stop excited young children watch SNOW FALL outside.
Furious parents have blasted the village primary school for putting a dampener on the rare sprinkling of snow, which only fell to a 1cm dusting.
Children aged just eight to nine were thrilled when it started snowing while at school at Stalham Academy in Norfolk.
But they were soon stopped from touching, playing and even looking at the snow and were rushed inside, leaving them devastated.
Parents blasted it health and safety gone mad, after the school posted on its Facebook page that the playground had become too dangerous.
Charlotte Marsters, 39, who has a nine-year-old daughter at the school, said: "One boy was even told off for just swiping a little bit off a wall with his glove.”
She added: "It was so dark when they shut the blinds that they had to put the lights on.
There was only about 1cm for heaven's sake
"The poor kids were stuck inside all day as they weren't even allowed to play in the snow - and there was only about 1cm for heaven's sake.”
Mum of six Shelly Betts, 43, said her eight-year-old daughter Bethany was ecstatic when it snowed.
Mrs Betts said: "When she told me they'd shut the blinds I couldn't believe it - I was very upset.
"They're only little - and they only stay children for a short time.
"They could have turned the snow into a science lesson instead of banning them from seeing it.
"By the time they came out of school it was all gone - it's just beyond belief."
The snow incident, which took place on Monday, comes just two months after a clergywoman devastated pupils at the school that Santa was not real during a Christmas service.
Valerie Moore, chief executive of the Rightforsuccess Academy Trust, to which the school belongs, did not respond to repeated efforts to contact her.
But a message posted on Stalham Academy's Facebook page said playgrounds were extremely icy and the children had been taken in at the start of the day for "safety reasons".
The ice had not cleared by break time on Monday and sleet and snow showers prevented outdoor play at lunchtime, said the school.
The statement added: "Having discussed the matter with the class teacher in question, she noted that the heavy snowfall was having an impact upon the learning of the children during one of her lessons so the blinds were closed to ensure that children focused on their tasks in hand."
