A mum has refused to let her son attend a Saturday detention because she does not agree with the weekend punishment.
Deena Singh says school business should be conducted during weekdays and not at the weekend, which she deems as family time.
It means that teachers at Hemel Hempstead School will now exclude the 13-year-old boy for one day as further punishment.
Deena said: “The farcical thing is he was having a detention for not being at school and now he is being excluded from school for a whole day.”
The new weekend detention is part of a reward and consequences scheme introduced at the Heath Lane school when youngsters started the new term in September.
Acting headteacher Tim Jordan said: “We consulted parents fully last term and to my knowledge received no objections.”
The Saturday detention runs from 9am to 11am and students must wear their uniforms.
Deena’s son was initially given the punishment for leaving school without permission. She says he went home because he could not find anything he wanted or could eat during the lunch break. The teenager did not return to school that day.
Deena said: “I don’t agree with Saturday detention because school business should be conducted Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday should be nothing to do with the school.”
But Mr Jordan said it is a strong deterrent. “It is a practice used by other schools in the local area. We know it is something that will be unappealing to students,” he said.
Mr Jordan is currently investigating Deena’s complaint.
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