‘You’re spying on kids’ homes’, parents fume after head teacher admits to checking on families’ bins and post

A SCHOOL which is sniffing out truant pupils by rifling through household dustbins has been warned that it could be breaking the law - with one parent fuming that they can "see why there is a growth in home schooling".

Astrea Academy Woodfields in Doncaster also admitted to snooping around doorsteps and driveways to see if pupils were playing hooky.

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Headteacher David Scales defended the approach, arguing that "attendance is vital to help you learn and earn".

David went on to accuse some parents of pulling their kids out of school to jet off on foreign jaunts.

The Government has said that it backs some of the steps taken by the school to help improve attendance.

"Where appropriate, this could include home visits and door-knocking services" a spokesperson for the Department of Education said.

However, observers have lashed out against the school for the measures.

Garry Freeman, a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Educational Health Care Plan consultant, said on X, formerly Twitter: "David, you do realise that you are actually building a case for an allegation of criminal harassment against you?"

Parents also rallied to slam the school for their methods, with one parents saying they can "see why there is a growth in home schooling."

Another seethed: "If this was my child’s school, I’d be looking for another school."

Fiona Campbell, The National Education Union's (NEU) Doncaster branch and district secretary, claimed the academy was publicly shaming families and damaging the relationship between parents and students.

"Lots of schools locally are experiencing difficulties with challenging attendance figures," she said.

"Other schools though are not resorting to invasive snooping tactics, and many recognise the difficulties parents might face in trying to arrange valuable family time together."

In response, Mr Scales said the school had been "very open" with families, adding "We talk about these examples to highlight the extent of the challenge - and to make clear that this simply is not acceptable."

The headteacher also admitted the school would check for post and parcel deliveries piling up on doorsteps, if dustbins had been put on on collection days, and whether cars were in the driveways or if steam was coming from the boiler flue.

"We do this because we care and because we want our students to be in school" he said.

The school was slapped with an 'inadequate' rating by Ofsted in January 2023, adding that absences and poor conduct was triggering "gaps" in knowledge.

David became headteacher two months later, and in a subsequent visit in October, the department observed that that attendance had "improved slightly" since their last report.

On his appointment, Mr Scales said "I'm delighted to be leading Astrea Academy Woodfields and I strongly believe we can turn this school into the best in Doncaster.

"I have a strong and supportive team here who will continue to work with me to develop a strong culture of success and ensure every student at Woodfields goes on to thrive."

SCHOOL HITS BACK

A spokesperson from the school said: “We have really strong relationships with the vast majority of our parents, but in a small number of cases, parents are opting to keep their child away from school without a valid reason.

"We’ve been very open with our families that as well as celebrating good attendance, we will challenge unauthorised absence.

“Like schools across the country, our attendance team routinely does home visits to check on a child if they’ve not been in school for a few days.

"We do this because we care and because we want our students to be in school. Not just because they are there to learn, but it is a sad fact of life that being seen in school is too often one of the most significant protections a child has.

"When that falls away without good reason staff are right to be concerned.

“There’s been much written and said about the shift in societal attitudes towards mandatory school attendance.

"Which is why, as a sector, we need to be able to openly discuss the challenges we face.

“The improvement we are seeing now in attendance at Woodfields tells us that more children are now opting in, wanting to come to school and I strongly believe this is because we have made clear that we are here for them; we’re in their corner and we want the best for them and their future.”