Girl, 13, suspended from school after shoes gave her painful blisters

A furious mum has slammed her daughter’s high school after they suspended her for having blisters on her feet.

Maisie Castle-Dalton, 13, attended her first day back at Denton Community College in Denton, Greater Manchester, last Wednesday (Sept 4).

But when her new school shoes caused her to get huge blisters on the back of her feet, mum Sammi Castle sent her in wearing plain black Nike trainers, which she wore for the whole of Thursday.

But when the Year 9 pupil arrived on Friday wearing the same trainers she was told she would be placed in isolation, which would see her unable to leave the classroom for break or lunch.

When she refused to accept her punishment, Maisie was suspended from school for the day, and Sammi was forced to come and collect her.

Sammi, 37, from Audenshaw, told the MEN: ‘I said to them: ‘I don’t get why she has to be suspended, she wants to be in school’. 

‘I could have kept her off, but she was fine in the trainers as they are really soft. But I don’t agree with her having to be isolated. She’s not been naughty. She’s just got sore feet.’

The mum-of-two added: ‘The teacher brought her to me at school and I showed her a picture of Maisie’s blisters, as she couldn’t see them with the tights she had on. They said she’d been offered alternative footwear, but she’s not wearing alternative footwear that we don’t know who has been wearing and even if they’re new, she would not have been comfortable.

‘I said: “Are you telling me that if that was your child’s feet then you’d put them back in those shoes?” and she just said: “Well I’d get some Band-Aid”. There’s just no compassion at all.’

With Maisie’s feet still sore on Monday, Sammi requested a doctor’s note, but was told that the GP wouldn’t get involved in uniform disputes.

When she spoke to the headteacher at the school, Sammi says she was assured Maisie would be given a note for Monday, but when she spoke to her later in the day, she’d been told to go to isolation again.

Sammi said: ‘She refused to go and I’m refusing for her to go as well. Why does she have to be put in prison all day when she’s not done anything wrong? And I’m not happy that this suspension will now be on her school record.‌

‘I was told she’d have a note for Monday, but that hasn’t happened, so I have no idea what’s going to happen for the rest of the week.’

Sammi, who works for a home improvement company, has accused the school of being ‘controlling’ and says it’s not the only time she’s had issues.

She added: ‘They won’t even let them go to the toilet in lesson time, which can be a real problem for the girls especially.

‘And last year Maisie felt sick but they wouldn’t let her come home. She used her phone to message me and tell me she was poorly and ask could I collect her. I rang the school and said: ‘She wants to come home as she’s not well’, and the teacher said: ‘I decide if a child goes home from school or not’, but I said: ‘She’s my child, not yours and she’s not well.

‘We were told her absence wouldn’t be authorised and when we got home she was sick everywhere. I know they need to have boundaries and some kids take the mick, but they really are too controlling.’

A spokesperson for Denton Community College said: ‘We have the highest expectations of student conduct and uniform, and expect all students to follow reasonable requests from adults. Our Expectations For Learning policy is clear about the consequences in this regard.

‘These high expectations have resulted in the significant improvements we have seen at Denton this summer. We have seen strong passes in maths and English increase by 18% and we are likely to be one of the most improved schools in the country.

‘We always strive to work with parents in order to ensure that they support our high standards, which the majority of our parents do strongly. In this case we have been in close discussion with the parent to resolve the matter. Parents are always welcome to contact the school if they have any comments or concerns.’

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