Police were called out to question mums over water fight

It’s one of a number of allegations, made against staff at the school by two mums, which are now being investigated by North Ayrshire Council.

It's claimed that police were called to the pupils' homes following the incident – which the families said left their children “distressed”.

The mums insist they were singled out because of previous complaints against the same senior staff member - and have now withdrawn their children from the school.

One of the complainers, Lisa Kennedy, is the mum of a former Stanley pupil who has serious medical conditions and has to self-catheterise herself every three hours.

She was a pupil there until last summer, and two of her younger siblings also attended.

Lisa told the Herald she had earlier complained about the way a classroom assistant treated her daughter, and said meetings were held with senior staff in a bid to sort the issues.

Lisa said that on Thursday, June 23, just before the end of term, her daughter attended an organised water balloon fight at the school, along with parents.

She told the Herald one staff member was soaked by up to six children outwith the designated water fight zone. Another member of staff claimed it was a deliberate attack – though it is believed that claim was later withdrawn.

While the alleged culprits were not part of Lisa’s family, she said she and another mum, Tammie Middleton, were banned from school three days before the end of term.

Both mums got a visit from police within days.

Tammie said: “One of my children is autistic and was left traumatised because she thought the police were coming to arrest her mum. It is ridiculous.”

Lisa and Tammie both insist they were not told when the ban would end.

It later turned out the ban was just for the remaining days of the term. But they were not informed of this until days before the start of the new term in August.

Lisa said: “It was a water fight. Everyone was soaked, teachers included, and us.

”One of the boys who soaked the staff member was standing by us earlier but was not part of our family.

“We were then banned from the school with immediate effect. It meant we couldn’t take my daughter to her P7 leavers' disco.

“I told them my children we were nowhere near the incident when the teacher got soaked. It was disgraceful.“

Lisa said the incident followed a number of complaints made to the school about the way her daughter was treated - and claimed that was why she'd been banned.

The mum added: “Over the years, my child has been refused permission to go to the toilet and had to miss trips as her needs weren’t considered.

 “The former head teacher and myself worked closely together over the years to resolve any issues. Once my child was able to catheterise herself, staff were told they had to take her to the toilet at 11am and 2pm daily.

“However I had to be called to the school to help my daughter with this on more than 20 occasions due to lack of staff between April 2018 and May 2019."

On at least three occasions, she got a call saying staff ‘forgot’ .

Lisa also claims her daughter was let down by a member of staff who questioned her in front of the class about her medical issues.

She allegedly told the child: “I always thought you had something wrong with you…”

According to Lisa the staff member also allegedly asked another pupil: “Is it normal for her to go to the toilet by herself?”

Lisa said that the head teacher at the time took action and ensured that the staff member in question did not deal directly with her daughter.

But, according to Lisa, the staff member used the same toilet as the pupil - and it's claimed she repeatedly left the pupil waiting outside to fit her catheter.

The pupil’s medical supplies were in that toilet.

In February last year, Lisa said, the pupil was using her catheter and talking to her mum on her phone, when the same staff member allegedly banged loudly on the door shouting ‘who is in there?’.

The school later claimed it was other pupils banging on the adjoining toilet, but Lisa insists her daughter saw the assistant there as she left the toilet.

Lisa said: “The rest of the staff at the school have been really supportive."

When contacted, a spokesperson for North Ayrshire Council said: “The safety and wellbeing of our pupils is a key priority for all our school staff and one they are committed to delivering every day.

“If we receive an allegation or concern regarding our schools, we treat it seriously and investigate fully.

“We cannot comment on individual pupils or alleged incidents but we will be more than happy to continue to speak directly to those affected.”