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Pupils at a primary school are being given bread and water for their lunch if they forget their dinner money.

Parents and students at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Shrewsbury, where a school dinner costs £2.20 per day, have been warned in a newsletter that arrears exceeding £6.60 will mean the school "will only be able to offer bread, fruit and water to pupils."

Children falling foul of the policy are also being sat away from other pupils to eat.

Mum Jamie-Lee Heath, whose daughter Madison attends the school, for four to 11-year-olds, said the rule was "shocking" and showed "no compassion whatsoever to the children they see every day."

Jamie-Lee received a text from the school just one hour before lunchtime to say £4.40 was owed and no dinner had been ordered for Madison.

She said Madison had accidentally left her lunch in her father's car the day before and was given a hot meal, leaving her owing £2.20.

Madison went to school without money or lunch the following day and despite her father agreeing to pay at the end of the day because he had no cash on him, the school text Jamie-Lee who quickly managed to pay the arrears in time.

(Image: Google Maps)

The 30-year-old kitchen designer said: "My daughter left her lunch in her dads car and was given a hot lunch instead, putting her in arrears of £2.20.

"I was completely unaware of this as we share custody and she was with him that entire week.

"The very next day the school refused to order her a lunch and text me about an hour before lunchtime stating so.

"I called up immediately and explained I would pay online straight away as I didn't realise she had arrears or no dinner money but also asked about what she would have been given if I hadn't managed to read the text in time.

"This is when the bread, fruit and water policy was explained to me. It had been mentioned in a previous school newsletter but I must admit I hadn't read it properly.

"I then wrote a status on my personal Facebook page alerting other parents who may have missed the newsletter about what was happening.

"People caught on pretty quickly and it was shared and commented on quite a lot with most people agreeing that this was just a step too far.

"Not only was my child not in the arrears amount threshold, I also pay £50 plus a week in advance for her breakfast clubs, dinners and after school clubs which the school are well aware of.

"To withhold a hot dinner from her over the matter of £2.20 seemed shocking to me and many others.

"Myself and others also agreed that the fact the child would be taken away from their friends and given a different 'lunch' in a separate room seemed like a punishment to a child and could easily create upset or bullying opportunities.

(Image: Jamie-Lee Heath)

"To take such a sharp stance on such a small amount of money just doesn't tie in with how I imagine schools would like to be seen.

"No compassion whatsoever to the children they see every day.

"I would have been at work when the text was sent. If I had missed that text due to being in a meeting or with a customer I have no doubt that they would have followed through with the bread and water.

"I work 40 plus hours a week as a kitchen designer but luckily that week was my first week of maternity leave and I was off.

"I also find it appalling that if indeed a parent was struggling to pay lunches for whatever reason, it is the child who would suffer.

"Surely the first port of call is offering support and help to the parent and a point in the right direction. Not segregation of the innocent child."

"My issue is with the policy and how it may affect a child. To be taken away from your peers and not fed the same meal that you would normally expect.

"For this to happen regardless of whether the parent is a repeat offender or it's a one time genuine error as it was in this case, is just not a reasonable method.

"We want our children to be alert and happy at school, as we all know children learn better this way. To do this they need a full stomach.

"I understand repeated missed payments must be frustrating to deal with, and it's surely not the best use of school resources chasing up parents who have forgotten to pay or are struggling to pay. But they are children. It is not their fault.

"There surely needs to be a rethink at Mount Pleasant and indeed at any other school adhering to this policy."

The school highlighted the policy in their June newsletter last year.

Headteacher, Mr Morris, said the school would always ensure that a child would be provided with an 'alternative meal' in the case of forgotten dinner money.

He added that the child would eat away from other pupils so as not to draw attention to the situation.

But Jamie-Lee recently took to Facebook to share her concerns sparking comments from other worried parents.

Mr Morris sent Jamie-Lee a letter in which he said her comments were 'unwelcome' and 'unfair'.

He added: "The school will always ensure that the child is well fed but must have an alternative if arrears are owing and the child is not sent in with a packed lunch or if the arrears have not been paid.

"In this instance, the school will always ensure that the child is provided with an alternative meal.

"The June newsletter of last year did not offer full clarity of what this consisted off. I can confirm that pupils would receive bread and butter as well as a selection of chilled fruit or veg from the salad bar.

"Drink options are what all pupils can select from - milk or water. In addition, the meal is not consumed alongside other children in the hall, so attention is not drawn to the child."