Kids 'crying and refusing to go to school' after finding out classes were being split up before parents told

Kids 'crying and refusing to go to school' after finding out classes were being split up before parents told A parent said some young kids are refusing to go to their primary school after a sudden classroom change which the children were told about before their parents were informed Children are "refusing to go to school" after being separated from their classmates without prior warning, according to worried parents. Chaotic scenes ensued at a primary school the Wirral after pupils in years 5 and 6 were suddenly informed their classes would be reorganised. The shake-up will see the school transition from single-year classes to mixed Year 5 and 6 groups from next year. Leaders at the Townfield Primary School, in Prenton, said they are following other places that have also implementing this, in response to declining birth rates. These changes, which could result in children being split from some of their friends, were announced to the pupils first rather than to parents. This sparked scenes of upset children leaving the school in tears, causing worry and confusion among some parents. The Rainbow Education Trust, which oversees the school, acknowledged the communication of these major changes did not "go to plan" and contributed to heightened emotions at the school last Wednesday. Tensions escalated with one father, angered by his child's distress, attempted to confront the school's headteacher, knocking on her office window and calling her name. Police were called and the school briefly went into a lockdown, reports the Liverpool Echo. The father, who subsequently apologised for his reaction, was told he would be banned from the Prenton school premises for six months. However, since the story was published, additional parents have come forward to express how distressed their children remain about the proposed changes, with parents still furious about how the plans were communicated. One father revealed there are pupils "refusing to go to school" because they are "getting broken up from classes due to the school's financial issues." He said: "When the decision was made, kids were crying and upset and were just told to stop crying." Another parent said: "There are so many unhappy parents and kids. Communication from the school was appalling They literally had all day to send an email out. To be honest they have had weeks to prepare us and the children about this. "For the majority of parents like me this is about children going into their last year of primary school, the most important year with SATS, being separated with no warning and preparation to be split from the friends. They have randomly been picked out to merge into other classes and are moving away from friends they have moved up through the school years with for 6 years. "We are preparing them for the move to high school next year –they need stability and peer support going into this year. They have not planned for this at all and the children are the ones that are suffering as a result." One mother, last week, said: "We definitely should have been told about these changes before our children were. There were some kids who walked home in tears because their parents were working and went to bed really upset, without their parents even knowing what was going on. "I was at the school gates comforting children who were all crying. Then my own child came out crying. It was awful. It was really distressing for the kids it just wasn't fair. The communications have been so poor from the school." Gina Donaldson, chief executive of Rainbow Multi-Academy Trust, said the decision to mixed the two year groups "may not be the traditional way of doing things, but it is increasingly common in primary schools across the country" due to declining birth rate. The CEO added three of their other schools also have mixed years groups and "are consistently in the top 7% nationally". Donaldson, on the incident, said: "However, our process for telling families about this did not quite go to plan, and we appreciate and accept that this contributed to emotions running high. We have been working proactively with them this week to address this. We have spoken at length with a number of parents. While some frustration remains about the way this was communicated, we are hopeful that we are finding a way forward. "We have spoken to a number of parents who have responded positively to this change and expressed thanks for the increased parental engagement at the school which we have been working on this year. Furthermore, attendance in the school this week has been at around 98% - which is significantly above national averages."