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Schoolgirls forced to strip to underwear in front of boys for PE
Last updated at 23:22pm on 30.09.06
Dawn Bedford and daughter Sam
Parents staged an angry protest after their young daughters were forced to strip to their underwear in front of boys at school.
The girls, aged ten and 11, were left in tears after being ordered to change for PE in a mixed classroom under a school policy blamed on health and safety regulations.
The headmistress of Hillside School in Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, said the children had to get changed together as there were not enough teachers to supervise them separately.
But furious mother Dawn Bedford said her ten-year-old daughter Sam was reduced tears by the rules.
"The regulations are ridiculous,' she said. "The girls have always changed separately. No one has ever been hurt."
Sam, who had a perfect school record, was excluded for two days because she refused to get changed for after-school football practice with boys watching.
She pulled her PE bag out of a teacher's hand and ran off to the girls' toilets to change. The school says the teacher was assaulted verbally and physically.
Mrs Bedford said: "Sam was embarrassed and distressed because the boys kept looking at her and making comments. She is now wearing her first bra and taking sex education lessons.
"This is a very sensitive time for girls. Don't the teachers realise how difficult it is? Girls were trying to hide under a table so boys could not see them. It is disgusting."
Sam added: "The boys kept looking at me. I was embarrassed so I went to the toilets. But the teacher tried to take me back to the classroom with the boys."
Headmistress Suzanne Foster has now relented following a petition from 50 parents. She refused to comment on her safety concerns but said: "The situation has now been resolved and the children are changing in separate areas."
In a statement to parents, she said: "The arrangements started this term purely for health and safety reasons. I cannot have unsupervised children at school."
The Department for Education said: "It is up to the head to decide what happens when children are changing for PE. It is a matter of personal discretion."
Reader views (17)
If there wasnt enough teachers to cover the class then the class should of been cancelled simply as that. These types of teachers should be made an example off because if it was my daughter I would not let it rest until the teachers in charge are replaced or retrained The government do set the guidelines but it is upto the schools to use common sense in these situations
- S Scull, Merseyside, 01/10/2011 18:24
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I would of taken the school board to court...
... that an sexuall abuse to a child. children have a right to privacy.
- SkyWalker, Canada, 26/06/2011 23:00
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I think this is a very interesting situation but I honestly believe t's best left to the teacher's own discretion. Working in school's myself I can say I've seen schools across the primary range where both of these situations have happened.
In some schools even up until the end of year 6 (11 years old) girls and boys change happily enough together and don't think anything of it - typical childhood innocence I guess. In others the children (typically the girls) become uncomfortable and point out the issue - as soon as this happens a seperate changing area is allocated (be it the toilets, library, empty classroom...) and the more sensible group (or depending on staffing the opposite gender) go and change. It's all fairly common sense if you let it be.
Simple as this - if there are children who are self conscious about this, they should be allowed to change seperateley if they ask to - most schools ahve the sense to do this.
- David, Lincolnshire, 10/05/2011 12:42
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Personally I don't blame the teacher, I blame the government for this stupid law that children must be supervised at all times. How are we supposed to teach them how to make right decisions if we can't even leave them alone for 1 second? And if they do make the wrong decision, what ever happened to, you learn from your mistakes? ect. This is why so many children and teens are acting up, we treat them like criminal, we don't trust them and we enforce stupid ageist laws against them. Their arn't enough child rights laws in this country or the world. And I mean rights like, a right to an education without been humiliated or a right not to be treated like a criminal.
- Joe, Leeds, England, 17/02/2011 01:38
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In Arkansas, the teacher and principal would have been sued by the parents, and sent to jail for forcing underage children to strip. I see what was done was an invasion of the children's privacy, and would not have gone very well with the judges, lawyers, school districts, and even Barrack Obama would have had a problem with such matters.
- Andrew Watson, Little Rock, Arkansas, 02/04/2010 18:19
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I agree with the parents completely. The teachers should be fired for doing that. If you are that understaffed then either hire more faculty and staff, or just make either the girls or boys wait until one group is done for the next to go in and change. But forcing them to change in the same room at the same time is just plain stupid. And mr healy sex is an issue as soon as a child is old enough to be curious. It is people who treat things like this as no big deal that are the reason we have girls and boys who are parents at 15 years old and sometimes younger. So the parents were completely right in what they did and I am surprised that what happened didnt incite a riot because I know if it were my kid that school would have been in ashes, or the headmistress would have been hanging in front of it because that is COMPLETELY unacceptable.
- Shaun Behrens, Valdosta Georgia, 08/03/2010 07:16
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The same thing is happening in many schools. It's no wonder kids try to skip p.e.
The Headmistress is disgusting, putting a young girls and boys through such stress. I teach my children to be good kind and to respect themselves and others. Yet a Headteachers in charge of our children will not allow them the privacy the are intitled to.
- Lomath, Luton, England, 23/02/2010 13:50
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It is essintial to respekt any other person at any time, child or grown, girl or boy. therefore i can not se how this problem can occur.
- Sandy, Odense Denmark, 22/02/2010 07:27
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Why don't someone asks ther headmistress to strip to the underwear in front of the male teachers for the PE. At this age, these kids must have got saperate changing rooms. And, this headmistress and those teachers are not capable enough to be inside the school and teach kids. They themselve need some ethical training...
- Dev, Delhi, India, 17/01/2010 05:33
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Forcing boys and girls to strip to their underwares in a same room is embarassing not only girls but also those boys. May to due to lack of staff and facilities have led to that situation. But school authorities must respect to privacy of both girls and boys. I our school days, in a mix-school we used to change into sport cloths, but separate rooms. In a case for not such proper facilities, we boys allowed girls to use to a inner class room while we boys did changing in a semi-open hall.
Cyril Perera, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Cyril Perera, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 23/12/2009 16:50
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What about the boys? I know several that would be mortified to be seen in their underclothes in front of a bunch of girls, you may think its a whole diffrent thing for boys but it's not! Boys at that age are also going through body changes and are often embarassed about the changes.
- Barry Webb, Houston, USA, 03/08/2009 00:00
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I think the teacher was right. It is unethical to leave children unsupervised. At this young age sex is not an issue anyway...
- Tom Healy, Dublin Ireland, 16/03/2009 13:43
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I must agree with Sandi... i am sick of hearing about this kind of stuff it sumple BOYS IN ONE ROOM GIRLS IN ANOTHER but that seems to be something the school board cant comprehend for some reason. Their should be a few laws in place to keep boys and girls in separate change rooms /showers
- Jack Atkensin, New York USA, 05/10/2008 21:13
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I am a middle school teacher. In our district, the teacher and principal would have been fired for doing this.
- Charley Buntin, Graves County, KY,, USA, 01/10/2006 12:27
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What a stupid thing to have done! This is the time when girls' bodies are beginning to change and to subject them to this humiliation is awful. At least the parents made a fuss - good for them!
- Chaya Eitan, Israel, 01/10/2006 11:24
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That's the most pathetically bureaucratic thing I've ever heard. Absolutely disgusting.
- Thomas Parker, Gulfport, Mississippi - USA, 01/10/2006 07:03
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This is pretty sad and disgusting that this Headmistress could not see that what she was doing was harmful to these children. I am beginning to wonder about the quality of the people we allow to teach our kids. They often seem to have major issues.
- Sandi Chenhalls, Colorado Springs, USA, 01/10/2006 06:30
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