Well-off pupils told: Don’t brag about it

PUPILS are to be discouraged from talking about their weekends to prevent disadvantaged classmates feeling ashamed or embarrassed.

Brighton and Hove City Council is working with charity Children North East on the £150,000 scheme called Poverty Proofing The School Day.

The project warns that talking about what you did at the weekend could upset poorer pupils if they admit: “I haven’t done anything.”

Children can be taunted for bringing in supermarket own-brand items, such as drink cartons, for art projects, it adds, while children who bring in birthday presents could also make poorer pupils feel “uncomfortable”.

Tory former children’s minister Tim Loughton said: “Brighton and Hove is trying to micro-manage children’s lives and take the nanny state to new heights. It’s part of their obsession with political correctness. Children need to be allowed to be children.”

Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: “Schools need to be sensitive towards those of more limited means. But it is a fact of life that some families are better off than others, and children cannot and should not be shielded from that.”

Luke Bramhall, of Children North East, said: “How does it feel if you’re the child that never goes anywhere at the weekend? The clear message from children is that it can be very difficult and awkward.”

The politically-correct council last month encouraged staff to wear badges stating their preferred “gender pronoun”.

Officials did not respond to requests for a comment.