Head who urged pupils to walk to school accused of ‘fat-shaming’

A PRIMARY school head teacher has been accused of “fat-shaming” pupils after he told parents that their children were too fat and should walk to school to lose weight.

Dr Huw Humphreys, head of the Christ the Sower Ecumenical Primary School in Milton Keynes, Bucks, sent a newsletter to parents which said: “Our children, overall, are fatter and more obese than other children in Milton Keynes.” He urged children to walk to school, adding: “They could really do with a lot more exercise.”

Dr Humphreys later apologised, after his letter prompted a backlash from parents. “It is simply not acceptable for the head to fat-shame our children – particularly when this is supposed to be a Christian school,” one parent said.

The head wrote again to parents, explaining that “one parent asked me to apologise... because the term ‘fatter’ could be seen as offensive. I am very sorry that this hurt people and had no intention at all of causing offence by using the term. However, the issue itself is critical. We can’t ignore it.”

He went on to describe why he felt it was important to highlight the issue of the pupils’ weight. All pupils are weighed when they enter reception at the age of four, and their body mass index (BMI) is calculated, he said. At that time, 15 per cent of the 400 Christ the Sower children were deemed overweight or obese, which is far less than the average for Milton Keynes.

But by the time of the next official weigh-in, at the age of 11, 43 per cent of them were classified overweight or obese. “The figure is nine per cent higher than the national average,” said Dr Humphreys. “That really is a significant difference.”

Denise Hatton, chief executive of the YMCA and the founder of its Be Real Campaign, which seeks to change attitudes about body image, criticised the head for his choice of words. She said that where language is used incorrectly, it can have a “devastating” effect.

“The comments made by Dr Humphreys are not helpful, especially when delivered from a trusted adult,” she said. “We have to ensure that schools are a place for young people to feel confident in their bodies, not shamed into losing weight.”

♦ Parents must stop criticising schools on social media because it is ruining reputations, heads have warned.

Schools are having to trawl social media sites to check for parents posting complaints online, according to the Association of School and College Leaders.

In some cases, teachers may be feeling bullied by parents taking to the internet to air grievances, leaders acknowledged at the union’s annual conference in Birmingham.