Sturgeon’s lunch visit left hungry pupils out in the cold
CHILDREN as young as five were made to eat outdoors during the First Minister’s visit to a primary school because the dining hall was full.
Nicola Sturgeon joined youngsters for lunch at Dreghorn Primary, Ayrshire, last week for the launch of free school meals for all P1-P3 pupils in Scotland.
But as the dining hall filled up with Miss Sturgeon’s party, at least ten children were sent out in the cold to sit on wooden benches, an angry parent said.
Mother- of- t hree Angela Brown, added: ‘I asked my daughter Jaymee last Monday, “Did you see the First Minister?”. Jaymee said she didn’t see her because she had to eat outside.
‘I just thought she meant in the area just beside the canteen, so I never thought anything of it until I saw another parent’s post on Facebook about it the following day.
‘ I started to feel really angry. A lot of the kids had been ill before Christmas, just with a typical cold
‘I started to feel really angry’
that spreads through kids at school. So that added to my anger, because it was a miserable day when it happened.’
She added: ‘It was as if some of the staff had thought “what are we going to do with these children, I want to be a part of all this”. The headmaster did apologise. He said he wasn’t aware it had happened.
‘Hopefully the school will be more careful in the future.’
On social media, another angry parent, Linda McClymont, 41, said: ‘Was it not supposed to be all about the children, and their well-being and welfare?’
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘We were not aware of the temporary lunch arrangements for some pupils on the day.
‘When planning for ministerial visits we ask for as little disruption as possible to be caused.
‘The First Minister has written to the children at the school saying she was sorry to hear that some of them had to eat their lunch outside on the day and this was not what she had intended.’
School head Phil Gosnay sent a letter to parents admitting that it was ‘unacceptable’ to send children outside. He also apologised to parents and pupils.