Schoolboy put in isolation because ‘one inch of haircut is too short’

The schoolboy was taken out of his classes in his first week because of his hair

A 12-year-old schoolboy was placed in isolation because his new haircut was too short. Jayden Barratt got his hair cut before the start of the new term, with his hair shaved on the back and sides. But his school - Our Lady's Catholic College in Lancaster - has a rule that hair should be no shorter than a number two. Less than an inch of his hair at his neck though was shaved to a number one. The school therefore judged it to be too short and he was placed in an isolation space to do his work. Jayden's gran, Judith, is now considering whether to send him to a new school. [caption id="attachment_290086" align="alignnone" width="540"] Less than an inch of Jayden's hair was cut to a number one (Credit: SWNS)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_290087" align="alignnone" width="540"] Jayden was placed in isolation to do his schoolwork (credit: SWNS)[/caption] Judith, who looks after the 12-year-old, said there was "absolutely nothing wrong with his haircut." She said: "This situation is awful. I’m flabbergasted. They are there to educate him not judge his hair.

"He hates having his hair cut, but agreed to have it done so he could be smarter for school.

"When he came home he was in such a mess emotionally because he thought he’d done something wrong.

"If it was bright pink I could understand it but there is absolutely nothing wrong with his hair cut. I’d say eight out of 10 boys have that cut."

[caption id="attachment_290091" align="alignnone" width="540"] Jayden's gran said that her grandson was a "mess emotionally" after the incident (credit: SWNS)[/caption] According to the Metro, seven boys were sent to isolation during the first week of school, where they have to sit at desks in cubicles and stay an extra hour after school. Judith added that the other boys in isolation were "sticking up" for Jayden and telling him his hair looked good.

Headteacher of the school, Helen Seddon, defended the policy.

She said: "At Our Lady’s we do have a uniform policy that covers hair style and we do apply it.

"This policy has not changed and is on our website and in the pupils’ planner. If a pupil’s hair cut is shorter than our expectations, they spend two days in our internal exclusion unit where pupils are able to complete their school work with a member of staff present to support them.

"We do make reasonable adjustments for pupils with additional educational needs and feel we have done so in this case.

"Jayden’s family are choosing to keep him at home. We are not stopping him from being in school, for his education, and would encourage them to make sure he is back in school."

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