A Sheffield primary school has released an apology after illegally arranging ‘well being haircuts’ for staff.
An email from Catherine Timbers, the headteacher of Broomhill Infants School, was sent off inviting them to sign up for an appointment with a professional hairdresser who was to visit the school premises.
Following several complaints from staff, the school released a statement which read: “The school was contacted by the local authority who advised that this would be against the current Covid-19 regulations and the appointments were immediately cancelled.
“We accept that the arrangement should not have been made. We apologise, and will ensure that we learn from it”
A disgruntled parent of a student expressed concern over the situation, she said: “I’m struggling to understand why something like this would be planned in the first place.
“With it being so recent since children have returned to school, it seems like a very silly risk to take. I feel like there are much better, safer ways to support school teachers”.
The “temporary salon” was organised by Timbers as part of a wellbeing session, but was cancelled on the first day after a phone call from Sheffield Council’s environmental health team, who had received an anonymous tip off.
According to the GMB union, a “distraught” member of staff had alerted authorities before the haircuts could go ahead. Soon after, the school announced that the arrangement was called off once it was “made aware of the risks involved.”
South Yorkshire Police also contacted the school later that day, confirming that they had spoken to the headteacher. They stated that advice regarding current restrictions was provided, but no further action was taken.
GMB Yorkshire organiser Sue Wood said that the union was told six or seven appointments had been booked, and called the situation “totally inappropriate”.