My son, 11, was ‘put in isolation at school over extreme’ haircut – but he’s getting revenge in best way
A BOY who was allegedly placed in isolation because of an “extreme haircut” is getting sweet revenge.
Jaylen Mason, 11, was hauled out of the lunch queue on his first day of Year 7 by teachers because his long braids went against school hair policy, his family claim.
As a punishment – which mum Aimee Mason says was discriminatory – he was separated from other pupils at Robert Clack school in Dagenham, Essex.
Speaking to the Mirror, Jaylen explained: “It made me feel awkward [when people were saying things] at the start but then I started getting angry and sad.”
Jaylen’s mum claims teachers throwing her youngster in isolation kickstarted a targeted bullying campaign because it singled him out.
She claims from then on, other kids would pull at his long, curly black hair and call him names like “Tarzan” and “Jumanji”.
Aimee added: “A lot of the time they were calling him a girl, a lot to do with his hair.
“They called him Medusa at one point which really upset him.”
To add insult to injury, teachers later admitted his haircut did not breach the school’s hair policy.
But brave Jaylen has decided to take matters into his own hands – by cutting it all off for charity on Saturday.
He has so far raised £910 out of a £1000 target for Future Youth Zone, a charity which helped him with his own mental health struggles.
While he is sad to lose it, he stressed that he is turning his ordeal into good cause by giving it to someone who needs it.
But the charitable lad added: “They might keep saying stuff but pulling my hair will stop.”
Mum Aimee said she wished he didn’t have to resort to cutting his hair but is proud it’s for a positive cause.
His mum says she told staff about the bullying back in 2022, but the school likely didn’t record the allegations because her son was too afraid to give names.
Robert Clack school claimed it wasn’t aware of bullying allegations and said they had reviewed records of conversations with Jaylen’s mum.
A Robert Clack statement read: “The Head of Year 7 regularly speaks with the pupil in question and his mother and none of the conversations prior to this date related to allegations of bullying.
“Indeed, the allegations only came to light when the School received an email from a journalist.
“Subsequently, the pupil made an allegation against another child, which was investigated and dealt with in line with school policy.
“On Wednesday 1 March, the Head of Year 7, the Assistant Headteacher (Pastoral) and the SENDCo met with Miss Mason.
“The Head of Year 7 also spoke with Miss Mason on the telephone for over an hour on Friday 3 March.
“During these conversations, it was explained to Miss Mason that if allegations were not reported to the School, they could not be investigated.
“Since then, further allegations, which are unrelated to the pupil’s hair, have been made and are currently under investigation.
“Moving forward, the School hopes that, if any further concerns arise, Miss Mason and the pupil in question will report them directly to the School and in a timely fashion so that they can be investigated.”
Jaylen’s GoFundMe can be found here.