Parents asked if they want disabled children removed from class photos
Parents have been left ‘devastated’ after a photography firm offered to remove their disabled children from class photos.
Three children at Aboyne Primary School in Scotland were edited out of one of the images sent via an internet link by photography company Tempest.
This meant parents had the option to order a photo without them in it, leaving families to feel their children have been ‘erased’.
This is despite the fact the school has a dedicated additional needs hub.
Natalie Pinnell, 38, said her nine-year-old daughter Erin, who has additional support needs, was removed from the picture.
She told MailOnline: ‘You can’t erase them because they’re inconvenient. It’s just not OK.
‘It’s devastating to have your child be erased from a photo or give parents a choice whether she should or should not be included.
‘She is the most beautiful human being. Who could do this? I’m grateful that she’s not aware of it because the damage that would do to her self-esteem would be devastating.’
A girl in a wheelchair from another class was also removed from her photo.
Lisa Boyd, whose daughter Lily Nicolson has cerebral palsy, was omitted from her photo along with another boy.
She said: ‘This is clear discrimination and shouldn’t happen in a school or anywhere.
‘It is the worst that Lily has been treated in her entire life. The school is so inclusive, Lily is included in everything the school does.
‘Her twin sister, Iona, is in a different class and I only got one photo for that class but I got two for Lily’s – one without my kid in it. It’s horrendous.’
After Natalie informed the school, they apologised and vowed to never use the company again, with the mum insisting it was never their fault.
She said: ‘I queried it with the school and they queried it with the photographer. He said ”yes, that’s what we have done.”
‘I really wanted to believe there was a different reason. I was trying to look for a reason why someone would have made that decision.’
Aberdeenshire Council said they have taken the matter up with Tempest Photography.
They added the decision to offer images ‘with and without complex needs provision pupils’ was not made by the school.
A spokesman said: ‘We absolutely appreciate the distress and hurt this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry.
‘The issue has been taken up with the photography company directly as this is totally unacceptable.’
Tempest told BBC Scotland it was investigating the matter and there would be no comment at this stage.
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