Parents slam school for ‘making children as young as NINE wipe down tables and sweep the floor at lunchtime’

PARENTS have slammed a UK school for “making” children as young as nine take part in a new lunchtime clean-up initiative.

Year 5 and 6 pupils at the have been roped into sweeping floors, clearing dishes and wiping tables in the dinner hall after .

The Limes Primary Academy in , Suffolk recently introduced the new system, which asks children to clean up after one another once their year group has eaten lunch.

The school has introduced the scheme, which also includes clearing used plates and cutlery and disposing of leftovers, to help kids to “develop age-appropriate responsibility, independence and teamwork”.

However, some have raised concerns over pupils being required to help with cleaning and queried whether it is being done in a bid to fill short gaps.

Questions surrounding the hygiene levels of the arrangements have also been brought up, while others have pointed out that the pupils are losing a significant chunk of their lunchtime break.

Meanwhile, the safety of children with allergies handling leftover has been called into question by parents.

Some parents are now taking their children out of school during lunchtime periods, while others are threatening to remove their children from the academy entirely.

Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press , one unnamed parent said: “Our concerns are not about children taking responsibility for their own belongings or clearing their own plates.

“The issue is that the children are expected to handle other children’s plates, cutlery and leftover food as part of the process,” they added.

“We are concerned that Year 5 pupils are effectively being used to carry out the duties of lunchtime staff, including cleaning up after several year groups and handling other children’s food, plates and cutlery, while losing a significant proportion of their own lunchtime.”

Another parent added: “We have repeatedly raised concerns about the amount of actual downtime the children are getting.

“We feel that this is an important part of the school day, particularly for children who need time to decompress, socialise and reset before returning to lessons – but the focus has been on how efficiently the system is working.”

Responding to the push back, Reach2 Academy Trust, which oversees The Limes Primary Academy, denied that the cleaning scheme has been put in place due to staffing issues and highlighted that the chores are “simple and supervised”.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “Like hundreds of schools across the country, the initiative at The Limes Primary Academy has been designed to help children in years 5 and 6 develop age-appropriate responsibility, independence and teamwork.

“This includes taking greater ownership of the shared spaces they use every day,” the representative continued.

“It is absolutely not the case that pupils are being used to replace lunchtime staff or to fill a staffing gap.

“There has been no reduction in lunchtime staffing, pupils are not carrying out the role of midday supervisors, and lunchtime continues to be supervised by school staff.”

In the statement, Reach2 adds that it will continue to listen to the concerns of parents.

“We recognise that some parents have questions about the initiative and the school will continue to listen to and engage with families.

“The activities are intended to be simple, appropriate and supervised, while helping children develop useful life skills and contribute positively to their school community”.

The Academy Trust also assured that pupils have not had their lunch break cut short.

“There has been no reduction in pupils’ playtime. The new teamwork-based routine is quick and efficient, and children continue to receive their full break.

“There has been no reduction in lunchtime staffing, pupils are not carrying out the role of midday supervisors, and lunchtime continues to be supervised by school staff.”

The representative went on to point out that many parents of children at the school are in favour of the scheme.

“We have responded to every parent that has been in touch with us – many of whom have been very supportive of the initiative.”