Annick shouldn't be in headlines

Mar 13 2009 Irvine Herald

Annick shouldn’t be in headlines

I FEEL that I must write regarding last week’s front page – “Lousy! Dad demands school is shut to kill off plague of head lice.”

I myself have two children who attend different classes at Annick Primary School and feel that this article is unprofessionally written and completely inaccurate.

The issue with head lice has been a concern in schools for many generations and is by no means a new problem. Annick Primary is not alone with this issue therefore to be front page news for this alone is outrageous.

Annick Primary continually advise parents of this issue requesting parents to be vigilant and if necessary treat their children if required. It would therefore fall to parents and their responsibility to eradicate this issue, having been regularly advised to do so via regular school newsletters to homes.

It is ludicrous that this is front page news.

To shut a school for fumigation purposes is ridiculous. Head lice don’t live in schools, they live and breed in untreated, infected heads. To shut a school for this reason would serve no purpose as it would still require for infected pupils to be treated appropriately at home as if this is not done, the problem would continue to persist.

This article appears to have no input from school staff, the head teacher or school nurse, yet they are quoted from a third party. This in itself is very unprofessional as all parties should have a right to reply to complaints prior to going to print, which does not appear to have happened.

Why this story was ever run I do not know. Mr Brown, the head teacher and staff at Annick Primary are helpful, and work hard. They certainly do not deserve to be cheapened in this way.

I would be happy for this letter to go to print in support of the school, its staff and all the work it does throughout the year for the better of all our children.

Yvonne Scott, Archers Avenue,Irvine