Primary school names kids entitled to free school meals in Christmas dinner email to all parents
Email identified 14 children on free school meals out of 270 pupils at Bridlewood Primary School
A PRIMARY school accidentally sent a list of poor children entitled to free Christmas lunches to every parent.
The email blunder identified 14 pupils out of 270 at Bridlewood Primary in Blunsdon, near Swindon, Wiltshire.
It gave details of pupils who had request a Christmas lunch and highlighted which children received free school meals.
It also named those whose parents have yet to pay for the lunches.
One dad stormed: "It is absolutely horrendous.
"It's going to cause immense embarrassment for those parents who can't afford to pay for their child's Christmas meals."
Although his child did not have a free meal, he was "horrified" for those whose kids did.
The dad was also worried how the information could be used, particularly in cases where families might have moved to escape domestic violence.
"It is a child protection issue as well - it should never have happened," he said.
"Quite often they send out email with the wrong attachment and so it's likely to happen again."
The school has apologised for any distress caused.
A spokesman said: "Unfortunately this was quite simply a case of human error, which resulted in the wrong attachment being sent out in an email to parents.
"Once we realised we had made a mistake we immediately contacted parents to apologise and sent the correct information."
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The email was sent out via the school's Parentpay system, a system of online payments for things like school meals, trips, and uniforms. It is used by 6,000 schools across the country.
Reminders and alerts are sent directly to parents, covering emergency closures and parents' evenings as well as payments.
Bridlewood Primary School says it uses the emailing system because letters often go missing when delivered into children's hands.
The school was rated 'good' in its most recent Ofsted inspection.