Purvis Primary School has come under fire from parents over claims children had been made to line up en masse in the parking lot throughout morning recess and eat fruit quietly until class resumes.

One parent said she was “shocked” at “the antiquated system of command and control”.

She claimed that her son went missing during recess and when she approached a teacher she was told if “she wanted to supervise her own child at school she was welcome”. The mother said that her eight-year-old son had been repeatedly put in detention for talking and being “defiant” during the recess period and that he had lost self esteem, believing he was “a bad boy”. She said when she raised the issue with the principal, Judith Alexander, solutions were not forthcoming. The issue was highlighted in a Facebook post on MAJ’s List page which has so far attracted 135 comments — mostly expressing outrage at the allegations.

The Department of Education failed to answer a number of questions put to it by this newspaper including whether it could confirm the practice took place and how long it had been implemented, whether it deemed the practice acceptable and whether it intended to address concerns by the parent and the sentiments expressed online.

A spokeswoman responded: “The Department of Education’s policy is that recess is an expectation for primary schoolchildren to enjoy every day. Our principals are juggling schedules and curricular priorities to ensure that expectation is implemented daily. However, there are occasions when a school principal must revise schedules.”

The parent, who said it was her understanding that the practice had been going on for two years, told The Royal Gazette: “I went in to meet with the principal and she said they knew that it was my child, what the post was about and that the teachers were very upset.

“I asked why there would be cause for concern if there was nothing wrong with the process. To me it is just such an antiquated system of command and control and sadly it affects the children.

“I was shocked by the fact that they looked like they were being punished. They are meant to stand in a line and eat. They can talk as long as it is quiet but if they are too loud they will get detention. My son has had detention after detention this year because of talking. Every week he is telling me about having to sit in at lunch or recess because he was talking or being defiant in morning recess.

“My son is no angel but he is not boisterous — he is talkative and needs a window to talk before lunch. For me the problem is that my son has developed an understanding that he is a bad boy, he is bad at school, he is not applying himself. I don’t think it is an environment where my child can thrive. There was nothing satisfactory about the answers I got — the principal said the concerns were that they could choke on their fruit when they are running. She didn’t indicate that it would be something they were changing and she said if I had any solutions I could raise them.”

According to the mother, the Parent Teacher Association at the school is inactive and so her options are limited but she did say she would be raising her concerns with the department. Unable to afford to send her Bermudian child to a private school, the mother is now considering moving overseas so her son can be educated elsewhere. Chris Crumpler, whose name is noted as a potential future PTA president, told this newspaper: “Any disputes were last year and there isn’t anything that seems alarming to me but I will inquire, for sure.”

Another relative of a student attending the school contacted this newspaper to complain students had been told to “shut up, sit down and stay still”.

Ms Alexander directed us to the Department of Education. The department did not respond to questions sent by this newspaper relating to the issues.