THE mother of a five-year-old girl who was told she couldn’t hold a Children in Need event at her school is appealing for help from local businesses.
Niamh Woods, a pupil at Hawarden Penarlag CP School, created a ‘guess the name of the bear’ event and wanted to hold it at the school but her request was turned down because the school had arranged its own fundraiser.
Mum Sarah said: “Niamh really wanted to help out Children In Need this year, so we bought a big teddy bear, decorated it and made a chart with names on it.
“We took it to school and asked for permission to hold it there. I was aware that time may be an issue for the teachers so I offered to take full responsibility.
“The school said I couldn’t hold the event because they were already planning something themselves.”
Sarah a mental health nurse, added: “I asked to speak to the head and find out why we couldn’t do it, but I was told she was too busy.
“It saddens me that I have to tell my five-year-old that her own school refuses to support her selfless efforts to help others.”
Headteacher of Hawarden Penarlag Fiona Kingsnorth was unavailable for comment when the school was contacted by the Leader.
Ian Budd, director of lifelong learning at Flintshire Council said: “We have received correspondence this week from Mrs Woods which is being addressed.
“The correspondence relates to both a school admissions request issue and also a complaint against an individual school.
“The school admissions request is being appropriately addressed by the local authority in accordance with the legal admissions process.
“School complaints are legally required to be addressed by the individual school under its published complaints policy. The local authority cannot legally substitute a view for that of a locally managed school.”
Now mother and daughter are appealing to a local businesses to hold the event.
“We’d like a private nursery to hold our event at their business and every penny will go to Children In Need,” said Sarah.
“My daughter will get to experience what it feels like to help others and learn about the values of good community spirit.”
There are 60 teddy bear names to choose from with each guess costing £1.
If you would like to hold Niamh’s event call the Leader on 01352 707758.