Parents angry as Chelmsford school's new rules 'ban pupils from hugging and romantic relationships'

A secondary school has banned pupils from hugging and holding hands - sparking a backlash from parents who have labelled the measures "draconian".

Youngsters at Hylands School in Chelmsford have also been forbidden from having romantic relationships at school, or any kind of physical contact.

Parents say the measures go too far, by effectively stopping friends from greeting each other, and raised concerns at the impact on pupils' mental health.

The school said most parents and pupils supported the policy, adding that it "engenders mutual respect and encourages pupils to behave professionally as any future employer would expect".

The rules, outlined in a letter from assistant headteacher Catherine McMillan, forbid "any physical contact" between members of the school community and explain that the school "do[es] not allow" romantic relationships.

Students who are caught using mobile phones could have them locked in a safe for the rest of the day.

One parent claimed families had not been told about the new policy prior to the 9 January letter.

The parent, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I couldn't believe it. In this day and age, I agree that inappropriate touching - hitting and punching - of course has to be dealt with. But they're not teaching students how to have a healthy relationship.

"The inference is that you can't touch anyone, children won't know what is or isn't appropriate, and the ability to empathise with their peers is being taken away.

"I have a daughter and she and her friends greet each other with a hug, but if they do that now they'll [face being] put into isolation."

The letter states that forms of physical contact not tolerated include "any aggressive physical contact, hugging, holding hands, slapping someone, etc".

It adds: "This is in order to keep your child safe. If your child is touching somebody else, whether they are consenting or not, anything could happen. It could lead to an injury, make someone feel very uncomfortable, or someone being touched inappropriately.

"While we want your children to make really positive friendships, hopefully lifelong ones, we don't allow romantic relationships at Hylands. Your child is of course able to have these relationships with your permission outside of school.

"We want your child to focus on their learning while in school and we don’t want them to be distracted by relationship issues. In your child's personal development lessons we learn about positive, healthy relationships and your child can still talk to a trusted adult in school for advice and support if they need to."

The parent added: "Human instinct is that if your friend fell over you might help them up. But now they're having their privileges threatened such as losing their lunch or morning breaks, or even isolation for the day - which is all so draconian.

"There's been a huge outcry from other parents. Partly because of the lack of communication with parents, all we've been told is what students tell us. But it's also such an archaic approach and is not needed in this day and age.

"After the pandemic, where everyone was starved of human contact, you are now setting everything back. It's not going to help students' mental health either."

Maggie Callaghan, executive headteacher at Hylands School, said: "We always seek to work closely with parents in order to ensure that our pupils are safe and happy.

"Most parents and pupils support this policy which engenders mutual respect and encourages pupils to behave professionally as any future employer would expect."

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