School tells girl from Huyton to remove earrings that make her feel 'calm and safe'

An 11-year-old girl from Merseyside who lost her dad to suicide three years ago was told she could not wear her "barely noticeable" earrings in school despite them helping her feel "grounded and safe".

The Prescot School student India Lloyd, from Huyton, has worn the tiny earrings containing a sliver of diamond from her great-grandma's engagement ring since she was two-years-old.

India's mum, 43-year-old healthcare worker Geraldine Lloyd, said her daughter had been allowed to wear them all throughout primary school and did not expect there to be a problem when she started in Year 7 at high school this month.

Geraldine said India, who has struggled to deal with the sudden loss of her dad and is undergoing counselling, described the earrings as helping her keep calm and "feel safe" when things became too overwhelming.

But the school, which up until this term allowed small studs to be worn by its pupils, has changed its policy to ban all jewellery.

Geraldine had been in discussions with senior teachers at the school for the previous two weeks, and was happy to cover them with plaster or tape, but today a decision was made that the earrings would not be permitted.

India told the Liverpool Echo: "I came in from break and the teacher was waiting outside the place where we go into art lessons and told me to wait outside.

"They took me to the removal room and told me to sit down, and they read me the removal room rules.

"I got told I had to face forward and I couldn't turn around.

"I was quite sad and upset because my earrings make me feel safe, but I didn't want to miss any school because I like it."

Geraldine told the ECHO India sent her a text explaining what had happened.

She told the ECHO: "She told me she had to face the front and couldn't look around, and she not been given any work to do or any lessons.

"I went straight down to the school and said I am taking my child out of there, I would rather her be at home with me than staring at a wall in there doing nothing.

"I was so angry because they pulled her out of art and she loves art.

"I just don't think they are taking into account what she has been going through. She has been to hell and back in the past few years, and the earrings keep her grounded and make her feel safe.

She added: "No policy is set in stone and there can always be allowances."

A spokesperson for The Prescot School said: “At the start of any school year, but particularly after the challenges of Covid, it is important that we set out school expectations to ensure that our community is a happy place where every child is able to thrive.

“That is why we have made a significant effort to evolve our standards and expectations, all of which were communicated in advance of the summer break.