Editorial Team
Parents whose kids attend a primary school in the UK – where students are aged 5 to 11 – were recently given two options for purchasing class photos: those which did and did not include students with “complex needs.”
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Someone from the photography company, Tempest Photography, had apparently sent Aboyne Primary parents a link with the two options. It’s unclear how exactly the links were labeled, but it was enough to cause massive backlash.
To be clear, the special needs kids were not photoshopped out. According to BBC, “some class photographs were taken before the pupils with additional support needs were brought in.”
Natalie Pinnell, whose daughter has special needs and attends the school, told The Press and Journal “that it felt like having her child ‘erased from history,'” adding, “I’m absolutely heartbroken. Furious.”
Tempest Photography released the following apology, which parents have slammed:
Recently, after capturing a class group photograph, one of our photographers took additional images of the class group which omitted some members of the class from the photograph.
We deeply regret any upset this has caused and would like to sincerely apologise to the parents and children affected.
We are a family-run business and photograph at schools across the UK and would like to reassure our customers that this is not standard procedure for our company and we are taking this matter very seriously.
We are committed to implementing meaningful changes to prevent such an occurrence in the future.
A representative from Aberdeenshire Council, where the school is located, said that “Whilst this was not a decision taken by the school, we absolutely appreciate the distress and hurt this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry,” also stating that “Aboyne is an inclusive school and every single child should be included, engaged and involved in their learning and school experiences.”
