Furious mothers say they are “devastated” after a photography company made the “inhumane” offer to remove disabled children and those with additional support needs from class photographs.
Three children from Aboyne Primary School in Scotland were removed from images sent via an internet link, giving parents the option to request a photo without them.
Businesswoman Natalie Pinnell, 38, a mother of two, told MailOnline that the decision to omit her nine-year-old daughter Erin from her class photograph had “devastated” her family.
She described the decision made by Cornwall-based Tempest Photography as “inhumane” and said her son had been “erased from history”. The company says it is investigating.
Tempest Photography is run by Terence Tempest, 70, who lives in a £3 million riverside lodge in Cornwall.
Ms Pinnell said: “They can’t be deleted because they are inconvenient.” It’s just not right.
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Mum-of-two Natalie Pinnell, 38, told MailOnline that the decision to omit her nine-year-old daughter Erin (pictured together) from her class photo had “devastated” her family.
Erin’s mum Natalie told MailOnline: ‘You can’t delete them because they are inconvenient.’ It’s just not right.
Lisa Boyd’s nine-year-old daughter Lily Nicolson (pictured), who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was also omitted from one of the class photographs, along with another child.
“It’s devastating to have your child deleted from a photo or give parents the option to include them or not.
‘She is the most beautiful human being. Who could do this?
‘I’m grateful she’s not aware of it because the damage it would do to her self-esteem would be devastating.
But I have to tell my other daughter what is happening to her sister. I’m not sure if I’m going to sleep tonight.
Natalie, who runs a business strategy and management firm in Aboyne, said she was left furious after sshe received an email from the school with two photo links: one that included her daughter and one that didn’t.
Another class that had a disabled girl in a wheelchair also had two photos: one with the schoolgirl and one without her.
Natalie added: ‘I checked with the school and they checked with the photographer. She said “yes, that’s what we’ve done.”
‘It has been the most traumatic experience we have felt as a family.
‘I really wanted to believe there was a different reason. I was trying to find a reason why someone would have made that decision.
‘We have been in mourning. It has hurt us. I feel like I haven’t even gotten to the bottom of my shock. It has been absolutely devastating.
“The worst part was when I was talking to a friend about what happened and she found out there were two links for her daughter.”
Natalie said the school, which has a dedicated additional needs centre, had promised to never use the business again.
He added: ‘It has been something difficult to process as a family. As a mother I want to defend her, and for people to think it’s erasable is just devastating beyond belief.
Natalie described the decision made by Cornwall-based Tempest Photography as “inhumane” and said her son had been “written out of history”. Pictured: Erin Pinnell, age nine.
Three children from Aboyne Primary School (pictured) in Scotland were removed from images sent via an internet link, giving parents the option of requesting a photo without them.
“Giving parents the option of whether or not to include a particular child because they don’t fit in at all is beyond comprehension.”
The 38-year-old said this “undermines” all of the school’s work.
Although the school apologized to Natalie, she was keen to emphasize that “it’s not the school’s fault” and also praised the “outpouring of love and support” from the community.
She said parents had rallied around her and now there is only one version of the image available to purchase.
However, she is concerned that the company will continue to send the version without her daughter to parents who have requested it.
The “painful” experience has left her feeling “vulnerable” and she said she “wholeheartedly supported” calls for schools to cut ties with Tempest.
She said: “This company has a big hand in managing school photos.”
‘I cannot allow another family to experience the pain that we experienced, that other parents may or may not include our daughter,
‘Many parents in the community have decided not to buy the photographs.
‘I’d like some answers. It is very painful (and) disturbing. What is (Tempest) going to do to rectify it? What are the authorities going to do about the contract?
Natalie wasn’t the only mother outraged by the shocking decision.
Lily Nicolson, Lisa Boyd’s nine-year-old daughter, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, was also omitted from one of the class photos, along with another child.
She said: ‘This is clear discrimination and should not happen in a school or anywhere else.
‘This is the worst they’ve treated Lily in her entire life. The school is so inclusive that Lily is included in everything the school does.
‘His twin sister, Iona, is in a different class and I only got one photo for that class, but I got two for Lily’s, one without my son. It’s horrendous.’
Boyd said the reason the photographer initially gave the school was that it can take time to get some kids to focus.
Aberdeenshire Council said last night that it had taken up the matter with Tempest Photography, the company responsible.
The council said the decision to offer images “with and without complex needs to pupils” was not made by the school.
A spokesperson said: “We absolutely appreciate the distress and pain this has caused some parents and carers and we are sincerely sorry.”
“The matter has been addressed directly with the photography company as it is totally unacceptable.”
Tempest was contacted but told BBC Scotland it was investigating the matter and would not comment at this time.