Mayfield School: Claims pupil was 'singled out' for wearing black trainers at school despite medical condition

Skyla Tomlin, 13, wore the Nike Air Force Ones after being diagnosed with a stage three ingrown toenail. But mum Laura, 44, says her daughter was still sent out of class at Mayfield School - leaving her in tears. Skyla has been missing days at school on and off for the last two months - but now hasn't attended at all for two weeks.

The school says it has been supporting the teen and have been helping the family find shoes which fit in with its uniform policy - and have even offered to pay for them. However the family have been unhappy with the school's reaction.

Laura, a civil servant from Portsmouth, said: “I feel like Skyla has been singled out - wearing the school-regulated shoes is excruciatingly painful for her. She’s been treated like she’s a naughty child - but she has a medical condition. Her attendance is now at 86 per cent - because she’s too afraid to even go to school. She kept phoning me up in tears, saying they’d sent her out again. It carried on for weeks.”

Laura first noticed Skyla’s in-growing toenail in November 2023 - but the teen had hidden it from her mum for weeks previously. While performing at a dance competition, Laura noticed her toes were “covered in pus and blood”. She took Skyla to her GP - who said she had a stage-three ingrown toenail. The condition had developed so much, she’d need surgery to remove it.

And she was prescribed penicillin, to take four times every day until the surgery. Her GP issued a free doctor’s note, giving Skyla written permission to wear her PE trainers to school.

But after the Christmas holidays, Skyla phoned Laura up to say she’d been taken out of class. Skyla said: “The day I went into school wearing my Air Forces, I brought the doctor’s note with me. I was sent to the office by my teacher, and they were all saying I couldn’t wear shoes with a logo on them. I showed them my doctor’s note, but they still sent me a written warning. I was quite upset because it made me feel like their policies were more important than my health.”

Unable to wear any other pair of shoes, Skyla continued going to school wearing the trainers - and showing her teachers the doctor’s note. But on January 15, Laura got a call from the teen in tears - saying she'd been "told off again".

Laura claimed: “I put in a request to see the uniform policy but was told it was only ‘uniform information’ - which makes me wonder why they’re saying trainers are against school policy. I tried to ask for reasonable adjustments for my daughter’s condition - but they refused to engage."

Neither Laura or the school have managed to resolve the matter in the last two months - and Skyla now refuses to attend. Laura says the “debacle” has been “detrimental” to her daughter’s mental health.

Skyla said: “I felt upset, and they’ve stopped me from seeing my friends. I’ve been punished like I’m a distracting kid who doesn’t do my work. But I enjoyed school before.”

Mayfield's headteacher Ashley Howard said: "Our school is committed to supporting every one of our pupils. We provided this child with new shoes to help her manage her condition, at our own cost. We continue to try to help the family find footwear which is both comfortable for the child, and is in line with our school uniform guidelines. As such, we have offered to pay for another pair of appropriate shoes which the family can choose."