A MUM has accused a headteacher of being “dismissive” towards her autistic daughter following an incident involving the youngster.

Dunbar Primary School headteacher Helen Gillanders told the girl’s teacher that the mother had decided to home school, adding: “Hard but let it go”; however, she copied her response to the mum.

The mum of the pupil, who had been contacted by the school after her daughter fled the classroom in distress last week, said she only raised the subject of home schooling in a response following a “particularly harrowing day”.

She said the ease at which the headteacher appeared to accept her suggestion left her stunned.

The mum, who did not want to be named, said: “I emailed this message to the school after a particularly harrowing day – where my daughter experienced a full meltdown in front of her class and was asked to stop ‘distracting the class’.

“She became so agitated; and chewed her hand until it bled when she returned home.

“I then received the dismissive response from Mrs Gillanders, clearly sent to me by mistake.

“Like many parents of autistic children, we consider home-schooling frequently, when in despair and feeling like there is no other option.

“But my daughter has always expressed her feelings of wanting to remain at school.

“She has a lovely group of friends in her class and the social aspect of school is so important, especially for her.

“The dismissive attitude towards a child with complex needs and the way we have been made to feel as a family is outrageous.

“The lack of compassion shown by just a small minority of staff members at the school will stick in my mind forever.”

The email from the headteacher to the girl’s teacher read: “Just seen her reply! Hard but let it go as I see mum has now decided to home school.

“You have my full support and I know you are working incredibly hard for our pupils.”

The mum added: “I would like to emphasise, it is a tiny minority of people who have let my daughter down. The school overall is fantastic.”

She has now contacted the educational psychologist to ask her to mediate between her daughter and her teachers in the hope of a fresh start after the school break.

And she has called on the school to put a poster outlining ways to support and understand children with autism in every classroom.

A council spokesperson said: “Following a number of discussions with a parent, Mrs Gillanders, headteacher, sent an email to a colleague which was also copied to the parent.

“The contents of the email were a summary of the discussions reflecting the views of the parent.”