The day parents staged a playground protest at a Leeds primary

We rewind to September 1985 in this photo taken in the middle of the playground at a Leeds primary.
These parents staged a playground protest.These parents staged a playground protest.
These parents staged a playground protest.

This group of mums staged a protest after they were refused permission to supervise their children's lunch breaks.

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The mothers, many of them single parents, claimed they risked losing their jobs because they had to pick up their children from Westfield Primary on Burley Road every lunchtime.

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The issue centred around teachers who were refusing supervise meals as part of their dispute over pay.

But mothers were angry after the headteacher turned down their offer to supervise meals themselves on a weekly rota.

One of the concerned parents was Marilyn Raper who worked as a sheltered housing warden.

"Some of the working mothers are desperate," she said. "And if a mother can't get to school, then the child will try to make his own way home. Some live as far away as Kirkstall and it could be very dangerous."

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Marilyn told the YEP at the time that parents had got together and organised a rota so that parents who were available over lunchtime could supervise meals.

" We put this to the head but he said we couldn't do it because of insurance. I rang the Education Depaetment and they said we couldn't."

A Leeds City Council spokeswoman said at the time: "Only council employees are covered by our insurance. Parents would not have insurance cover and if there were an accident, there could be serious consequences."