PARENTS hit out at a primary school after a change to the pupil drop-off system caused chaos and concern.

A lack of social distancing measures and staff to monitor the morning arrival of hundreds of children to Moredon Primary School and Nursery shocked many mums and dads.

They say that the school’s old system worked well enough and allowed for plenty of space between parents and pupils, but a sudden change to a new route has been deemed ill-advised and unsafe.

One parent who did not wish to give his name has a condition which puts him in a high-risk category for catching a case of coronavirus. The new system has made him apprehensive about going to the school in the mornings.

He said: “There were more than 100 parents and children crammed together at the school gate, it was chaos.

"They should not be putting people at risk like that, it’s disgusting.

“It’s frustrating too because I’m asthmatic so I can’t afford to become ill.

"I want to know why they decided to carry out this needless change, it’s baffling and has made a lot of parents angry.

“There used to be someone there filtering people through and checking they were socially distanced and had a mask but now everyone is kept out with no staff around to monitor it.”

He is not the only one who is displeased with this difference.

A grandmother who dropped her grandchildren off at the gates and also wished to be anonymous said: “It was absolutely chaotic and a shambles.

“The old way sent the children down the main drive and straight to the playground and the new way in circles round to the same drive anyway so I don't know why it's been changed.

“People are saying that if this is the way it’s going to be done now, they’ll wait until later to come in when there’s fewer people, even if their child is late because of this.

“If one person in that crowd unknowingly had Covid, it would have spread through the whole school. I’m vulnerable, so this worries me.”

A spokesperson from the school said: "The coordination of nearly 1,000 staff, parents, and children entering and leaving the school each day is a very difficult task.

"We reviewed the current process and decided to remove the safety concern of people walking through the school car park.

"This is because, due to the cold weather there's been an increased volume of traffic. Instead, parents and children were asked to use the side gate which is 10 metres away.

"Like any process change there can be a little confusion while parents and children transition to this new safer process.

"We welcome the news about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine being judged safe for use in the UK from next week.

"Hopefully parents and children will soon be able to return to the usual process of entering and leaving school.

"Until then, we thank all our parents and children for their continued patience and support."