An Orpington primary school has threatened to ban parents from its grounds - for walking their kids to classes.

Leesons Primary school, in Leesons Hill, used to have a policy where children in reception could be accompanied by parents from the school gates, over a playground and to their classroom doors.

But since Monday (October 16), the students, who can be as young as four-years-old, must leave their parents at the school gates and make the walk into school on their own.

When the new rule came in, some parents ignored it, including Caroline Jenkins, who has a four-year-old son at Leesons.

She said: “The head teacher stopped me from taking my son into his classroom even though she could see how upset he was. When I refused to let him walk alone the head told me I was trespassing and that I would get a ban.

“He stood there, crying and tried to run out of the gates which resulted in me taking him home.”

Ms Jenkins claims she was told by the head teacher that she wasn’t DBS checked so she could not come in.

She added: “I've never heard such nonsense! They say we need a DBS check to take our children into school but not when we pick them up or when there are school assemblies or Christmas fairs. I'm fuming. So are a lot of other parents.”

A spokesperson for Leesons denied that the head teacher said parents needed to be DBS checked.

A spokesperson for the Spring Partnership Trust, which runs Leesons, said: “The Spring Partnership Trust is taking every possible step to ensure that pupils at Leesons Primary School have the opportunity to start their day on time, calmly and happily.

“We would encourage parents to work with the staff on this new soft-start to the school day.”

The spokesperson said the policy was put in place so that instead of playing in the playground and lining up, they go straight into class and begin their school day.”

The policy is also being used to “alleviate the volume of traffic and free up parking spaces near to the school.”

The school also says that teachers will help guide the children across a playground to their classrooms.