A Dundee primary head teacher has turned up the volume by wielding a megaphone in the playground.
The move has not gone down well with some parents, who claim they have been treated disrespectfully.
Kris Gilruth, 26, said Gillian Knox of Eastern Primary School used the device to tell parents who were reassuring worried youngsters to leave the grounds.
He also claimed the megaphone has been used repeatedly over the past week and has inflamed the situation.
Mr Gilruth, who is the father of a P2 pupil, said: “You used to be able to say ‘bye’ but the head teacher has been out with the big megaphone telling all the parents to get out of the school grounds.
“She said that the parents being there was upsetting the kids. It seems to us that the kids are actually becoming more upset.
“I thought it was maybe just because it was the first day back but it has been used again this week.”
Mr Gilruth added: “A megaphone definitely isn’t going to help calm the kids. We spoke to the head teacher and her excuse was that we were being asked to leave so the kids don’t get upset.
“If your kids are crying then you want to make sure that they are going to be all right. It’s hard to walk away when your kid is standing crying and you can’t comfort them.
“There are quite a lot of parents who are unhappy about this. If the teacher had come up and spoken to us it would have been a bit nicer but to use a megaphone is too much. It’s terrible.”
Another Eastern parent backed the head teacher’s actions.
He said: “The megaphone might be a bit unusual, but I suppose it can be hard to make yourself heard over hundreds of screaming kids.”
A Dundee City Council spokeswoman said: “Any parent who has any concerns in relation to this matter should contact the head teacher of the school directly.”