STAFF at a primary school have apologised after they were accused of “shaming” a family by sending details of a huge bill to all parents.

Bosses at Mount Primary School in Wirral have said sorry for the “mistake” relating to a £445.50 bill for a pupil attending its after-school Lighthouse Club facility.

In a statement to the Local Democracy Service, the school in New Brighton said it had breached personal data by revealing the name of the pupil in question, adding that it had been an “administrative error”.

It has angered some parents, who accused Mount Primary of “shaming” the pupil’s family.

Parents of all 300 children at the school are believed to have received the email on Tuesday, which asked for the money to be paid by March 8, otherwise the pupil’s place at the club would be forfeited.

It added: “Although we are sympathetic to individual circumstances and endeavour to try and help families, the club is self-funding and does not receive financial help from school.

“As a consequence the club relies on prompt and regular payment from families who use the club’s services. Delays with childcare voucher payments notwithstanding all sessions should be paid in advance, or in the same week they are taken.”

On the school’s website, it says the Lighthouse Club is “wholly self-financing and depends on prompt payment to continue provision”. It offers both breakfast and after-school sessions to pupils.

On Tuesday, it sent out a further email to parents informing them the email had amounted to a breach of the pupil’s personal data.

It added: “Our data protection officer is investigating and the ICO has been informed.”

When contacted for a comment on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the school said: “This was an administrative error and we would like to apologise sincerely for our mistake.

“As soon as we realised what had happened, we contacted the parent of the pupil involved to explain and apologise for this error.

“We have also informed other parents of the breach and asked them to delete the email.

“The school has reported the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office under General Data Protection Regulations, and we await their response.”