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25/03/2009
Parents Of Dead Teen Sent 'Truancy Warning Letter'
The grieving parents of a 15-year-old schoolgirl who died two months ago, have received a letter from her school demanding she improves her attendance.
Megan Gillan was found dead in her bedroom in Macclesfield, Cheshire, two months ago.
Her parents said they were "floored" by the letter, signed by the deputy headmaster, which threatened to ban her from the end of year 'prom'.
Mrs Gillan, who works in A&E at Macclesfield Hospital, said: "I screamed when I first saw it. If they want her to attend that much I'll take Megan’s remains. It's disgusting.
"Megan doesn't go to that school anymore. She's been dead for two months now so it's not surprising her attendance is low.
"I was pulling myself together to go back to work, but receiving the letter has just floored me."
She added: "Meghan would have loved going to the prom. She planned to go with a group of friends, she was really looking forward to it."
Headteacher Ged Ward has since apologised for the 'software error'.
Mr Ward said: "Clearly that letter should not have gone out. I want to make my apology to Megan's parents and can only apologise for the distress that it has caused.
"The letter was sent to all year 11 parents regarding the school prom. We didn't think to check it.
"With hindsight we should have checked all 150 of them. The problem is a software problem."
A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said Capita software SIMS (School Information Management Systems) maintained Megan's details.
"Megan's name had been taken off the school roll when she died, and removed from the main school database," the spokeswoman said.
"However, unknown to the school, her details had remained in a different part of the computer system and were called up when the school did a mail merge letter to the parents of all Year 11 students about their prom.
"The letter called up details of each student's attendance for the whole year to date and because Megan had been on roll in September, she was included.
The cause of Megan's death is still not known and an inquest is expected in the next few months.
(JM/BMcC)
Megan Gillan was found dead in her bedroom in Macclesfield, Cheshire, two months ago.
Her parents said they were "floored" by the letter, signed by the deputy headmaster, which threatened to ban her from the end of year 'prom'.
Mrs Gillan, who works in A&E at Macclesfield Hospital, said: "I screamed when I first saw it. If they want her to attend that much I'll take Megan’s remains. It's disgusting.
"Megan doesn't go to that school anymore. She's been dead for two months now so it's not surprising her attendance is low.
"I was pulling myself together to go back to work, but receiving the letter has just floored me."
She added: "Meghan would have loved going to the prom. She planned to go with a group of friends, she was really looking forward to it."
Headteacher Ged Ward has since apologised for the 'software error'.
Mr Ward said: "Clearly that letter should not have gone out. I want to make my apology to Megan's parents and can only apologise for the distress that it has caused.
"The letter was sent to all year 11 parents regarding the school prom. We didn't think to check it.
"With hindsight we should have checked all 150 of them. The problem is a software problem."
A spokesman for Cheshire County Council said Capita software SIMS (School Information Management Systems) maintained Megan's details.
"Megan's name had been taken off the school roll when she died, and removed from the main school database," the spokeswoman said.
"However, unknown to the school, her details had remained in a different part of the computer system and were called up when the school did a mail merge letter to the parents of all Year 11 students about their prom.
"The letter called up details of each student's attendance for the whole year to date and because Megan had been on roll in September, she was included.
The cause of Megan's death is still not known and an inquest is expected in the next few months.
(JM/BMcC)
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