A furious Bradford mother is calling for a new "name and shame" forgotten-homework penalty to be scrapped after her son was "humiliated" in front of the whole school.

Nicola Majid says parents of pupils at Ley Top Primary, in Allerton, were not told about the scheme, which involves youngsters who forget their homework having to stand up in front of school assembly and have their name called out.

Head teacher Janet Grayshon said the new approach was being taken to highlight the importance of homework.

But mother-of-four Mrs Majid said her son Arron, eight, left his work at home in a "one-off" incident and should not have been punished in this way. "It's far too extreme and parents should have been informed about what was happening," said the 28-year-old nail technician.

"He was still shaking when he got home and it knocked his confidence. His teacher didn't even ask him why he hadn't brought his homework in. Parents should have been told about it. We live on an estate and, for some children, getting to school every day is an achievement in itself."

Mrs Majid said she feared the policy would have a detrimental effect on youngsters who struggled to do homework because of family pressures. "Some children who come from large families don't get much one-to-one support at home and this penalty will single them out and could lead to them not enjoying school," she said.

Mrs Majid said she complained to the school and Education Bradford.

General secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists, Brian Harrison-Jennings, said he was "far from in favour" of the punishment, which he said was counter-productive.

"It's a very wrong way and it will result in children being frightened into doing their homework rather than encourage them to get it in," he said. "It's humiliating for the children concerned but it has an effect on the whole school. The pupils will be living in fear of the possibility that next week it could be them."

He said this could affect the whole atmosphere and ethos of the school.

"When teachers are training they are told in their early days that naming and shaming is not the way; the best way is to name and reward individuals as that's what gets results," said Mr Harrison-Jennings.

Head teacher Mrs Grayshon said pupils were warned about the penalty, which was introduced last Friday.

"Homework is part of children's learning and we have to follow Government guidelines and set it," she said. "We try to persuade children to get their homework in and we reward classes who have a good rate of returning their work at an awards ceremony. It's the first time we've done this and the aim is to help pupils see how important it is and to improve the amount of homework being done and handed in."

Mrs Grayshon said the school tried to work hard with parents and pupils to tackle the issue. "We have a homework club and what's expected is set out in the school guide," she said.