Following the complaints, the company removed the link to the alternative versions of the class photos at the request of the school, and they are no longer available for purchase.
But Natalie Pinnell, whose daughter Erin was among those excluded from the photographs, told the Press and Journal it felt like her child was “erased from history”.
The “heartbroken” mother told the newspaper: “To give people the option to erase my daughter from history for the sake of optics is frankly inhumane. One of the cruelest things that I’ve ever experienced.”
A second parent, Lisa Boyd, also told the newspaper her daughter Lily, a wheelchair user, was removed from an alternative photo, with the nine-year-old’s twin sister devastated.
‘What the hell happened’
The photo company was holding meetings to establish happened, according to one of its bosses who denied any knowledge of the situation and said he felt the families deserved an apology.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Terence Tempest, 70, said: “We’re heartbroken. We have released a statement but at the moment I’m just trying to find out what stimulated this and what the hell happened.
“It’s just unacceptable, I don’t know what’s happened. It’s certainly not a policy of ours. We had a crisis meeting this morning, we are having another one this afternoon. Of course I understand how upset the families must be, I would be too.
“If I were in that position, I would want an apology. I don’t run the company and I’m in touch with the managing director at the moment and they will decide what to do.”
Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s First Minister, tweeted: “Outrageous and shameful. I struggled to believe this was true when I first saw the headlines.
“Natalie has every right to be upset, as will all parents at this sorry episode. I am pleased an apology has been given, but this must never happen again in any school in the country.”
Katie Price, the model and TV personality, said she was upset by their experience. Her son, Harvey, 22, has Prader-Willi syndrome, autism and is partially sighted.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “Things like that upset me because, at the end of the day, we’re all different. Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you should be treated differently.
“I always tell people, ‘Just remember, you might think your life is perfect but one day, one of your family could have an accident or something and become disabled and you have to become their full-time carer’.
“So always remember, never judge anything, because it could happen to you. And let’s see if you take the mickey then or you exclude them out of photos. I just feel really strongly. I think we should all be treated the same.”
Aberdeenshire Council has called the decision “totally unacceptable” and emphasized it was not taken by the school. However, the local authority said it was “sincerely sorry”.
A spokesman said: “Aboyne is an inclusive school and every single child should be included, engaged and involved in their learning and school experiences.”
Patrick Roach, the general secretary of the NASUWT union, who represents teachers across the UK, called the incident “shocking” and “crass”.
Speaking at the union’s annual conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Dr Roach said: “It’s a sign of, frankly, a lack of understanding about the importance of inclusion and diversity. It’s also potentially evidence of discrimination.
“It creates that sense of a hostile environment for disabled kids, but also for disabled people generally. It’s shocking and needs to be dealt with.”
