Children should be protected from “terrifying” Santa Claus, and shielded from “alarming” pantomimes, according to a government website for teachers.

The website, which was taken down yesterday by embarrassed officials, also said that staff organising school Christmas parties should take care not to arrange competitive games with winners and losers to avoid upsetting the children and make them feel they had “underperformed”.

Parents’ groups yesterday condemned the advice which they said threatened to destroy the magic of Christmas.

The advice on the website, www.teachernet.gov.uk, said: “For very young children, Father Christmas can be terrifying, and if you are planning a visit from Santa, you’ll need to make sure that fearful children are near an exit.

“Trips to the pantomime can cause alarm, so the same planning applies.

“Younger children in particular have a wide range of fears, many of which seem completely irrational to adults.

“Many children dislike the dark or crowded rooms, so be sensitive to this if you are planning atmospheric lighting.”

The site also had a link to a list of games that could be included in school parties, devised by the “progressive” youth movement, the Woodcraft Folk. The advice said: “Sometimes parties and organised games just reinforce differences and inequalities.

“The last thing you want is for children to get anxious or upset because they feel they have underperformed, or not been successful.

“If you do have games with winners, make sure that all children are given an opportunity to succeed where possible.”

Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said: said: “It is so sad that we have become so politically correct that we are trying to remove the magic of Christmas.”

Removing the advice yesterday, the Government denied that it represented official policy. A spokesman for the Department of Education said: “We fully support the traditional British Christmas.

“This is not Government policy and was not produced by the department.

“We have now withdrawn it as it does not reflect our views.”