School stating which pens parents HAVE to buy

[Verbena37]

We recently had a short note from deputy head telling us that following an outside inspection, they were introducing a handwriting policy. This meant that every child in school would be given two gel pens.....one for all writing at school and home and the coloured pen for marking their work.

They would only be allowed be allowed to use those specific branded pens and the school would supply them for 40p per pen.

DDs pen ran out a week after she was given it and they smudge.

Today, DS got a note from the tescher in his diary.....to me.....telling me he needed to take in 80p to replace the pens (DS has told me one pen was stolen and one was placed by another child under the table and squashed).

My problem with it all is that (in the words of //www.gov.uk) state schools cannot charge parents for materials or supplies.

Surely if they have a problem with handwriting, they should.....errrr......teach handwriting. The NC states that years 5 and 6 should still have handwriting lessons.....DS says they never do. How, by giving them specific pens, will this help handwriting? I'm thinking that either they're trying to make money out of selling them or b) just trying to impress Oftsed.....they are being monitored following issues over the last couple of years.

I feel as though I'm being a bit OTT about it all but it's just another thing where actually teaching the kids seems to be override by another crap idea!
I was going to email his teacher that wrote in the diary....something like:
If the school is going to enforce those pens, then they need to resource them bla bla bla. Should I go ahead and send it? With two kids there, it's going to add up buying 4 gel pens for them every other week!!

[fuzzpig]

That's ridiculous.

For starters, gel pens are crap for proper writing! You'd have thought they'd use, I don't know, handwriting pens?

Silly idea anyway.

[Verbena37]

Exactly Fuzzpig.....you also need to angle them correctly or they miss the page. I worry people will think me and DH pedantic but when a school has lots of bigger probs to get over.....mainly teaching.....you'd have thought they could use their time better by say ten minutes of handwriting at the start of a few English lessons or PHSE time etc.

[Mixtape]

I remember that Berol handwriting pens were the standard issue when I was at school - the red plastic ones with a lid and blue
Ink. The ink would fade as you used it, and then we would desperately try to use it up to get issued a shiny new one.
We had to put the pen back in the tray once we had used it, and lost ones were replaced by the teacher from the supply cupboard. I don't think the school is unreasonable to use a particular pen for handwriting but they are for charging, especially given th circumstances!

[Verbena37]

Precisely. I also remember the Berol red and blue handwriting pens but yes, we were never. Barged. Also, once we were in year five, we were supposed to only use fountain pens. DS' handwriting has become appalling since he left primary and is now at middle school. He is going backwards not forwards with his writing. And we bought him a lovely fountain pen a few weeks before the policy came out. What a waste!

[fuzzpig]

I loved using a fountain pen at school!

[oneowlgirl]

My yr 3 DS has to use Berol pens & he was able to borrow one for a while, but ultimately we were told he needed his own, so had to buy them.

[MoominKoalaAndMiniMoom]

The school is unreasonable to dictate which particular brand of pen you can use, and even more unreasonable to charge you.

Do workplaces specify that you only use (and pay for) one particular type of pen?

[Verbena37]

I'd love to see evidence of why that specific brand is better than another. Ironically, they didn't tell us the name of the pen brand and when I looked at the first two free ones they were given, you can't even read what it says on them. Wondering if a teacher's spouse works at the pen company!!

[fuzzpig]

At the infant school DCs are given a handwriting pen (ie no charge) when their handwriting gets to a good standard (they get to go to the HT, big congrats etc)

Junior school doesn't seem to give a stuff what they write with though!

[Verbena37]

The attachment is the gov.uk page stating they apcannot charge...

[sleeponeday]

Print that off and highlight the relevant area, and send it back in the bookbag. Crazy on so many fronts.

In fairness, I think OFSTED scares a lot of schools into pedantic neurosis.

[Verbena37]

Good idea....I will print it off tomorrow.
You'd think it would occur to them to give a bit of a handwriting tutorial again.
There's no difference in them saying parents must only buy Nike trainers to improve the kids running ability.....but they obviously wouldn't do that!

[DandyHighwayman]

Send that page as an attachment and decline to purchase. I think a copy to CoG, for their records, wouldn't be a bad idea.

[enderwoman]

Our primary school were rated OFSTED outstanding last week and don't charge for pens. They use Berol handwriting pens at school and happily mark homework done with other pen (or pencil) brands.

[sleeponeday]

Oh I don't mean pen charging! I mean all sorts of bafflingly off-beam weirdnesses. I know one that is obsessive about reading diaries following a precise format, and another that only allows kids 10 minutes to eat lunch, so they have to eat in silence. One of the kids gravely explained to his mother that he "had to practise eating fast" at home because at the current speed he went hungry! I think they can get very controlling about seemingly minor issues because everything is geared at meeting the OFSTED ticks.

I moved my child from an Outstanding to a Good school. The latter is better on just about every measure - they allow flex to suit the child. I simply don't think you can do that, and impress OFSTED to Outstanding standards.

[Verbena37]

Guessing they can't be making much profit. I wouldn't mind paying 40p per pen if they lasted longer than a week! The ones we currently use (pilot Frixion and zebra pens) last ages. Frixion are erasable and my DS panics if he has to cross something out, bless him. He hates the teacher knowing what wrong thing he wrote

[PastSellByDate]

Thanks for posting this Verbena as I didn't know about the can't charge parents rules - kind of explains our situation.

School does provide blue berol pens - but they're pretty large nibs and DD2 (Y5) hates them - she prefers fine tips. She has very spidery writing - and it looks dreadful with a wide tipped pen. So I bought her a fine-point pen and the teacher has been all weird about it and had a long chat with me about how I don't need to buy pens the school will provide it, which I thought was bizarre at the time.

I'm used to having to provide your own and things constantly going missing because people borrow/ help themselves to other kids stuff (mainly kids being kids, rather than anything particularly nasty).

If anyone can solve the mystery about why children in primary can't use biros (ballpoint pens) please do enlighten me. I really can't see what difference it would make.

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

Ooh, can you speak to the teacher about it and find out what's behind the change of policy?

Sounds ill thought through and dodgy to me!

[Verbena37]

The letter simply said they wanted parents on board with the new handwriting policy to improve handwriting across the school...we have to buy the pens they state and you can buy them from school for 40p per pen.....they have to have two pens...a black and a purple.

[WowOoo]

Surely it would be far better to ask for a termly donation of £1 for the pen fund?

Sounds crazy. I can understand why you are annoyed.

I was flavour of the month a good few years ago after a mistake I made with a personal pencil order. I had almost 100 chunky Lyra pencils too many and gave them them to my children's school.

If most or some parents donated £1 they could get enough for both pens for each child. I suppose it's a lot more transparent if parents just buy them....trying desperately to think of positives here!

But, I agree they shouldn't be asking parents to stump up. It's a really sorry state of affairs if this is what's happening in some schools.

[Verbena37]

Parents don't mind buying their own pens.....it's when they are enforcing a certain pen that runs out so fast that it gets annoying and silly.

[WowOoo]

Send the letter in and gain some support. Crazy!

[ragged]

We buy at least one Berol pen a week for DS. 25p each. There is no official policy but DS is hassled by teachers if he doesn't use a Berol. They go instantly missing, of course (sigh) I put 4 in his Xmas stocking!!