Would you write to the school?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

DD1 has informed me that the following things are now banned on school premises:
coloured socks
coloured underwear
any coats except waterproofs
gloves
hats
scarves.
Any pupil found wearing such items will be stopped and said item confiscated.
Wot, even the underwear?
Thing is, I have a copy of the uniform policy and none of these stipulations is contained in it.
The pupils are up in arms about it and I must say it does seem over the top. What mainly irritates me is that no communication of any sort has been made to parents about this change in policy. (I know it is true btw, there is even a 350-member facebook protest group!)
What do people think? Is this a bit odd, or par for the course for secondary schools?

[ErikaMaye]

It is rather OTT in my opinion... Is there a new head trying to make a statement or something?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

No, the head's been there for yonks. Is all rather odd, but the lack of communication is what really gets me. I'm a governor at a primary school and any small changes we might make to the uniform code are communicated in writing to the parents well in advance.

[LissyGlitter]

What do they do if it is cold? Just freeze their fingers/ears off?

[LissyGlitter]

Underwear is VERY odd...how would they enforce that? What business is it of theirs what underwear the kids wear?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

That's what I asked DD. She says if they are found wearing gloves or a hat on the school grounds they will be confiscated. This seems really bizarre to me.

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I think the underwear thing refers to bras mainly. The uniform blouse is very thin cotton so your bra is plainly visible. They are not supposed to wear vests under the blouse so a coloured bra will show up.

[kickassangel]

are they allowed gloves etc to get to school, but then meant to put it all in a locker & only carry a waterproof coat if it's raining?
sounds strict, but not the first school i know of like this. you have no idea of how many hours a week are wasted by kids looking for/messing with/arguing with teachers about these things.

seriously, some kids get to EVERY lesson, only to 'realise' they left their gloves in previous class etc, and then spend 20 mins 'finding' it again. or there's the ones who REFUSE to take a scarf off, and will escalate the argument to the point of being excluded for the lesson, wasting a good 10 mins of the lesson for the whole class, and will then do the same thing again in the next lesson.

it's barmy what kids will use as a way to ensure that they don't actually have to learn anything in class.

[kickassangel]

still think the wording of 'confiscating and keeping' any contraband underwear needs a rethink!

[magentadreamer]

That all sounds a bit OTT to me to put it mildly. When you say on school premises are they allowed to wear scarves,gloves,hats and heaven forbid a coat ( unlikely I know!) to school but must take them off and store in their lockers? If not then I really would be kicking up a stink. When I started my nurse training we wore a white uniform so all of us invested in white bras and underskirts to stop us showing our knickers to the world so I can kind of see the point about coloured bras but the way in which its been handled is totally OTT and I would write to ask for further clarification.

[wicked]

I wouldn't write to the school, I would just make sure that my child complies.

I would imagine that they can wear winter clothes going to and from school, but not around school.

[thepumpkineater]

Agree with wicked. I expect has been blown out of proportion by pupils posting on Facebook (its soooooooooooooo unfair etc).

[MissAnneElk]

If I were you I'd email the school asking for clarification of the changes to the school uniform. I suspect much of it has been blown out of proportion. The underwear is a good example. On first reading this sounds completely ridiculous, but when you have clarified that it really applies to bras, then I can see why they might have introduced the rule.

At DDs school for example they can wear things like scarves and gloves to travel to and from school, but they must be kept in bags or lockers when on school grounds.

Have you checked the school website? At DDs school this would be on the website.

[maria1665]

Don't bother writing - just give them a ring. This may be a case of chinese whispers - head teachers says she doesn't want to see coloured bras through shirts, nor does she wish to see people in hats and gloves around school corridors.

Shock and outrage ensues amongst the troops and by the time it gets back to you, it looks like Mariah Carey's back stage rider list.

(But what's with the no vests thing - vests are GOOD.)

[tibni]

Disregard for uniform, although it may seem trivial, is something secondary schools have to deal with because it is often related to general behaviour.

Last year bright pink became the statement colour of choice at the secondary school I work in. On the very hottest days the pupils would come into school with pink t-shirts under the regulation shirt. When told to remove them the girls then wore pink bras and socks.

Agree with kickassangel about the coats, gloves etc being used to waste time - and also to hide phones, MP3's etc.

[RustyBear]

It sounds to me like an ad-hoc response to teenagers trying to see what they can get away with - the no vests thing is probably to stop girls wearing shirts mostly unbuttoned over a strappy top, the gloves & scarf thing to stop them wearing these in class - it's obviously in fashion at the moment, as we even have Year 6 girls at the junior school I work at 'forgetting' to take off their scarves.

At DD's school there was a sudden edict that the girls could no longer wear normal tights - they had to be black or navy opaque, because some of the girls were wearing their skirts so short their knickers could be seem through ordinary tights. Actualy I would have thought it was the shortening of the skirts that they should have been addressing, not banning a perfectly ordinary item of clothing, but maybe I'm biased by the fact that I'd just bought DD a lot of normal tights, which she ertailnly wasn't going to wear outside school.

[gorionine]

Is the school ground heated?

What justification do they give you to ask for all childrren to not wear gloves hats and scarves on the school ground (question to MissAnneElk)?

[MissAnneElk]

gorionine, at DDs school they arrive on buses in the morning and walk about 10 yards into the school. They are then indoors - apart from PE lessons - for most of the day. They can be outside at breaks if they want to. There are various outdoor sporting activities, but if it's cold they can stay inside all day. There is also a leisure centre, so they can go swimming, go to the gym or do trampolining, climbing wall etc.

Most teens will try hard to break the school uniform rules. Last winter they all decided they needed to wear scarves at all times, hence the no scarves in school rule.

[AMumInScotland]

If they mean the coats/gloves/hat/scarf inside the school buildings, then I guess they have a point if people are being daft about wearing them during class, but surely between buildings is perfectly sensible to wear those things?

Are they really going to confiscate bras? Really? So the girl is going to stand there in the corridor with the teacher and take it off, then go round for the rest of the day with her breasts clearly visible through the uniform blouse? That doesn't sound likely to improve discipline to me!

I think they need to focus on the behaviour which causes the problems, not clamping down on these issues. My DSs old school had a lot of girls wearing black bras under their white blouses - it was just a fad and faded out.

Teens will always rebel against uniform rules - it actually gives them something (harmless) to rebel against, and unless it stops them from learning then I think schools should just leave them to it.

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

It is not the rules themselves I am objecting to, per se. I can see that (when clarified) they are probably mostly quite sensible. The school is entitled to have a dress code and I am happy, as a parent, to make sure my child upholds it.
What I object to is the lack of communication with parents. My 12 year old is sensible, intelligent and listens to what she is told. She is under the impression that she will not be allowed to wear a warm (non-waterproof) coat and gloves to school. If she has her wires crossed then surely it is all the more important that the school clarifies its requirements in writing?
I checked the school uniform policy on its website. It is the same as it has always been - no reference to outerwear, socks OR underwear. I think it is sloppy to bring in sweeping changes to uniform policy without actually altering the written policy and without having any consultation or communication with parents. We wouldn't do it at the school at which I am a governor.

[gorionine]

Thanks MAE, I was picturing my own Dcs school and it would be "sadistic" to not allow them to dress according to the cold weather!

I think if it is a matter of wearing the scarves all day INSIDE the school, they should ban that, rather than scarves all together?

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

Exactly, gorionine. In DD's school though there are a number of separate buildings so they do have to go out in the cold a lot between classes and for breaks and lunch.

[OrmIrian]

Hmmmmm..... are you sure

Not wishing to imply that teenagers occasionally conflate the truth for maximum effect or anything like that....

I should ring the school. I'd bet you any money that they'll sound very surprised and then tell you that it's just multi-coloured toe gloves that they are banning or something of that sort.

[OrmIrian]

Oh and ladygp - lack of communications! Lack of communications and people that apparently can't respond to e-mail are the bane of my laugh at DS's school.

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I will investigate further, Orm. But I am not just taking DD's word for it, I have heard it from a number of different pupils.

[NyeEve]

wot no pashminas to flick
i have to order a " de scarf" procedure at the beginnign of every lesson

i even have alittle mime i use when one escapes the procedure,
its a bit like a lasso move