AIBU about being aggrieved at having to pay rental on school lockers?

[HappyMum4]

Hi,
My kids secondary school have employed a new headmaster who in his first year has made changes which seem unnecessary but always sees the parents out of pocket. We've had the re-introduction of skirts, but just their skirt, at £20 each (I have 3 girls 🙁). A total rehaul of the PE kit, decided 2 months after my daughter started in September and we'd already bought the now-soon-to-be-defunct old kit, which she can't use after this July, that's going to set us back £160 for three kits, we have to buy it all online through a specific company. No going to supermarket for skorts etc., everything has to match.
Now, they have decided to replace coat pegs with lockers, even though there isn't the room or enough for every child. But since they can't justify using school money for them, they're going to charge the parents rental in order to do it. No debate, no consultation, just dictating. The skirt was pitched as "optional", but when all the girls get them, it doesn't feel optional to make your kids the only girls in trousers. The PE kit is compulsory. I assume the lockers will be optional too, but again, if all their friends get lockers, it's hard to make yours have to use whatever coat pegs remain in a different area away from their mates. But I don't see the necessity for such a thing, just because the head asked the kids when he started "what would you like most", and they came back with skirts and lockers. And I'm pissed off at being squeezed all the time for more money, God knows it's hard enough to start with, we have to pay for the materials for DT, food tech (I totally understand this), every other week the homework seems to consist of making something which usually has to involve a very costly trip to Hobbycraft, this week it was a wind turbine, we've had beast masks, comedy masks, entire castles, a gingerbread mosque, a kaleidoscope, Stonehenge in a shoebox, miniature gallows, the list is endless. Now this. I would love to know, Does anyone else's school charge rental for lockers????

[WordGetsAround]

Mine did 25 years ago!

[NeedACleverNN]

I used to have to pay rental on my lockers at school and college.

But I got the money back when the key was handed in.

I thought schools can't make you buy their uniform from a particular site? Did I mis read that?

[PaulAnkaTheDog]

Every high school I know charged for them. It's to cover wear and tear.

[LizzieMacQueen]

Yes, we pay, forget how much. And we have to ay £5 for lost keys - thankfully that's not happened yet.

[AndTakeYourPenguinWithYou]

I think you need to tell your children they aren't sheep! You're buying skirts because your children want them because others have them; thats not the headteachers fault. If you pay for lockers for the same reason, that isn't their fault either.

[RJnomore1]

Dds school charge a deposit for lockers. I'm pretty sure it's standard practice.

[MatildaTheCat]

It does sound as if you are having a lot of expense but sadly schools don't have the budget to provide the extras so if they want fun and stimulating learning it needs paying for. Bad luck if you have 3 dds there together.

But, the new head is bound to make changes and is responding to what the kids wanted. If they asked for skirts and lockers and he provided new curtains that would be up for criticism.

YABU because the lockers are optional and so are the skirts. Many kids hate lugging all their belongings around all day. The gym kit does seem rather expensive. £160 for 3 kits is a lot. Overall the head is rebranding the school and might well do great things.

[OohMavis]

Isn't there some law against logo'd skirts and trousers or somesuch?

I wouldn't pay a bit of notice to the compulsory P.E kit either, and send them in Asda's finest.

[MackerelOfFact]

I think they've covered themselves with the skirts and lockers by making them 'optional.' You say you can't send them to school in trousers or make them use pegs if their classmates get to have skirts and lockers - but the fact is, you can, and you'd have to if you absolutely couldn't afford them.

What you're really saying is that you don't want to say no to your DDs or spend the money on the optional extra things they're asking for.

I'm pretty certain that state schools aren't allowed to insist on a single supplier for school uniform either, so I would take that up with them. There's probably some small print somewhere.

[Wolfiefan]

It's normal for students to be charged a deposit for a locker key.
The skirt isn't an issue. You can choose not to buy it.
PE kit a pain. Can you not buy new for all kids at once? Burin afraid ultimately buying uniform is something that parents are obligated to do.

[BoopTheSnoot]

I left school over ten years ago, and you had to pay for lockers then if you wanted one. I think it's something that lots of schools do. If you don't want to pay it, just don't rent one. Or maybe your DDs could share a locker to keep costs down?

[00100001]

Locker rental is pretty standard. Otherwise the school would forever be paying out for lost keys!

Imagine in a school of 700+ kids how many locker keys go missing each week!

[seagreengirl]

Yes, we have to pay a yearly deposit for the locker, and provide a padlock. My DS is on his third padlock of the year already.

[Mistigri]

Find out if they conducted an impact assessment of the PE uniform change, which I believe they are obliged to do.

Personally I wouldn't be replacing perfectly good kit. What an appalling waste of money and resources.

[Mistigri]

Re the locker, we have to supply a padlock, which remains the child's property. The school supply the locker.

[insan1tyscartching]

We pay £10 deposit for lockers and £5 for any replacement keys. As far as I'm aware the £10 is refunded when the key is handed in at the end of year 11. Lockers are optional in dd's school so she has one and a friend who doesn't often pops her kit in dd's. If cost is an issue could your dd's share with each other or with friends in the same class?

[Arkwright]

I would gladly pay for a locker. Our school doesn't have them. My Dd has to carry a huge bag, PE kit and Food Tech kit some days.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

Schools all charge for lockers in my experience and generally there aren't enough for everybody. My DSs don't have them as they get dropped off and picked up everyday so aren't marching 3 miles to school with a heavy bag like some kids so we have never applied. There aren't coat hooks either, they just cart stuff about school all day.

The only time it's a bit of an issue is at exam time when DSs have to leave their bags outside the hall with their phones in them as they have no-where to put their stuff. They need to take their phones as we don't live local and there can be transport issues.

Normally schools phase in new uniform requests so I'd ask what is happening with that. Usually there is a year or so grace in which older uniform items are acceptable but when replaced the new uniform should be purchased

[CallarMorvern]

Paying is standard here. But what I really hate is the fact that there aren't enough to go round, so if your child misses out they have to carry everything round with them every day.

[OneMagnumisneverenough]

I was initially quite frustrated at the locker issue but soon realised that mine managed fine without - it has the advantage that no-one leaves their books that the need for homework behind, their gym kit comes home for a wash after each session, I don't have to worry that it's full of rancid left over packed lunch and unwashed drinks bottles and DS2 would have lost the key a million times by now so it would be an on-going cost/inconvenience.

[Keely93]

I left 7 years ago but never had to pay for my locker, must have been a novelty, I seem to be the only one here!

[Witchend]

Mine pay for lockers. I did too when I was at school.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

A gingerbread mosque? WTF?

[MrsHathaway]

Our local high school does, and there aren't enough for one each so there's a ballot. Children without simply have to carry everything with them all day long.

I think it's appalling.