Year 6 leavers hoodies - how to get school to agree

[sydenhamhiller]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone out there organised these for their Year 6s, and how they went about it?

I know this sounds mad, but our school is temperamental on what they will allow, and what they won't, so I need to have my persuasive arguments ready.

Their usual answer to anything new is 'no', so I am trying to pre-empt them. I think there might be a safe guarding issue with listing children's names on the back of the hoodies? How did you get around that? Would I need to send out a consent form to all parents? Even if they don't buy one, their child's name would be listed...

This is not funded by our PTA - parents will have to pay for it (about £13) - which school will probably dislike because it is exclusive rather than inclusive. I get that, but I can't sub it myself, so this is the reality of the situation. I am going to counter argue that every pupil has a school photo taken, and designs a christmas card, but not every parents buys them.

Any tips/ legal arguments gratefully received. Now back to my proposal to the Head...

[CinnabarRed]

Why would you want to do something that's financially divisive and triggers child protection issues that some parents won't be able to accept?

Sounds like a terrible idea, TBH.

[Inthedarkaboutfashion]

Most of the leavers hoodies that I have seen use nicknames rather than the children's real names.
Having a leavers hoodie is no more divisive than school trips, school photos, mufti days etc. some people can afford them and some people can't and some people won't want to buy them whether they can afford it or not.
I wish leavers hoodies were around in my school days as it is a nice keepsake.

[titchy]

Have a t-shirt - much cheaper and therefore less divisive.

Use first names only. Less printing costs too!

[PatriciaHolm]

We do one every year, with first names only. I'm not aware of there being any issues re. people buying or not buying them - we also do Christmas cards, for example. Would the PTA perhaps put some money towards them to bring the cost down, say to £5?

[ShouldiWork]

I thought the tradition was to bring a Sharpie on your last day, and get all your friends to sign the uniform shirt on your back? Surely that's more personal & fun - and requires zero organising and hand-wringing?

[traviata]

how many times do they get worn?

my DD would never have worn one, it would be a complete waste of £13. She has a polo shirt stuffed in her drawer that everyone signed, much more fun.

[sydenhamhiller]

Thanks for the feedback, will take it on board.

That is a good point about how often they would actually wear one. It might be a waste of money (DS's cousins had them last year and he really fancied one from his school).

They do all sign each other's polos, which is lovely - but not something they wear again.

As a poster said above, I don't think it is any more divisive than our incredibly expensive school photos (cheapest combo £12), but appreciate some people might see it like that.

[Stinkle]

My DD had one when she left. They've done hoodies for a few years at school

It only has first names on.

They wore them for their year 6 residential - our residential is the last couple of days of term/first couple days of the school holidays so the hoodies are given out at their leavers assembly before they all go off to get on the bus.

We didn't have to pay for them though, they were part of the residential trip, more than a leavers thing if that makes sense.

She still wears it now, (she's year 8) quite a few of her friends do

She's got a signed polo shirt too

[MaudeLebowski]

Complete waste of energy for 11 year olds. Universities are full of leavers hoodies though.

[MirandaWest]

DS is in year 6 and last summer we saw quite a few children wearing year 6 hoodies on holiday. I think he'd quite like it if they did this at his school.

sydenhamhiller can I be nosy and ask where you've looked into doing them?

[TeenAndTween]

Our school does leavers T shirts with the all names printed on the back.

[IHaveBrilloHair]

Dd's school did them at the beginning of the year andvthen the P7's wear them as their school jumper all year.
She still wears it sometimes two years on.

[sydenhamhiller]

They would not be allowed to wear them at school - it's white polo shirts (no school logo) and round necked jumper with school logo only. Even if you bought a hoodie, it would not be for wearing at school - so would not be a blatant haves and have-nots.

On the last day, you wear your white polo, and it gets signed in sharpies.

The hoodie would be a weekend and holidays thing, I guess - so I take the point about whether it is worth it. We saw loads of kids with them at camping. Year 6 primary ones.

Ah well, it seemed a harmless pursuit but seems to split opinions, and I'd hate something so insignificant to tarnish end of year 6. Not worth the hand wringing, as someone posted above.

MirandaWest I'll pm you.

[Frikadellen]

PTA pays for ours. Theyget them end of May and may wear them instead of cardigans/sweatshirts for the last 2 months..

Parents place what they want on them we have not once had a parent ask for their childs name not to be included.

School hugely supportive says it aids the year 6 to prepare for secondary school. Other classes looks with awe and envy at the BIG kids

[SomewhereIBelong]

Our school did them - we did not buy them. £16 for something my DD instantly said "goddddddddddddddd - don't buy THAT - I would not be seen dead in it, not even when I'm washing the car!"

The PTA did year books which were very well received.

[Heels99]

Year six at our school,are already wearing theirs to school, navy hoodies with some in of writing on back. They look good.

[MumSnotBU]

They were popular for my dd Y11 leavers, she's always wearing hers and I see loads of sixth formers wearing them round town.

[flowerpowergirl]

We had them for my DDs yr 6 class last year. The organiser (class mum) emailed the class, everyone agreed, kids chose their own colour. Bulk order placed and everyone was happy. School were not involved as such but did not object. It was a private arrangement between the parents. I say go for it. The kids loved them. We had a leaving BBQ one weekend near the end of the summer term and handed them all out. They're all in different schools now but my DD still wears hers loads.

[myotherusernameisbetter]

My two have "trip" hoodies that we had to buy when they went on their first High school trip - haven't been worn since and wouldn't fit now anyway so I think they are a waste of money. They have their signed polo shirts from primary in their drawer as a keepsake. Additionally each class member added information to a "template page" using the class PCs - stuff such as their funniest moment, favourite tv programmes, hobbies, what they wanted to do when they left school, favourite teachers/subjects etc and a photo of them taken by the teacher was uploaded. We then paid 2-3 towards printing and they made the pages into a little keepsake just with a plastic spine thing. It's lovely to look back at and was really reasonable and it had the benefit of the kids doing it themselves.

[letsplayscrabble]

At my daughter's last school ( very small school) the leavers wanted the names of every child in the school on it. The head sent round an email saying "if you aren't happy with your child's name being included please let me know by x date" and then went ahead.

[Judd]

PTA subsidised ours so they cost a fiver. They are just for Y6 and in the school colour, just name of the school on the back. They can wear them for PE, after school sports clubs, and Saturday cross county meets. They get signed on the last day, I think DS will have got a good deal of wear out of it

[AngelsWithSilverWings]

I wouldn't want to pay for one.

At our school the Y6's take their polo shirt with the school logo on and get all the other kids and teachers to write on it. Much more simple and much more fun.

You would really struggle to get an idea like that agreed by our head. ( even though she thought nothing of charging £40 for a print of a whole school photo!)

[TeenAndTween]

Trip hoodies at secondary are different I think. DD1s school use them so as to be able to spot y7s wandering around Paris, or y10s in Barcelona. They are an identifying / safety thing. (Which my DD still wears if she likes the colour, as she hasn't outgrown them yet).

[AnnieMorel]

We had them made for my ds class at the end of year 6. I think they were about £15 and they were a huge hit. He still wears it now. It has everyone's name and surname on the back in a circle.

I don't recall being asked for consent re the names going on, I think all the parents were asked if they wanted to order one, and that was it.

[Clutterbugsmum]

I wouldn't pay for anything for a child leaving primary school. I don't understand the need to this, or perhaps it's because I'm older we never had all this 'must have' prom, scribbling over clothes when moving to senior school.

I understand it when you leaver senior school, but lets face it these children are all going to see each other after the summer holiday anyway.