Lost PE kit - do you inform the school?

[tatt]

The lost property system is that marked stuff is supposed to be returned to the child. Now a full bag of kit has vanished and with the exception of the trainers (not an expensive pair) it was all labelled. Some even has embroidered initials on the outside as its a school requirement.

This child is generous about lending kit to friends who have forgotten it so at first I expected it to turn up. It hasn't, they claim to have checked lost property and it now looks like deliberate theft or bullying. No chance it was left on a bus as we colelct from school.

Would you send a letter into school?

[bruffin]

DS lost his several times the first time it took 2 weeks to turn up, the second time it took 8 months. Like yours fully labled with initials on, it does make you wonder where it was all that time! He also had a second pair of trainers that never turned up.

Has your DS looked in the class rooms he was in that day. The first kit that ds lost was hanging up on a hook in his science class.

[MrsWeasley]

Our senior school puts everything in a big cupboard and gets rid of it at the end of the school year regardless of any names on items.

They expect the children to look for items themselves. Parents are allowed to go in and look too.

In October they had 2 racks of coats in lots property and several black bags full of other things (jumpers, books, PE kits etc) I know the cupboard is full now which means probably 6 black sacks full and boxes and racks!

[bellavita]

Ha ha, tis not just my son that does this then....

A few months ago, he left his rucksack and pe kit outside the canteen (along with all the other kids bags). A lot of the kids have the same pe bag (given out by the school uniform shop). On his return he found that his pe bag had gone and another one (unnamed) was left. Ds never thought to take it because as far as he was concerned it did not belong to him. That was the last we saw of it, he did go to the changing rooms the next day thinking maybe that the person had realised and did not know that DS was in Yr7 and hung it on a peg, but alas no.

We had to buy new kit.

A few weeks ago, via a Yr10 person, his shorts came back.

Since then though, DS has managed to lose a white indoor pe shirt (which I have only just found out about as he kept saying his kit did not need washing ) and this week, he has lost his rugby shirt...

Yesterday he went through the lost property bins and said his stuff was not there. I have told him to ask his pe peers on Monday to check all their kit - someone must have his stuff.

All of his things are labelled.

You really have my sympathy. What would it take for someone to hand labelled stuff into the office...

[tatt]

the site staff collect abandoned bags at weekends and send them into lost property, so it shouldn't be just left on a hook anywhere. That does mean the cupboard gets quite full but lists are posted on form room doors for marked items. I caught sight of one recently and their name wasn't on it.

I've bought second hand kit - deducting the money from their allowance - as I refuse to pay for new kit. They have spare trainers but when I have to get a new pair they will have to pay for them. The school would not be keen on letting me look around, they don't really encourage parents on site.

At the end of year I think lost property goes to the PA but it may be binned.

[bellavita]

Well, DS1 is having to replace his two tops, much to his disgust, but we did warn him last time.

How on earth he cannot take something off and just put it straight into his pe bag, god only knows...

[lazymumofteenagesons]

PE bag full of kit went missing end of last term.Not yet turned up. Shorts, white t-short, rugby shirt, socks, football boots, shin pads, trainers and those lycra under short thingies and a tracksuit bottoms. All labelled with sow on labels and 'whoseshoe' stickers. This is blatent stealing and makes me very angry. What other parent does not noice that their child has someone elses kit.

[MrsWeasley]

A similar thing happened to us, My DD used to take 2 pe kits to school in the same bag (PE was on 2 days running and see wanted a fresh kit!) She went to PE and her spare kit was in the bag and when the lesson finished it was gone. It took 3 months and we finally got half of it back. (Luckily it wasn't any expensive items just shorts and top) It took me ringing the school to ask them to investigate as the area she left it was supposed to be secure.
DD then got told off for me "making a fuss" I really didnt make a fuss it was 1 phone call asking if someone could mention it in the PE lesson. We assumed someone had forgotten their kit and "borrowed" DD's, silly thing is if they had asked she would have said yes anyway.

[bellavita]

DS1 has taken in an old white primary school polo shirt for his pe today (the secondary ones are more or less the same but with the logo on the collar and on the front of the shirt). I have said this is not an excuse not to look for his missing stuff, although he is still down the rugby shirt - we do not have anything similar to send in as a substitute for this.

I spent bloody hours sewing name labels in. I can understand if a child has taken something home by mistake and perhaps dumps the kit in their bedroom until the following week or until mum decides it needs washing and this is the reason why it might not appear straight away, but for a whole pe kit not to come back at all like DS's.... what does it take for a child to hand it in to reception?

[Wilts]

Ds1 is on his third pe kit since starting secondary school in September

They have all been labelled etc, how he has managed to lose complete bags is beyond me and he swears he has checked lost property.

It's a pain because at primary I would have gone in rummaged through the lost property myself, but I think if I dared enter his secondary school he would never talk to me again

He is on his final warning though and I have told him we are not replacing any more this year and he will have to borrow one from school,he is not amused at this so hopefully will take a bit more care.

I am thinking of emailing his tutor though, just to see if he can get Ds1 to look properly.

[bellavita]

Wilts, that's what was so good at primary - you just went in and did a rummage. Countless times, both DS1 and DS2 said they had lost so and so and I went in and lo and behold it was either in the lost property bin or just flung under the shoe racks...

I have also threatened DS1 with a visit to the school... he was also not amused!

[allblondegirls]

My DDs PE kit was stolen from her locker a couple of months back and has never reappeared. She mentioned it to her form teacher. I wasn't sure what the school could do about it but looking back I wish I had written a letter and made a bit more fuss. I think I let the matter go too easily. At the end of the day the contents of the PE bag cost me about £100 or more.

[tatt]

So it happens a lot but apparently few people ever take it up with the school?

[mumblechum]

All schools have a black hole into which PE kit, coats, shoes(!?) disappear. Depending on what mood the black hole is in, it may occasionally spit out one trainer or one rugby boot. A couple of times a year it has a huge vomit and you may recover the 20% of the kit you have finally replaced in despair.

It's quite often the child's fault ime, eg ds swore blind that someone had nicked a whole bag full of stuff inc. his ipod touch from outside the canteen. Both he, I and the nice PTA ladies who sort out the lost property went through countless binbags only for the bus company, 6 months later, to hand it in.

[ravenAK]

It happens an awful lot, yes.

(I'm a secondary school teacher & form tutor).

We have a Lost Property cupboard into which all found stuff is dumped. If students have lost stuff, they are sent to a) the last place they saw it & b) the PE Dept Lost Property cupboard & c) the Office Lost Property cupboard.

Termly there is a clear-out - kids are notified of this - where all LP is laid out in a classroom. After this it's checked for name tapes & if anonymous, it's sent to local charity shops. Except for ties & badged jumpers which are quietly passed on to students in need...

I'm not sure what else we could do tbh.

[tatt]

but this stuff does have name tapes and some of it has embroidered initials! It is supposed to be checked before it goes into LP for name tags and the child told to collect it. So either the system isn't working or it's not in LP.

Think I'm going to ask to check LP myself.

[mumblechum]

Tatt, you definitely have to go through lost property yourself. Secondary schools just don't have the time or resources to look through lost property, it's very much the child's responsibility to find it.

It is annoying though when you think that someone's quietly keeping your child's stuff, even if it is probably to replace stuff that has gone into the aforesaid vortex.

[tatt]

sorry - but I just can't accept that the school can't do this when the head has told us they do it. If they had honestly said we can't and we'll let parents in to check it would be different. They've said they have a system in place and I've seen lists on a classroom wall showing that it does sometimes happen.

[allblondegirls]

After posting the message yesterday about the stolen PE kit my dd turned up with it in her hands! Nothing was missing but everything had been washed and even the trainers had been cleaned! Very strange, goodness knows where it had been for the past few months.

She said it had been left next to her locker but her form teacher wasn't aware of anyone returning it! Luckily I had only replaced the T shirt and shorts as she had borrowed a pair of my trainers and the more expensive items I was holding off buying. At least it has restored my faith in the school!

[ravenAK]

Well, it works on common sense tbh Tatt.

If I pick up a jumper which has been left on my chair, & the name tape says John Smith & Johnny was in my lesson 5 minutes previously, I'll hang on to it & send it to his form room via another student next registration (assuming he's not been back for it by then).

If it says Fred Bloggs & I've never heard of him, I send it straight to LP.