Just read the bloody uniform policy!!!

What is wrong with parents just following the school rules - Clark's shoes did mine fine (and dd2 even wore uniform in 6th form) if you have a lower budget supermarkets have similar or even shoe zone. Nobody needs designer brands for school

But that has to do with the culture in the school, not with the uniforms

Absolutely. The culture was awful and I'm pretty sure kids are still bullied in school because of what they wear. I still stand by my comment that just because the previous poster wasn't bullied at her non uniform school that no-one was or is. I didn't imagine my awful teen years.

'Another brick in the wall' is now playing in my head.

The education system isn't about getting people to adhere to rules for their own good. It's about turning out people who are competent enough to be productive workers, but not creative thinkers who will challenge the status quo of the elite who run this country.

I know finding shoes can be hard especially if your feet are off

Plain black is usually the easiest to find

And you can minimise the potential problem by being canny about what you buy - having the clear "fashionable " choice doesn't suggest trying to stick as close to the rules as possible

There is a reason why he can't do that: many schools have no lockers and he will be already carrying more weight in his bag than children are meant to carry.

School have probably felt perfect fine with accepting this as part of your very specific set of circumstances, rather than 'have had to accept it' but uniform for most kids is far superior to own clothes.
It would be nice for schools to have the benefit of the doubt rather than this continual implication that they are all draconian prisons

You can't complain about uniform costs if your are sending your kids in £100 shoes !

Course you can.

People complain about unnecessary costs all the time, while spending money on other things. People go on holidays, buy new clothes, get furniture for their homes etc but they still complain about rip-off energy costs.

Wearing Nike boots when the regulations clearly state no logos affects teaching and learning quite a lot. The teaching is to stick to the rules, and by not doing so, you are clearly not learning.

‘I have an autistic child too and the uniform policies are so rigid they don’t take account of sensory issues. So apparently it’s about protecting poor kids but not disabled ones.’

exception not the rule - speak to your school about your child needs. Doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be a uniform policy that almost all kids can easily follow

I do agree non-uniform is not the way to go but I also think schools can relax a bit on these policies. The Nike shoes and ballet flats are OK IMO.

But I do accept that I have to agree to follow the rules at the schools that I chose to send my kids to and if we chose not to then of course they'll be consequences.

How much choice do you realistically have, though? In our area, if you don't put down the local school your child will end up travelling for miles.

How does wearing Nike boots affect teaching and learning?

By the same token I’ve visited European countries regularly and have never seen some of the appalling behaviour from children that we see in this country, and which generally goes unchecked by parents - in many cases the bad behaviour is aggressively defended. Maybe it’s about maturity and different/higher standards.

I’m with you OP - plain black shoes. Every supermarket, Next, M&S etc do them. Even Nike have a pair of all black ‘trainers’ that actually look like shoes and cost £40.

It’s to stop shoes becoming the thing that the kids all get precious about - wearing the latest £150 high tops or Vivienne bloody Westwood shoes or whatever Tiktock
says in trendy

Because I couldn’t find any for my son that fit his needs- including a dropped heel, and be able to add orthotic insoles!!!

im not refusing to follow, there just aren’t the shoes out there

If you don’t like it go to another school.

This is genius advice along similar lines to "if you don't like renting, buy a house".

This is categorically untrue. Far more problems with non uniform than uniform

@SocialistSally my dd is ASD and has sensory issues. I got it written into her ehcp that she'd need to wear certain clothing and school have had to accept that

But that has to do with the culture in the school, not with the uniforms.

You can't complain about uniform costs if your are sending your kids in £100 shoes !

Perhaps they wear less branded stuff ( certainly in Germany that's true )

Perhaps the whole culture is different

Just west plain black shoes - why is that so horrific ?

Every year the papers run these stories.

Why don't they run stories about how schools across the country blithely ignore government advice around uniform costs? Or stories about how ridiculous it is to make children wear dress shoes to school? Schools and education officials are always banging on about how children need to be more active, should walk to school yadda yadda. And then make wearing dress shoes compulsory.

I'm a teacher and I couldn't agree more
We give out our uniform policy from May onwards, in assemblies, by multiple parental emails with staff reinforcing to students in their form groups. AND STILL parents act like we are unreasonable and little Johnny can only wear those branded trainers etc etc

Tbf lady term I bought mt daughter a pair of girls black patent schools shoes from Clark’s who h has this fine Pokémon ball silver thing on ( it was tiny ) and I was rang to bring new shoes in asap as they were logo 🙈

Nope, happened to me for years. Bullying was rife in my non uniformed school. Because it didn't happen to you, it doesn't mean it has never happened.

Every year we get this. The school publish the school rules. If you don’t like it go to another school. The logo ones cost so much more so it isn’t like parents can’t afford correct shoes. The uniform policy is done to make sure kids look the same and no child feels left out as they haven’t the designer clothes, wearing designer shoes defeats the object. Follow the rules and don’t moan when you don’t and get pulled up.