About year 6 leavers hoodies

I really dislike leavers hoodies. I’m a primary school teacher and safeguarding lead. I’m also a parent of a Y6 and a Y10. Perhaps it’s different for secondary school leavers hoodies.
I did buy one for my current Y6 child who wanted one. I did not let them have their their name on it. It already has the full names of the children written inside the year number. I do not want my 11 year old child to be identified by their full name by anyone. From that, you can work out who they are, what age they are, what school they went to and therefore the general area in which they live and where they might hang out, should there be someone out there interested in that information about an 11 year old.

Parents organised it in collaboration with school and they are not allowed to wear them in school until the end of term. I’m fine with that.

Keeping a lid on behaviour for Y6s in this part of the term, when they’re done with school and nervous about transition, can be tricky and believe it or not, uniform helps this, colourful leavers hoodies don’t. Seems unreal but isn’t.

I also think it’s tomorrow’s landfill. Can’t exactly take it to the charity shop when it’s so highly personalised. When they’re in their new secondary school, they won’t want to wear their primary school hoodie. My eldest child binned it during the summer holidays between Y6-Y7.

Leavers hoodies are the biggest waste of money. I wish we hadn’t bought one but it’s difficult to say no in a case where the school is organising it and a lot of other children are getting them. They don’t get worn after the summer holidays because no secondary school child will want to wear a primary school item. The only thing more wasteful in our situation was the requirement for another bloody hoody for a year 7 residential which probably wasn’t even worn for 2 days. You can’t even donate them so I don’t know what we’re supposed to do with them both.

We dont have names on the front just all the names in the numbers on the back

Well like I said, they probably weren't. But you can't expect us to have an opinion on kids being allowed to wear a hoodie without showing us the hoodie. OP hasn't even described them. She also hasn't said why the school are saying no, unless I've missed that

@MrCollinsandhisboiledpotatoes depends on the school my kids hoodies were school uniform colour with school logo on the left chest and big number of the leaving yesr with kids first name in the number. Just a school sweatshirt with a hood. Why woukd they be awful.

I can understand why parents want them, but I also understand where the school is coming from, especially if they have a name on it. It’s like personalised bags, nothing stopping a stranger coming up to a child and saying “hi Angel, your mum/dad has asked me to get you”. Can easily be a safeguarding nightmare

well it was quite probable the school would always take this stance given they refused to be part of it. do they normally do hoodies? can the kids wear them as outdoor clothes so hang on coatpeg when they go in?

I’m the PTA Chair at my DCs primary school. With the agreement of the school we instigated leavers hoodies in 2020 when all the usual leavers activities were halted due to covid. We’ve organised & paid for them ever since. The kids look forward to Yr6 for the hoodies.
I liaise with the class TA to get sizes & colours in the spring term, with the aim to have them ready to give out after SATs & they can then wear them as uniform until the end of the summer term, which is what has happened this year. They are all currently on residential & I believe most Yr6s have taken their hoodies.
Our Head is very much in favour of them. Unfortunately it sounds like your Head/school aren’t, which is a real shame.

You aren't growing anywhere near as much by the time you leave secondary though. You may have even stopped growing entirely.
Year 6s can grow out of a hoodie by the time it's cool enough to even wear a hoodie.

Yea well they ain’t going to be wearing after of any of my friends experience is to go by. That kids wore them in school and once they left school they got chucked to the back of the closet (though they were school leavers, we didn’t do anything nearly as expensive for Y6 - I think they got a t-shirt with all their names on it which I don’t think any child ever actually wore).

@OneFunBrickNewt - all three of my dses wore their senior school leavers’ hoodies over and over again until they wore out.

I always intended to get a picture of all three of them together, in their hoodies, once they’d all got them, but never managed to coordinate it, and am kicking myself for that.

It is impossible to answer this question without seeing the hoodies. They could be bloody awful and the school may have a valid point.
I'm not saying they are, they're most likely not. But how are we supposed to know?

My son has two. Every day he comes home with either his lunch on it or mud from the playground and I like him to go to school looking clean.

My boy has candy pink and one of his other male friends has baby pink! They look fab! Some of the girls have forest green!

No one is left out in our school. Those that can't afford them let the office know and the PTA then fund these. We would never want a child to be left out of something that is a big deal for the year 6 classes.

Also, those who can’t afford them would feel left out.

Seems mean. I love seeing the yr 6 in theirs as can choose their colour so I’m seeing friendship groups of girl gangs of same pink purple red and blue green for boys

The primary school I work at organises hoodies for Y6. They’ve been wearing theirs since spring term. I’m sorry your DD’s school is being an arse over it.

Can't the kids wear their hoodies at weekends and evenings etc. in our school they won't get them till last day but I don't see an issue as it's not part of their uniform

The whole idea of leavers hoodies seems both ridiculous and bizarre

My child is allowed to wear their’s for the last half term. They were ordered by school and have the school logo on the front and are navy like the uniform.

In DS school the hoodies replace theor normal uniform. They have to wear them for their class photo. I can see why the schools dont want to organise them because it is an enormous pain in the arse and takes hours!

All of our children get one - we know which families might struggle financially and don't make a big deal of it, but we sort it out.

I'd be concerned if they were wearing them every day they'd be filthy/stinky, as surely most children don't usually wear the same jumper for the whole week without washing them?

Our school organised them last September/October and they’ve been part of the uniform for Y6 since then!