school book bag or shop brought

[deedee2020]

hi all, im new to mumsnet and would to get some advice.
i have three children all in primary school at the start of each year my children and i pick out new coats and bags to go back to school with, my middle child came to me this morning upset as she has now been told that is she does not have a schools bookbag she will have to miss break time for everyday she doesnt have one. Can they do this, the headteacher also chases parents if the childs coat is too colourful. please help ive been looking online on goverment websites but cant find anything about coats and bags.TIA

Primary schools can’t really enforce uniform rules. But most will have a uniform policy - what does that say

Is it a new head? Otherwise why is it suddenly an issue.

For the school bag though surely buying a school one which will last the duration is better than buying new each year?

Also if the school has a system where book bags go into a box each day for books to be changed letters to be removed then children having school bags which are different can create storage issues

If the uniform policy is to have a school book bag then that is what they need to have. If it isn't policy then I would question why there is a punishment for not having one.

Are you sending them with back packs rather than book bags? Our school has no place to store back packs and the school logo book bags are £3. Why wouldn't you just buy what is on the uniform list?

What a ridiculous waste of time. Who cares what coat or book bag a child has. And how can you make a child miss break for something that is beyond their control.

You need to look at the schools uniform list

They can’t legally make you comply, except they get you to sign a form to say you will abide by it, so in effect, they can.

However, given your child is still ‘book bag’ age, the PARENT should be made aware of the issue, not the child being punished.

Why would you ‘routinely’ buy coats & bags. Why not replace them only when the need replacing and hand down things that are still in working order?

Have a bit of thought for the environment, your child does not need a new bag each year. DD 14 has the same bag since age 6. I imagine it will see her through third-level education too. Your child can probably wear a coat for more than one year too, in any case if you have more than one child surely the older child can pass on coat to the younger child/children.

If you chose a school with a school uniform then you should comply with their requirements. Check the school uniform policy on their website.

As PP has suggested the classroom may need a specific book bag, surely you could get one of these and bling it up to make it different if that is what you want for your child.

no book bag.
get an ergonomic back pack big enough for all their stuff. you can get sleeves for the books if the school collects the book bags separately in a crate.

shoulder bags are bad for the posture, especially for growing children.

Thanks for the feed back. My son has to have a bag big enough for everything(he is in yr6), as he forgets everything, they all have pegs where bags can go on along with coats and cubby holes too so storage is not an issue. The reason I buy alternative bags is the school bag is not weatherproof and I walk to school everyday so they are not practical. This has been brought up to the school office many times but no chances have been made.

So have a school book bag and when you bring it home take a large plastic carrier bag to put it in.

Don't buy new bags every year though. Consumerism is a major problem for us.

I understand about the rain as my children walk from school too. You could buy a rainproof backpack cover to slip over the school bag. Available on Amazon or your local outdoor sports shop. It can easily be folded into a backpack pocket when not needed.

The book back can go inside his school Bag

The office have brought this up many times* just buy a bloody book bag FGS instead of causing your child to be in trouble!

I disagree with the children being in trouble for this parents are responsible for though. A y6 doesn’t have any control over it

Mind you, this is proof of the fact that sometimes it’s the only way to make some parents comply with the rules. 🙄

If it is compulsory to have a book bag, get him one and put it inside his weatherproof school bag, then he has the required bag but it is protected from the weather.
Out of interest, where are you getting genuinely weatherproof school bags from? At my DC's school, they have to have a book bag, but in Juniors everyone has a backpack (despite the school saying it is unnecessary) that they carry the book bag and anything else they need in. We also walk in all weathers because I can't drive, and my DC was complaining that her bag isn't torrential downpour proof. It came from Smiggle so I am not surprised, but wondered where people get decent ones from at a sensible price.

A year six needing a book bag? That's ridiculous. Are they supposed to walk home carrying everything separately

In year 6 I'd refuse to buy anything new at all. Tell the school tough crap.

The school bookbag was part of the uniform here until they didn't need one (in KS2).