Asking permission to remove school blazer - why?

[MyMushroomsInATimeSlip]

DS had started secondary school this week and now has to ask permission to remove his blazer when he's hot.

Have great respect for teachers as it's not a job I could ever do and generally back up school rules. However I genuinely cannot understand the reason for this one. Can someone enlighten me?

I wounder if there's a way to do a poll type thing where you ask so many people to support it . And if there's enough it has to be considered? I do t know what its actually called or how it works though

DD's secondary has this rule. It was 30 degrees outside yesterday so no doubt hotter inside school and all
Pupils had to wear blazers

To be fair it is unusual to be this warm in September hence the change to Winter uniform. FWIW many years ago my brother had to start senior school without a blazer as my mum could not afford all the uniform at once . He is a pensioner now and has never forgotten how bad he felt and how he longed for that blazer to “fit in” I was so glad we had a uniform as I could not afford the things the “cool” girls had . At least it was only really the shoes.

@Darkchocolateandcoffee

Why do people mind that they have to ask? My son came back from school yesterday saying he had to do this and I just said oh really, rather than go mad with rage and rant about it.

Some teachers actually say no though ebdn though it's hot. And the teacher is in comfortable clothing. Then as others said you then had 30+ kids adding the same.

@sandgrown

To be fair it is unusual to be this warm in September hence the change to Winter uniform. FWIW many years ago my brother had to start senior school without a blazer as my mum could not afford all the uniform at once . He is a pensioner now and has never forgotten how bad he felt and how he longed for that blazer to “fit in” I was so glad we had a uniform as I could not afford the things the “cool” girls had . At least it was only really the shoes.

It doesn’t feel like it’s unusual to me! Every summer it rains for the whole of the holidays and we get a heat wave the minute we go back in September! Happens almost every year!

At his Primary we had a really condescending letter about the importance of smart uniform preparing them for the world of work and how they need to be smart etc

Our DC primary changed uniform thankfully as my youngest was leaving. The head wrote a letter saying the amount of clothes in the lost property box showed that the children don't care about their uniform so having a new expensive branded uniform from the school supplier would ensure they took more care and pride of their uniforms ...
She is a lovely head teacher but this statement showed zero knowledge of children (or teenagers) regard for their belongings - in that having something new and expensive doesnt mean it wont be lost. I've rummaged through a box of lost property secondary uniform wishing I had a peg on my nose and can tell you there is plenty of logged, branded and expensive kit in there. Thing is kids get distracted, put something down and then forget all about it, regardless of whether it's a tesco cardigan, a pair of nike trainers, an iphone or a logoed uniform!!

I understand from my own children and from teachers on here, that many teachers do allow kids to take blazers off, and think the rule is silly....but why go through the rigmarole of making them compulsory worn in the first place? They are probably quite handy (lots of pockets) for having pens, keys, timetables etc but really, very few work places would insist you kept a jacket on in warm weather and you would simply put it on the back of your chair, without having to seek permission from anyone.

It was thing in my 90s bog standard comprehensive secondary but most teachers were reasonable and TBH it was often easier to wear the blazer than carry around plus girls had really horrible and unusal colour very expensive 100% polyester shirts that showed sweat and leached colour out of the arm pits - so often I and other felt it was better to keep it on. Every summer though it was usually rumoured someone had fainted and that was why the whole school was allowed or removed them if wanted.

I think the strict uniform policy was popular with our parents - at least till they started having to pay for it.

My kids secondary it's coats - it's wet and windy here so teens often do wear them but can't on school site at all - even out front waiting to go in . Then when schools started to slide they suddenly got very precious about uniform and suddenly the coats they can't wear on site must be black. DD1 form tutor took to hiding the Y11 coats in his cupboard as he thought it was so daft though not before DD1 got told off for having a really dark blue coat for a day as her black coat was lost in school and I was buying a replacement - a coat she wasn't allowed to wear.

This last year they had to go in PE clothes on certain days and suddenly tracksuit jackets aren't part of the PE uniform - just when all windows were open. Most teachers were fine with jumpers/cardiagen being worn on top or letting them wear coats but offically and my god did they send enough e-mails out about it - they had to be in short thin tops only - but they could wear something underneath if it wasn't visible at all.

At least my secondary allowed the sixth form not to wear uniform but business smart clothes - DC school it's same as rest of the school uniform. Nearly all will have to bus to other school sites for at least one A-level subjects- maybe that's why but I have seen sixth formers stopped and questioned why they were out of school.

DD1 is enjoying college wearing her own clothes and being allowed to take 10 minute breaks in double lessons and pop to toilet and get a drink and trusted to get back in time.

The rule at the DCs’ schools is that they have to wear blazers (and jumpers except in summer term) at all times unless the teacher gives permission to remove in a lesson or the head allows removal in the canteen etc.

I don’t have an issue with it all- it is good discipline and helps instil respect. It’s also not much of a uniform if you have some DC with blazer and jumper on and others with neither.

To avoid disrupting lessons, the DC aren’t allowed to ask to remove their blazers. Instead the teacher will make an announcement if a room is exceptionally warm- which is perfectly fair imo as uniform should not be incompatible with temperature in most cases

Tbh I don’t think it’s a big issue at all and certainly not something to be contacting schools about. I suspect the OP’s school simply want to get the year 7s used to their new uniform as the reality is that they’ll be wearing their blazers for most of the next 5 years.

As a parent, I’m glad the DCs’ schools have strict uniform policies.

@Greenlakes

"don’t have an issue with it all- it is good discipline and helps instil respect. It’s also not much of a uniform if you have some DC with blazer and jumper on and others with neithe"

Literally what planet are you on, instils respect, what to have a boiled unhappy child who has to ask to cool down?

Good discipline???? No good discipline is teaching to be kind and respect others. If the teachers can't respect the kids personal choices about clothing layers then why should the kids bother? We have come away from decades of children being let down by the authorities, and still some people insist on this controlling crap.

@Peteycat

It’s not about anyone ‘boiling’. If a particular room is exceptionally warm, teachers can and do give permission to remove blazers/jumpers.

With the weather we get in the U.K. on the vast majority of occasions, DC will not be harmed by having to wear their full uniforms.

16:12GreenLakes

@Peteycat

It’s not about anyone ‘boiling’. If a particular room is exceptionally warm, teachers can and do give permission to remove blazers/jumpers.

Teachers should not have the power to give permission. That's my point. It's abuse of power in this instance. The kids should decide.

Some are also arse holes who say no.

Why should one person arbitrarily decide whether it's the correct temperature to wear a jumper/blazer. My DS feels warm most of the time. He rarely ever wears long sleeves (or long trousers...or socks) indoors, and I dont think has worn a jumper since he was a baby. On the other hand I know other people who are always cold and would wear long sleeves when I would feel it was totally unnecessary. Who decides whether it's an acceptable temperature to wear particular layers?

It is bonkers.

@Antsinyourpanta

I agree. Its bloody ridiculous.

Presumably the school is training them for life in prison? And the likelihood of ending up in prison for killing a teacher in a heat-induced frenzy seems quite strong. See? It all makes sense really.

@maddy68

To instill manners

How on earth does making kids dangerously hot "instil manners" ?!? don't be silly.

It actually feels quite abusive in this heat.

@Peteycat

16:12GreenLakes

@Peteycat

It’s not about anyone ‘boiling’. If a particular room is exceptionally warm, teachers can and do give permission to remove blazers/jumpers.

Teachers should not have the power to give permission. That's my point. It's abuse of power in this instance. The kids should decide.

I agree with you. And some teachers do say no . You can have 2 people in a room in the same clothes one may feel hot bit the other does not .

DD has just done her last year in uniform and said she'll not miss the blazer rules. The problem is some teachers will stand there in a thin short sleeved shirt and say, no it's not that warm, keep your blazers on. Some rooms have no opening windows so are ridiculously warm. In contrast in winter they aren't allowed to wear coats on school grounds as their blazer must be on show, so if they have to walk in poor weather, they have to remove their coats and dash across the grounds.

DS also started hs this week.
The policy is everyone has to wear blazers unless there are 3 consecutive days of very hot weather. Then the head decides if they can take them off.
Today they did a fire drill in 28 degree heat involving all the year standing outside on the tennis courts , ds friend fainted.
Yes its horrible and not sure of the point.

I think the rules were initially created back in the day when we didn’t get heat waves nearly so often. I hate the shirts because of sweat patches and have absolutely sympathy for my students who would rather swelter in a jumper. I take a very dim view of colleagues who say no to blazers off and so would my head.

@SusannaM

The issue is that the teacher has to have the ability to enforce uniform standards in their classroom. I know a lot of teachers feel that standards of work and behaviour drop when amendments to uniform are allowed.

As a parent, we give teachers autonomy over our DC during the school day. If an individual teacher feels it is not necessary for blazers to be removed, I have no issue with that.

And I've never got the one where you can take it off in class but must wear it to walk between lessons

I also agree about asking permission is just ridiculous. I'm never sure exactly what life lesson and improvement in teaching that is aiming at.

Because no one is going to learn best whilst sweating in a polyester coat when it's 26°c

@Antsinyourpanta

Why should one person arbitrarily decide whether it's the correct temperature to wear a jumper/blazer. My DS feels warm most of the time. He rarely ever wears long sleeves (or long trousers...or socks) indoors, and I dont think has worn a jumper since he was a baby. On the other hand I know other people who are always cold and would wear long sleeves when I would feel it was totally unnecessary. Who decides whether it's an acceptable temperature to wear particular layers?

Absolutely!