Nose piercing and school.

[ChickenPoetry]

Can anyone offer some advice.

DD is currently in Year 10. In the summer we let her get her nose pierced. It was, and still is, allowed as per the school rules if an indiscreet stud is worn (which she adheres to).

The school is changing the rule, and from September nose piercings will not be allowed, and this will be a blanket rule as opposed to one they will phase in for new students.

She had it done in the summer so it would have time to properly heal so she would be able to remove it for sports and PE, but it’s still quite tricky to get back in even after a couple of hours, so I’m a little worried about the whole day tbh.

Had this been the existing rule, we wouldn’t have broken it. So far the schools suggestion has been to keep one in their bag and pop it in and out quickly through the day a which sounds like an infection risk.

I suspect there’s nothing I can do… but I feel so frustrated that it’s her body and they’re able to dictate what she does with it at this age (and it wasn’t cheap). Any ideas? Is it worth taking to the governors?

Have you asked about a clear retainer?

Yes - they’ve said no.

Is she still allowed to wear it until September then? By then it should be well and truly healed. I can go months without wearing mine and can easily get it back in no problem. Maybe over the summer she could wear a slightly thicker bar/ring to loosen the hole slightly so it’s easier for day to day removal for school?

Ive had mine pierced for nearly 30 years and it will still close over after a few hours. Weird things, some do, some don't

I got mine done at school when it was totally against the rules. I used to wear a peachy coloured small stud and also cover in fountain so it looked like a spot. Gross but i never got caught

Yes, still allowed until Sept, so fingers crossed.

Quite honestly I think she’ll take it out initially, then put something peachy in as suggested. The school has form for being militant initially, then losing interest.

At my school girls put a tiny square of skin-coloured tape over it and that was always accepted.

I’ve asked about this too.

this is quite an interesting issue. I’m wondering if there is a case to argue for indirect discrimination. Not against facial piercing per se, but because piercing may be important in some cultures, so by banning it those groups are being (indirectly) discriminated against.

just thinking aloud, but as a school governor I would be counselling SLT to check this out thoroughly before implementing such a policy.

i’d send her with a clear retainer in September, she’ll be y11 then and (hopefully) school will be more interested in getting the best results at GCSE than punishments such as isolation which are arguably more disruptive to education than a clear retainer in an established piercing. I appreciate not everyone will agree with this, but I would be challenging the school on this and seeking a phased implementation of the rule , eg from September 20xx all new students from y7 are not allowed nasal piercings (subject to understanding any cultural/religious issues).

Get a flesh coloured silicon retainer, they won't notice.

I can leave mine out for a week and it's still OK.

I did wonder about this, but as she does not have a cultural reason it doesn’t feel like an appropriate point for me to make. Also, the school has been taken over by an academy and the introduction of this is to bring them in line with the rest of the academy so I imagine they’ve encountered this before.

I do think those with existing piercing should be allowed to have a clear retainer while the new rule is phased in for new cohorts.

I would love to tell you they value education/results, but sadly they prioritise isolation.

I feel really strongly that it sends the message that they have control over a choice she’s made for her body because it will close. This obviously won’t be the case for those whose have healed well, so it’s a difficult point to argue.

I'd just let it close up and get it pierced again after she leaves. This is what I did. You could try to see if she manages to get away with the clear stud first

She doesn’t have to have a cultural reason. It’s harder (not impossible) for a school to justify why they are excluding one subset of pupils from a rule (hence why they’ve chosen to go for a blanket ban).

I’m an Academy governor and honestly, the teaching staff have to be reined in sometimes, usually it comes from a good (but misguided) place. You’ll not be the only family affected by this, it’s a great opportunity for the Y10 -13 students to show leadership skills by campaigning against this.

schools should also only use isolation in serious disciplinary cases…..it’s debatable whether wearing a nose piercing/clear retainer whilst a breach of the new rules is a serious breach of behaviour/conduct.

school guidance on removal from the classroom is attached (page 22) if you want to argue against isolation as a punishment.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ce3721e1bdec001a3221fe/Behaviour_in_schools_-_advice_for_headteachers_and_school_staff_Feb_2024.pdf#page22

In all honesty, I’d send her with a retainer and encourage a bit of activism from her and her cohort. Any problems and I’d seek a meeting and ask if they are really prepared to jeopardise the education of a Y11 child and the impact this can have an educational outcomes. Make them justify this policy so they can hear how stupid they sound.

Countess that’s really helpful thank you.