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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think the school should do something?

30 replies

not1not2 · 09/02/2011 12:34

OK I expect I prob am.....
ds new school (state) expensive uniform coat which went AWOL within about 2 weeks of him starting.

It was labelled in 2 places, we had a lot of 'don't worry it will turn up' etc etc and it hasn't

I'm really annoyed with the school, shall I offer to go in and check the labels of all the coats do you think?

OP posts:
Chil1234 · 09/02/2011 12:36

Nothing to stop your son checking the name-tags in the cloakroom. If all the coats are the same, someone could have taken his by mistake.

shinyshoes · 09/02/2011 12:39

i am forever going in the school for pomething my son has lost. I go through lost property myself. I do it at least once a fortnight, I have have a few things turn up
Today his phone was stolen Angry
I somehow can't see that ending up in lost property.
Good luck finding the coat, I hope someone actually get something back that's gone AWOL

Original poster
not1not2 · 09/02/2011 12:39

ummm
thing is he's joined in yr 3 wouldn't you notice if you took a brand new coat home instead of your scuzzy one?

Someone did this to me at a wedding once took my fab smart beautiful coat home and let an old mac-they so new what they were doing

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 09/02/2011 12:39

expensive? just buy cheaper in future!!

check lost property,but doubt they will want you in going through the cloakroom!!

scurryfunge · 09/02/2011 12:40

Secondary school staff will not have the time to actively look for the coat. My ds swore blind that he had looked everywhere for his kit when it was lost.

I don't know if this is practical for you but I went in to the care taker's buildings where lost property was stored and located the kit, having arranged it with the care taker beforehand.

If your ds has a mobile. I sent him a text message at the end of every day for the initial weeks reminding him to bring home kit and coats, etc.

Original poster
not1not2 · 09/02/2011 12:40

Surely the mum would notice and give it back

I'm off to feel all the coats hanging up tomorrow!!!

OP posts:
sickoftheholidays · 09/02/2011 12:41

its really difficult with uniform stuff, it all looks the same. DD came home with someone elses coat on, only reason I noticed was that the one she was wearing smelled of smoke, and since I dont smoke, I knew it wasnt hers

Ohjustshootmenow · 09/02/2011 12:42

Or if you buy an expensive one make sure it's a non-fashion one.

My daughter may hate me in the future for sending her in in a three layer outdoors coat but it aint gunna get nicked in a community of boden wearers innit :o

Original poster
not1not2 · 09/02/2011 12:43

umm he's 7 no phone!! Grin

I've been through lost property 3 times

It's a uniform coat

He has a £7 one from Asda as his 'real' coat which he will be wearing from now on and any complaints from school will be dealt with

OP posts:
mamatomany · 09/02/2011 12:43

Year 3 so primary school staff should be looking out for the children's belongings but I have to say this is why I refused to buy the "school" coat, 30 of them all lined up this was bound to happen and yes I bet somebody did fancy a nice new one and your name tag gets cut out.

scurryfunge · 09/02/2011 12:44

Sorry, just saw he was year three Grin

Original poster
not1not2 · 09/02/2011 12:45

hence why I also wrote his name in very small writing on the inside of the washing tag

hence why I want to go through the coats

OP posts:
sickoftheholidays · 09/02/2011 12:46

but yes, you should be allowed into the cloakroom to check coats

scurryfunge · 09/02/2011 12:47

State primaries cannot insist on uniform anyway, so I would stick with an easily identifiable one.

slightlymad72 · 09/02/2011 12:48

My DSs school puts messages on their weekly news letter if the lost property cannot be found by the usual methods, can your school do this?

Bramshott · 09/02/2011 12:50

Yes, definitely ask if you can check the cloak room. If it's anything like the junior cloakroom at DD's school, entire amazonian tribes could be living in there for weeks and no-one would know.

Although I'd couch it as "check the cloakroom" not "check the labels" otherwise it sounds like you're accusing someone of stealing, whereas it's most likely that either it's in there somewhere, or someone has got mixed up. At 7/8 the kids could easily be hanging up their own coats when they get home and it could take a parent ages to realise.

I'd also be telling the school in no uncertain terms that you can't afford to replace it, and that your DS will be wearing his ordinary coat until it turns up.

HotchpotchHoney · 09/02/2011 12:51

yes go in and go through all the coats.
we had an incident wherby my dd came home wearing someone elses cardigan, named but very washed and scruffy looking and threads hanging off the cuffs, i took the one back that wasn;t ours but never got back our nice new one, even though it was named and the owner of the scruffy cardigan was obviously wearing dd's nice new one. hence us having to fork out anohter £16 for another caridgan.
hope you find yours.

GypsyMoth · 09/02/2011 12:54

and if you find the coat what will you do??

will some child be upset/coatless at home time?

mamatomany · 09/02/2011 12:58

They should have stolen then should they ? The parents know even if the kid is innocent.

GypsyMoth · 09/02/2011 13:00

do they know tho???? you really dont know that.....30 coats all the same,busy life etc....

mutznutz · 09/02/2011 13:03

ummm
thing is he's joined in yr 3 wouldn't you notice if you took a brand new coat home instead of your scuzzy one?

We're only just in to February, perhaps none of them have got 'scuzzy' yet?

Also, if you wrote his name on the washing label in tiny writing, it's possible a parent hasn't spotted it...or the fact they have 2 coats at home.

Bramshott · 09/02/2011 13:04

Hotpotch - I wouldn't assume that just because my DD comes home wearing someone else's cardigan, that child is wearing hers though Confused. Uniforms can and do get very mixed up in a school, and maybe I'm being naive, but 9 times out of 10 I'd say it isn't stealing, just getting the wrong clothes. It's quite normal for clothes to have been through the wash at least once before I realise that they don't actually belong to DD - I don't check all her labels the minute she walks in the door!

mamatomany · 09/02/2011 13:05

I've got 4 and i know if my kids have grown a new hair overnight nevermind a sparkly new coat.

fedupofnamechanging · 09/02/2011 13:15

I've had brand new uniform 'lost' at school. Yes, the child has taken it home by mistake, but the parents have chosen to keep what they know isn't theirs. It makes me mad when I'm standing in the playground knowing that one of those parents standing next to me has stolen from me!

I think that you might not notice at first when your child brings something home that isn't theirs (although I always do), but as soon as you do notice you should return it straight away. Can't believe the number of people who don't though.

I would go into school and search all the coats in the cloakroom (I wouldn't even bother to ask the schools permission - you are entitled to retrieve your own property) and I certainly wouldn't buy a replacement uniform coat if the school don't help you to locate this one.

zipzap · 09/02/2011 13:25

I've also written on the coat itself inside the sleeve Blush - on the basis that if somebody had decided to pinch anything then they would cut out the label and would probably check the washing label whereas they would not be as likely to check in a hidden place IYSWIM

DS recently came home without any wellies (in the middle of all the winter snow) because somebody else had the same pair and had taken his instead of theirs. Both his wellies had names in, other child had named just one of the wellies Hmm

took several days for them to reappear, at which point the other mum came over to me to ask where her ds's wellies were as they had ours. Could have gotten quite tricky as she really didn't want to believe that we didn't have them - despite my pointing out that my ds had worn shoes home because he couldn't find his own wellies and hadn't just taken the nearest pair of wellies that looked right like her ds. Sent her over to the class teacher to complain - don't think she was very impressed either (that she'd been bothered by petty welly troubles and that I'd been the one to send her over) but really didn't see why I had to be the one taking the flak for her son loosing his wellies.