Misappropriated coat...

[AlreadyScone]

At the start of autumn term I bought DD a new coat. I have to budget hard, but I like to get the DCs the best coat & shoes I can afford and cut corners elsewhere (like living in cardboard box int' middle of t' motorway)

It was one of those waterproofs with a tightly zipped-in fleece. DD loved it and insisted on wearing the whole thing, but about 2 weeks into term came home wearing just the fleece, which is when I realised that I'd only labelled the fleece bit and forgotten to separately label the shell. Wasn't worried though as it is a very bright colour and had seen no-one else in the same one at the school gate. However, despite best efforts to find at school it was gone forever... so chalked up as experience and stumped up for a new coat (explaining to DD we would have to forego a day out as a consequence.)

Anyway this morning it's a school trip and so an early drop-off... yes, you've guessed it, saw a friend of DD's being dropped off in what looked like the missing shell, open with different fleece underneath.

I know it's just one of those things and it could of course be that they just have the same coat but AIBU to be feeling a bit grumpy about it? Possibly being a bit protective of DD who has SEN and things often go right over her head.

happynewmind

The record at my last school was three complete pencil cases, and the contents of two off one child in three weeks.

We enventually caught the culprit on CCTV in the classroom

Ds' coat disappeared from his peg after school one day. The following term he saw a boy from his class wearing an identical coat at home time.

Ds said, "I like your coat. I used to have one like that but it went missing."

My chin hit the floor when the boy said that it was ds' coat, and even showed him the name tag to prove it. The boy's mum immediately piped up with "Yes, we brought it into school today to return it."

When DS1was aged 6 we got a snippy letter ( IMO ) from teacher reminding that it was our responsibility to ensure he came to school properly equipped with pencils / colouring pens etc.

I could have stocked a branch of WH Smith with the stuff I bought him!

For 14 years I have assumed DS1 lost everything but maybe not ????

i started writing in pen across the front of pe kits too, only thing that works.

Label it all you bloody want but if someone else wants it then they will have it...

THREE coats in one school year - every one of them labelled with an iron on label AND laundry pen in various places. Same school he lost 5 jumpers and almost a whole PE kit. The school in the end were providing me with uniform out of lost property.

Strangely enough OP my son has SEN - I am not saying he was targeted - more than he was an easy target because he was terrible at keeping track of his property.

New school - no issues but then parents have NO access to cloakrooms!!

Dear god. I may have found a use for the embroidery function on my sewing machine.

cumfy this is the coat's first appearance at school (as far as I can tell from school runs anyway) they had been told to wrap up warm for the school trip today.

I would ask her if she had seen your DD's coat ....
Ask very innocently, then describe the coat.

MummyToMog. You could make a business from this!

All these stories of stolen clothes are horrible. I've never heard of anything like this at my DC's school.

I think you should 'steal' the shell of the coat back at the first possible opportunity. Keep it at home for a couple of weeks, then label it all over and send your DD back to school in it.

You say you think it's a mix-up rather than theft, but how can that be the case? Either they have a shell of their own identical to your DD's or they don't. If they don't, how can it be a mix-up?

I've had three coats go missing in the last year, one of them brand new. PE kits, book bags, even a swimming kit. Countless cardigans.

I've never had more help than "check lost property" of course the items are never there.

Worst was a new scooter, the school have a shed for bikes and scooters. One afternoon after school my daughter's was gone but there was an old tatty one left behind. I assumed it had been a mistake and whoever had mistaken their child's scooter for mine would realise the mistake and return it. I left the older one there (because it wasn't mine to take) and hoped ours would be put back. Nope, the next day the tatty old one had gone too and ours never put back. I had a notice put in the weekly school news letter asking whoever had it to please put it back but nobody ever did.

It had to have been someone from school as the shed was locked until hometime and they must have known this nicer, newer one wasn't their child's - but kept it anyway knowing they were stealing from a child.

Why?

I remember one day the school put lost property outside on a table for people to go through. As I was walking to collect the dc's a lady was there grabbing handfuls of school jumpers and coats and stuffed them into a bag without even checking the labels so she was clearly nicking the stuff. By the time I got to the school office to let them know she was gone

DD is only ickle, so parents take their coats off and hang them up on their hooks. Then the nursery staff get them dressed again. When would you say the thieving kicks in? DD has a beautiful No Added Sugar puffa (eBay-tastic) that I would really prefer not to lose.

I think it's a coincidence- would she be able to separately buy a different coloured fleece that would exactly zip in?

For those of you who label their children's coat on the sleeve etc., what do you do when the item goes missing?

If it's an item of uniform I don't know how on earth you'd find it short of searching all the kids! Or can you ask the teachers to do it?

I'd like to be that brazen if someone had stolen something from my child but I definitely wouldn't have the balls!

moms you can ask the teachers to check and they will, or go into the cloakroom and check when they are hanging on the pegs etc.

I buy the iron on labels for DS's school clothes, and iron them onto the OUTSIDE of the jumper/tshirt/trousers. It helps him to find his clothes in the post PE chaos and I have never had anything go missing.

Some people are so bare faced aren't they!!

Last term the one and ony item he took in that wasn't labelled, some cool goves with a flame type pattern on them disappeared on the very first day he wore them.

Mummytomog, I do remember other kids in my son's nursery class have things go missing. If anything it's the adults that are "helping" in the cloakrooms that are the worst for it. Some mums are shocking, I've seen kids having to go home shoeless as their nice new clarks shoes have vanished, or their hat and scarf that were on their peg have disappeared.

HappyNewMind have you seen the crayons and pencils from studio that have their full name printed on them? Might be a worth a try.

Didn't say in my first post but my DS also has special needs and this is the main reason I put my labels on the outside/front of his items. Easier for him to spot and far harder for a thief to pass of as their own property.