Being pissed off that high school children are not allowed to wear Winter coats, scarfs etc when it's freezing cold out there

[whenitrainsitpours]

Maybe they are allowed but if so why is it that they are not wearing Winter coats over their uniforms on their way to and from school? The only article I found about it or feedback that I got when I ask the question to students that I know is that they are not allowed to enter the school with coats, hats, scarf and or gloves... or if so they will get detentions of one hour after three warnings. I think it is ridiculous to expect them to walk to school dressed in bloody shirt and jacket which is not even closed off in 0 degrees and freezy wind temperature. It makes me livid! Then they wonder why some end up with colds, flue and chest infections. Don't they have a place in these high school where they could put their coats ie lockers or pegs? This country need to sort something out cause our children should be allowed to keep warm. Just came back from dropping my two dds at primary school, me dressed with warm ski jackets, hood on, gloves, and Winter boots and see this other teenager going to school with her mum: mother wearing winter coat with hood on and daughter only in school uniform, walking a long distance....cannot get it! So sad.

But the kids who wear lots of layers-isn't it more annoying to have to take them off & carry them around than one coat?

(Old schools with crap heating excepted, of course!)

They don't take them off.

I do think it is daft that most secondaries dont provide each child with a locker, I had one in school. These days kids have to carry round their stuff all day which is a pain f they have pe or cooking.

But I did have a at the op outrageat condaries giving detentions or pupils daring to wear warm oats and hats/scarfs! As a mum of ateen I can assure you that is load of rubbish, teens dont wear coats etc because it just isn't cool. I just bother arguing with ds anymorealthough he has been wearing a coat since fri but then we have had nearly 2 foot of snow here.

sticky keyboard. Meant to say outrage at secondaries

Just DONT bother arguing with ds. Damn keyboard

The school wear I work only has the rule of no coats or scarves on IN LESSONS.

The students still don't wear coats, even when raining - and often come in soaking wet, then complain they're cold. When I suggest that a coat would have prevented it - it gets met with derision.

Occasionally a student will have a scarf or coat - and it's normally a "too cool for school" girl who will then refuse to take it off in lessons - so it was only worn as something to rebel with. Bless

Here in Yorkshire we have a lot of snow on the ground at the moment, since Saturday. The local academy (secondary) sent out texts and emails to parents on Sunday night stating that despite the snow, no boots whatsoever would be allowed this week, whether wellies, ankle boots etc, strictly normal shoes only, not even boots changed on arrival at school allowed and any child arriving wearing boots would be sent home. I was absolutely gobsmacked. I don't have DC at that school but a friend who does showed me the message. It's 8-12 inches of snow on most of the roads around here, why would you issue a diktat like this - apart from ensuring that most of the children will turn up with cold, wet feet, they are more likely to fall on the way and ordinary shoes may well be ruined by getting so wet and then parents will have to buy more.

I bet the staff who sent this out wore boots to come to work!

I accosted a Yr10 boy riding his bike into school last week in just shirt sleeves and the sleeves were rolled up. He just shrugged. We had a change of uniform this year, and now have blazers. None of the kids wear coats. Some put an extra layer under their blazers, along with their school jumper but that's it. I think there is only one kid in the entire school who wears a coat every day, and he's the matrix-style long-black-coat waiting 6th former who spends lunch times playing his guitar in the common room whilst the girls all swoon.

KindleMum that is absolutely ludicrous that schools would be so stuck up their own arse for wanting to dictate what the pupils can and cannot wear they are ready for their pupils to freeze. What problem would it cause if the children were allowed to wear boots into school when they have to travel through snow or when it rains? Does not make any sense to me. If the children refuse to wear coats and other accessories to keep warm so be it but for the authorities to say that they are not allowed that is somethng else.

Same here whenitrains. They operate on the presumption that if they allow kids to wear sensible boots, that they'll all take it as permission to wear fuggly boots. Similarly, shoes have to be completely black, no logo at all. Which is fair enough. But so do trainers for PE. No logo permitted at all. PE kit is the same, plain joggers and shorts, and school shirt/hoodie. School sweater is compulsory, as are school polo shirts. If either are bought plain and spotted, child is put into isolation or sent home to get the correct uniform. It's like a dictatorship. A local company started making the crested items at a fraction of the price of the school ones, and due to a stitching glitch it was just about possible to differentiate between the two if you looked closely enough (a thread that linked 'bits' didn't get trimmed) and they were sent home/isolated for that as well. I know that the copying is rude, but when the sweaters are the best part of £15 each you can understand why people were wanting to pay £9 for them instead.

KindleMum's school is clearly stupid. Schools should encourage children to wear sensible clothes, not make it impossible for them to do so. Simple solution: change out of coat and boots into uniform on arrival. Absolutely idiotic to expect kids to walk to school through 8 inches of snow without coat or boots. Schools and parents both owe a duty of care to children to try to help them learn sensible habits and stay healthy - not pander to fashion or actively make it difficult because of some misguided power-trip uniform policy.

And to those of you who doubt the link between cold and illness, getting cold does make you more susceptible to colds/flu. There's a reason it's called a "cold". Yes, it's caused by a virus. But body cooling can affect the response of the immune system and the respiratory system to the virus. And has anyone heard of frostbite? Hypothermia? It is not reasonable to expect children to trudge for half and hour through a snowstorm in school shoes and thin blazer.

And yes, they should be allowed to take their stupid blazers off when it's hot too.

wear a coat and see what happens.

I am also in Yorkshire. Whenever there is snow, my dc's school relaxes and allows them to wear sensible boots,warm clothes etc. In normal circumstances they are very strict with uniform. .

Coats and scarves etc are not frowned upon by the school, but they may not wear them in lessons. Most kids can't be bothered to wear a coat,anyway, because it is a pain to carry around as they have no lockers or cloakrooms to put anything. (Neither are they allowed in the buildings at break or lunchtime, unless they have a pass from a teacher or a club to go to.)

Teenagers hate wearing coats so yabu

My teen hates being cold so wears his coat but for many teens its a choice

I find it extraordinary and completely unacceptable that schools appear to routinely not provide lockers for pupils.

Do they really expect them to carry all their books, sports kit, coat etc around all day?

If my employer expected me to carry around all my belongings with me all day I would be straight on to HR putting in a Workplace Safety complaint.

Has anyone challenged the legality of this?

As for the idiotic uniform regulations banning boots - whichever moron of a headteacher/governor came up with this should be named and shamed - and is exposing the school to legal action.

I would have hoped that the petty dictators that schools were filled with during my childhood had died out, but it appears not

DS1 (14) happily wears a coat.

My impression is that a lot of academy heads have gone mad with the idea that they're not answerable to anyone. Several of them also seem to have looked at private schools and grammars and concluded that the only thing required to be a top-performing school is a strict uniform policy. Riiight, yes, of course that's the only difference! :) I'm pro-uniform but a lot of these heads have gone bonkers and should be concentrating on more important matters.

13yo is a "Winter Baby" in his words so doesn't need a coat.

I get the Mother look when I suggest a coat.
If it's peeing down then I make him wear a waterproof though.

The waterproof doesn't make it home though (I'm impressed how much he can fit in his locker)

I am a supply teacher and work in many different secondary school. Rule vary from school to school but generally either kids are made to take hat/coat/scarf off as they enter the door of the school (unusual), or (more commonly) hat/coat/scarf are permitted in the corridors, but should be taken off as a student sits down at their desk. Most also have relaxed boot rules during bad weather.

Most kids will happily enter wearing full hat/coat/scarf and are reluctant to take them off inside, especially in this weather. Many of the schools I work in are old buildings, and are freezing. Most schools with blazers do allow kids to remove them, but they have to ask permission from the teacher first.

DD2 has a large locker. She wouldn't be seen dead in either her school sweater, or a coat.

Well, that was until I bought myself a quilted jacket from Joules, which she promptly appropriated. Apparently, it has good pockets

At the school my DD 12 will be going to after the summer it is cool for girls to wear those quilted Barbour style jackets or a Superdry jacket