to urge you all to label every single item of uniform/ clothing that your child wears or takes to school in september?

[gymboywalton]

Doesn't have to be a sewn in label, just a name in or on everything. A laundry marker would do. Put on jumpers, shirts, p.e , bags, shoes....especially p.e pumps! Please put a name in coats too!! And on bags and water bottles- those sticky labels you can buy are ideal for this.

I work in a school and this week I have spent so much time trying to find items of clothing. At this time of year, the lost property cupboard is overflowing. It is heartbreaking seeing lovely coats, smart trainers and hundreds of identical jumpers all with no name on!!!!

Labelling doesn't make a blind bit of difference. IME the ONLY way to stop clothing going missing is to write on it somewhere conspicuous with a permanent marker.
After losing 4 jumpers in one term I wrote DS' initials on the back of his collar.
We got that one back sharpish after I collared the 'new owner' at the school gate!

In my experience, labelled clothing always ends up in lost property anyway, because staff can't be bothered to look. This means you still have to sort through a ton of manky stinky clothing, shoes, swim bags, etc. I got the point of cutting labels out of anything DCs brought home by mistake. Finders, keepers

Really wind chime

It's people like you, windchime, who ensure that half my income support goes on replacing stolen school uniform. Thief.

'because staff can't be bothered to look.'

Why is this a staff job?
It's a parent/carer/chlld job.

Actually I'm very happy when people don't label things as that's how they join the lost property cupboard, and then parents get to buy them for pennies when they have a clear out at the end of each term

I was just thinking the same thing. I label EVERYTHING but I'm very grateful to those who don't. I bought DS a jumper for 50p and a fleece for £1 in the end of term clear out last year.

Nailgun works for me, every time ;)

Only kidding. No More Nails.

I remember a surreal conversation with a parent many years ago.

'My son's lost his jumper'
'Oh dear, I'll keep my eye out for it. Did it have his name in?'
'No, but I'll be able to smell which one's his'

Obviously I handed him a pile of stinking lost property and told him to sniff away.

Teach your junior and secondary children to be responsible for their own kit. Don't leave it in the playground after break and lunch, don't throw it into the cloakroom or vaguely at your peg instead of hanging it up.
I'd put money on those parents that have children who mislay stuff at school being the same ones getting stressed out by the floordrobes and lost kit at home, and the mixed heap of dirty and clean clothes that never gets to the correct locations.
I'm a teacher, not a valet or a maid and certainly not for 32 children.

I 'lost' a very lovely jumper which somone helped themselves to from when my dd1 was at nursery - she was a year old. It wasn't her usual nursery gear but a one off run out of clothes day but someone swiped it.

Everything they wear to nursery is second hand now, I buy bundles because things walk - including shoes - and so I'll continue doing that when she starts school.

DD was at a secondary school where they had no lockers and had to leave coats and PE kit on their pegs. Theft was a problem. School was in denial.

Dd is very careful about looking after her things, but anywhere other than school she is not compelled to leave her property where others will steal it.

Seriously windchime??? I don't remember the clause in my contract that says I'm responsible for anyone's uniform!

If your children are going into reception please also label socks, vests and pants - it all gets whipped off when they first start changing for PE!!! Think of the world's messiest jumble sale and you get the idea!

WRITE IN MARKER PEN over secondary school pe kits

on the shoulders

Her name was emblazoned on the back of the T shirt in 2 inch high letters.
As per the school rules.
It made no difference.

Goblin, yes teachers deliberately hide the jumpers in their cupboards, just like they have a supply of nits in there too. Every now and again we deliberately let them out to infest hair! Haha, I too have had parents say " no it isn't named but it is the one with the chewed cuffs"
I used to take my own spare bits and pieces in that my children had outgrown, like pe shirts, shorts, spare pants, socks etc. They were obviously too nice to be returned though as the whole pile always disappeared by December.
The only way to keep track of them was, as another poster said, huge black marker pen on the outside of the item of clothing. In this case I used to write "spare" in big letters on the outside of the pants, T shirts etc.
in this hot weather, I always encourage little ones to take off their jumpers as the classrooms get really stuffy. The end of the day is always "fun" trying to match up clothes and owners. This week on several occasions I spent time helping children look for their clothes at the end of the day before mum/dad/career said "oh actually they didn't wear one today".

I bought an attach a tag device it's fab dead easy to use

Yup. tags are great until other mothers cut them out and keep the clothing!

Windchime, how does the fact that the staff are unable to sort lost property translate into your being entitled to steal any item your child brings home by mistake? Rather convenient reasoning for you to adopt.

You KNOW you are stealing. Disgusting.

After losing 4 jumpers in one term I wrote DS' initials on the back of his collar.
We got that one back sharpish after I collared the 'new owner' at the school gate!

Love this! Excellent idea.

bizarrely enough, teachers usually think that it is more beneficial for them to spend time teaching children than looking for lost jumpers...weird but...

as i said in my op i spent a LOT of time this past week looking for stuff-time when really i should have been supporting children with their learning.

i can't do both at the same time unfortunately.

if your child's clothes have their name in them, then unless you have a thief like windchime in the school, they will usually be reunited.

windchime-that is despicable.

Chronically you just reminded me that my old year3/4 class could always re-unite lost items of clothing with their owners at the end of the day by the smell! It was quite amazing, they could all do it, and used to practically fight each other for the privilege as well barry kids

I agree! I run the second hand uniform shop & part of my 'job' (it voluntary) is to sort the lost property out at the end of the term.

It's a bloody nightmare! So much stuff, unnamed. If it doesn't get claimed, we either donate it, or throw it.

We have had school shoes in the lost property bin before now... I don't want to know what that child went home in!

Chronically, I've had the same conversation and TalkToFrank the same experience. I bet a lot of us have! I've also had a father get extremely annoyed with me because I couldn't instantly hand over his son's very expensive coat that had gone missing the second he told me about it. NB it was labelled 'J' apparently.

Fact: young children put things down and walk off and don't care. My DS is a typical example despite my best efforts. Please don't assume it's been stolen, please label everything and please don't take your frustration out on school staff!

i can't do both at the same time unfortunately.

You're not very inventive are you?

Group of children, let's count the jumpers, now let's work out how many stupid parents didn't label the jumpers, what percentage is that? What fraction is that?

yes-because that would go down really really well with the senior management team and ofsted.