To think it's not hard to adhere to uniform rules

[Puzzledconfusedandbewildered]

Yet again in the fail a school has had protests from parents (and police presence) due to 50 students being turned away on day 1 for breaching the uniform rules

Aibu to think the rules are the rules and if you want your child to attend that school you adhere to them?

You know what, if schools asked for outgrown uniform donations they could compile a sizeable collection.Then any kid coming in in non uniform could be made to hand it over and given some ratty item out of teh second hand box .The child's own shoes/clothes would only be returned when the child showed up at school in the right stuff.

The DC's have no choice of school, so are subject to the rules that school chooses to apply.

That's about the long and the short of it. But that is no answer to those who say, 'if you don't like it, choose somewhere else'.

I don't like school uniforms, my kids have never worn them.
I think in some schools there is too much time and energy wasted policing the uniform.
If they're so great why don't the teachers wear one too.

But shoes and socks are not normally outgrown at this age - I wear exactly the same size as I wore at 11.

But shoes and socks are not normally outgrown at this age - I wear exactly the same size as I wore at 11

You are not serious? You think many grown men wear the same shoes as they did at 11? Are you on glue?

Cecily, that can be true for girls but boys do their growing later. DSs have grown not far of a foot taller and 5 shoe sizes during high school. Obviously some girls hit puberty later too. I grew 8 inches in high school although my fit did stay the same size.

Know a lot of 11 year old boys the same size as grown men, do you?

Even s a woman I didn't stop growing until 14/15.

I offer you the BBC Science quote here:
'Regular trips to the shoe shop and trousers that rapidly become too short are common occurrences during puberty. Hands and feet are the first to expand. Needing new shoes is the first sign of trouble.
'The average boy is growing fastest between 14 and 15. Girls start earlier, growing fastest when 12 and 13. Girls also end their growth spurt earlier at 18, while boys need another two years before they finish growing aged 20.'

So, yep, fitting them into their Age 11 shoes is going to be a bit of a problem. Were you a hugely tall 11-yr-old, maybe, Cecily? I had size 13 Junior feet at that age.

I know nothing of grown men because I am a lady!

Wankers. same here, I was tiny when I started secondary (though grew about 4 inches by my 12th birthday) but already a size 5 shoe.

Can't remember what DS was at 11 - possibly a 5, now a 9. So a school could have a lot of boys' shoes. Though I think shoes still tend to wear out before they are outgrown. I was, however, able to donate a pair of pristine hockey boots to my school, having only played hockey about 5 times.

I wear exactly the same size as I wore at 11 I am glad I don't I had very small feet size 12 juniors at 11 years old. I remember being mortified that I still had to wear "little girl" shoes instead of the slip on shoes with chains (mid eighties height of fashion) that my friends had.

The thread is getting ridiculous.
The Head let all parents know about the strict uniform policy in plenty of time.
No one contacted him to object or discuss or raise concerns.
Weeks later many turn up not following the strict dress code and get sent home. For some reason, only known to them,..they are shocked that the Head was serious about the rule.
Perhaps they thought he was joking? Perhaps they are the type of people who just ignore stuff...who knows?

Instead of ignoring the notification the parents should have contacted the school before the new term.
Only an idiot would be shocked when the Head carried out what he said he would do.
None of the outraged parents had the intelligence or sense to deal with this before the first day of term.

DS's shoes were usually fairly wrecked by the end of the first term, and DD's not far behind. But I guess if the point is grotty-uniform-as-punishment, that wouldn't be a problem.

We do seem to assume the worst of children in this country, though. Not every uniform breach is defiance, to be stamped down on at all costs. There are plenty of scatty, or poor, or disorganised, or fat, or rapidly growing children out there who just don't need to be deliberately humiliated.

DD2 doesn't wear a uniform and shockingly still manages to learn, behave and do all her school work. Is respectful to others, follows the rules and is (generally) doing pretty well in and out school..........all without a uniform

(Maybe that should have been 'plenty of children with scatty/poor/disorganised parents', given that Year 7s probably didn't buy their own uniform.)

DD is currently grumbling that her skirt is long enough till she puts on the school sweatshirt; then the ribbed band round the bottom sort of eats the skirt until it's an inch-long frill sticking out.

I took this to be teenage-speak for 'I roll my skirt up and had to come up with an excuse', until she demonstrated it in action.

Might have to weight the hems, royal family style.

OK, OK everyone, you have made your point. No, I was not tall at 11, I was 4ft 10 on starting secondary in my size 5 regulation shoes, though 5ft 2 by the time I was 12, some 6 months later. Some of my friends were already taking 6s or 7s.

No one contacted him to object or discuss or raise concerns

Do you think a head who had yet to start at the school would have been contactable during the summer holidays?

None of the outraged parents had the intelligence or sense to deal with this before the first day of term.

Even the children of unintelligent parents are entitled to an education.

I wonder if children's feet grow more and earlier these days (old gimmer here)? You rarely seem to see secondary children with really tiny feet still at 11.

Back to the topic: DD's one and only detention at secondary has been for an 'excessively wide hairband'. There's a rule we hadn't spotted! It was in the correct school colours and everything...

It can;t have been both.

Either the new HT wrote to the parents personally at the end of last term to notify them of the change in policy, in which case, he was "working" for the school at that point, or he didn't start until September, in which case, the former HT or Senior Leader who sent the letter would be contactable.

Contrary to popular opinion, HT and senior leaders are not subject to Term Time only contracts. Whether they choose to be accessible to parents is another issue.

Civil disobedience is one option , as is engaging with the democratic process and trying to influence change - the pupils could use the School Council process, parents could stand as Governors or Trustees, and put pressure on their local Councillors

Strange, isn't it, that so little has been said about this option?

It might almost be thought that some actually prefer making a public fuss or, in the words of a local parent "sticking it to the school"

When did it start being so strict?! I remember being at school (started year 7 in 1997) - we had an awful brown uniform so finding anything "fashionable" that fit the rules was tough, and we had skirts measured from time to time (all girls school), but there was just enough flexibility in the rules to mean you had the chance to be an individual.

We had the choice of blazer or jumper, or both if you wanted. Yes, there was a no make-up rule before Year 10, one pair of studs and one signet type ring were permitted, as well as a small nose stud from Year 10 upwards.

We had to have black shoes without a ridiculous heel, although as long as they were smart the heel height didnt seem to cause too much of an issue. I wore trainers for a week after a PE knee injury - had a note off my PE teacher that I carried around with me in case another teacher questioned it, but only one ever did and she took my word for it.

God knows we all pushed the rules, as teenagers are wont to do, but our school's GCSE A*-C was 100%. I'm not sure how sending a kid home for wearing white socks instead of black is going to help them acheive their potential.

Yes, I'm all for uniform, and I agree school shouldn't be a fashion show, but if you make it completely inflexible then the kids will rebel - which is going to affect their education rather a lot more than wearing slim trousers will.

Even the children of unintelligent parents are entitled to an education

They are not being denied one. I don't think they have been banned for life from every educational establishment in the Country.
Sent home to get proper uniform...thats all.
The over dramatisation gets a bit wearing sometimes.

Thank goodness my daughters have all left school..
I support a uniform policy, and told my DD if she got home for stretching the uniform policy, she took the consequences. However, I did phone the school and have "words", the day it was snowing badly, and she walked into school wearing coloured wellies ( school shoes were in bag).

You have rather quoted me out of context, Gottagetmoving!