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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School uniform policy changes

144 replies

NorthLondonNora · 26/08/2017 19:02

Old headteacher retired in July and new head sent home a letter in the last week of term, banning certain kinds of school shoes from September onwards.
My 15yo DS's feet seem to have stopped growing and so when his most recent pair wore out in June, I happily bought him a new pair. Unfortunately, the style he chose, though acceptable at the time of purchase, no longer meet the requirements for the new academic year.
AIBU to send him back in them anyway (he's not bothered by doing this) - because I can't afford to throw away £50+ on nearly-new school shoes when he only has one year left in uniform anyway? Or is 6 weeks is enough notice of a change of policy?

OP posts:
Snausage · 26/08/2017 19:31

6 weeks sounds a perfectly reasonable length of time, I think!

Your son could keep the shoes he has now for 'best' or if he needs to have smart shoes, so they won't go to waste.

dementedpixie · 26/08/2017 19:34

What style are they that they breach policy? I hate stupid pointless rules about things that don't affect learning

HelenaDove · 26/08/2017 19:35

Another school that thinks parents can shit money.

safariboot · 26/08/2017 19:37

Protest to the school and get other parents to do so also?

If you send DS in in the 'forbidden' shoes the school are going to disrupt his education over it. The new head probably wants to immediately 'make his mark' on the school and your only viable options are to comply or to persuade him to reconsider. (Or to change schools, but that seems a bit drastic and would probably not save any money anyway because another school will have its own uniform rules).

HelenaDove · 26/08/2017 19:38

There was a headteacher last September who sent about 50 kids home due to "wrong" footwear.

InfiniteCurve · 26/08/2017 19:40

I don't think 6 weeks is long enough.I'd probably try speaking to the school as a starting point.
The price of a whole pair of shoes is a lot to just throw away.
Snausage,my DS is 17 and totally unbothered by clothes,he has school shoes and trainers - that's it! No occasion to wear smart shoes that aren't his school shoes,so for us that would definitely be a wasted £50.

budgiegirl · 26/08/2017 19:41

6 weeks sounds a perfectly reasonable length of time, I think!

I disagree . Who would want to replace an expensive pair of school shoes after only 6 weeks? Changes in uniform are usually phased in, to give parents time to replace items with the new uniform as old uniform wears out.

Theimpossiblegirl · 26/08/2017 19:43

Wondering if this is DD's school, although loads do this now.

Her shoes from last year still fit and were fine last year but are no longer allowed because of the brand name. Even though they are real leather and the best school shoes she's ever had. It's not like they are trainers. So that's at least £30 I'll have to spend on shoes that may or may not last 5 minutes.

I'm not against uniform in theory and am aware it's not a fashion show but why do they make it so difficult?

Wonder if they teach sustainability as part of their citizenship curriculum...

VelvetSpoon · 26/08/2017 19:44

I'd send him in with a letter (and a copy of the receipt) saying you purchased them before the unilateral change in policy (which I expect was done without consultation with parents) and unless he wants to fund a new pair, your DS will continue wearing them until they wear out.

Before I started at secondary school, my mum bought me a pe kit. The school had no uniform so she bought it in all white (it was the 80s). On the first day of y7 we got a letter telling us we had to have navy kit. My mum told them to shove it, and I'd wear the kit til I grew out of it. Finally got a new one in y10 (when I could squeeze into it no longer).

ForalltheSaints · 26/08/2017 19:46

I think a year's notice would have been reasonable.

mogulfield · 26/08/2017 19:48

What was the change in policy?

dertyyuoih2 · 26/08/2017 19:51

Academy's do pretty much do what they want.
If you are going to send him in them just make sure he doesn't suffer as a result. At my DSS academy you get set home for not being in line with their uniform or you get isolation. So make sure this doesn't happen to your DS as not what you want at the beg of the term!!

BoneyBackJefferson · 26/08/2017 20:05

We had a 2 year phased in uniform change.

There were still parents that couldn't manage to sort a uniform out.

Whatever the school do they will still be wrong in some people's eyes.

RedSkyAtNight · 26/08/2017 20:18

Was it a genuine change in policy, or simply that the school have got fed up of so many parents ignoring the uniform policy and are now clamping down more harshly?

For the first, I'd complain to school. For the second, not sure what you would complain about.

BoomBoomsCousin · 26/08/2017 20:31

If school uniform has changed (rather than the head now stating they will enforce rules that had already been stated) then the governors will need to have discussed the changes and considered the impact on parents. So you could try contacting the school, asking what the phase-in plan is for the new uniform rules (explaining your situation) and if they insist on the new rules immediately then ask for the minutes that document the governors' discussion. From there, contact your parent governors to discuss the impact of the policy. Possibly a phase in plan can be implemented. It's difficult though because there are now just a few days until school, so not much time for them to even consider it, let alone adapt.

If it's actually enforcement of old rules that had been let slide, you can still contact the school and ask if exceptions can be made, especially if it will cause hardship. But I wouldn't hold out much hope on that.

MiaowTheCat · 26/08/2017 20:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SOUTHerner84 · 27/08/2017 02:35

Our school did this a year ago. Wrong jumper = had to go without jumper ; wrong PE shorts = had to do PE without PE kit. These academies are a law unto themselves

NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4 · 27/08/2017 03:02

Are they actually the wrong type of school shoe or are they actually trainers?

Italiangreyhound · 27/08/2017 03:20

I do find all this obsession with uniform so wearing, and I do actually agree with uniform.

There should be a period of grace when old shoes can be worn out and six week over a holiday period!! Is not that long at all.

I'd write to school and suggest you, and many other parents, will not be able to supply new school shoes. If the school want to fund the next pair, fine.

Assuming this is a state school your family taxes are paying the salary for the school staff and all running costs. The school wasting their time and energy on this nonsense is a further massive waste of tax payers money.

Or words to that affect. Or go with BoomBoomsCousin who has brilliant ideas.

Good luck.

SquareWord · 27/08/2017 04:04

Dd's school is frustrating me at the moment. They state that they have to wear "sensible black leather shoes". DD has worn leather converse for the last couple of years. They are £5 more expensive than the normal Clark's shoes she has had in the past but unlike the Clark's shoes they haven't fallen apart.

They have now sent letters home stating that shoes with logos are no longer acceptable. The letter Included photos and Dd's are shown as being unacceptable. The logo on them is black and very unobtrusive. It's not really visible unless you pick the shoe up and look for it. They have included photos of acceptable shoes and two of them are Kickers with their bright red labels!

BoomBoomsCousin · 27/08/2017 04:26

NK493efc93X1277dd3d6d4 are you aware that trainers are, in fact, a form of shoe? So, your question makes no logical sense?

InfiniteCurve · 27/08/2017 09:12

It's all such a waste of everyone's time and effort.
Will it result in the entire school looking pristine and smart? Nope.
Will children learn more in the "right" shoes? Nope.
As a life lesson "it's really important to be perfectly dressed and always to follow rules to the letter however petty" isn't at the top of the list of things I hope my DCs have learned at school. ConfusedHmm
And I am a rule following person by inclination so my DCs were always properly uniformed etc

notanotherNC · 27/08/2017 09:17

YABU. If you send your children to school you are signing up to their rules. Whatever the rules maybe. This means you need to adhere to the uniform code, no holidays in term time etc etc. 6 weeks is plenty of time. If money is that tight, put the new shoes on eBay and then buy a cheap pair which follow the rules.

RancidOldHag · 27/08/2017 09:24

It's six weeks overbthe summer holidays, I guess, because lower down the school there will be pubescent pupils growing like weeds who always need new shoes for when school starts again in September.

But when it says the head make it clear that some forms of footwear wouid not be permitted from September, there's an important difference between whether this was saying that an existing rule would be enforced or if it was a new stipulation. Also his reasonable the level of restriction is (e.g. no boots, no trainers being very common and easy to comply with)

Italiangreyhound · 27/08/2017 09:33

notanother "If you send your children to school you are signing up to their rules."

Not at all.

And anyway this appears to be a rule change. so not what the OP 'signed up for'.

If it is a state school, it is not this head's own little feafdom! It is a service for local children paid for by tax payers. why should children trudge out of area to avoid a school with excessive and unnecessary uniform rules.

IMHO schools should tackle abuse/harassment/bullying/anti social behaviour, should prepare children for life and, oh yes, give then an education! Obsession with dress code is easy! The former is harder. No wonder schools are obsessed with how children look! It's easier than tackling the real issues!