School uniform policy changes

[NorthLondonNora]

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?

Always amazed by parents who choose a school for their kids, then instantly start battling against, the uniform, the school day, the punishment system ie detentions, not agreeing with homework.

If that's how you feel, find a school that fits your beliefs, you do have a choice... or suck it up and deal with what you chose for your kids.

FWIW, shoezone will have a pair of shoes for £15 ish.

The headteacher and staff are also taxpayers of course. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the uniform situation I think the implication of "We pay your salaries" is unpleasant.

6 weeks is plenty of time. YABU.

Is the policy change banning trainer type shoes?

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

Pedant? ..
And attitudes such as yours make the whole school clampdown situation necessary.

It depends whether it is a unilateral change in uniform or whether the head is just insisting on existing rules being followed.

E.g. I used to work in a school where upper school girls had drifted into wear very thin, very short jersey skirts and boys were wearing black trainers.

School decided they were fed up with it so sent a letter home telling parents "this is the uniform. Don't follow it and there'll be sanctions".
Some still sent their kids in in black trainer style shoes 'because I spent loads on them' and silly jersey skirts because 'it looks like a black skirt to me'.

And then the inevitable lines came out from some:

• but he likes these more
• you're shaming girls
• you're being dictators and bullies
• their skirt/ shoes doesn't affect their learning

Etc.

*Always amazed by parents who choose a school for their kids, then instantly start battling against, the uniform, the school day, the punishment system ie detentions, not agreeing with homework.

If that's how you feel, find a school that fits your beliefs, you do have a choice... or suck it up and deal with what you chose for your kids.

FWIW, shoezone will have a pair of shoes for £15 ish.*

First - that assumes you have a choice.You can't send your child to the school you like best if there are no places,or you can't afford transport for example.There will be things you have to compromise on.
I've not battled against uniform,tho I think most of the rules around it are ridiculous - but I would be cross about having to abandon a perfectly good set of shoes.Unless this is inaccurate or a drip feed,OP says the rules have changed at 6 weeks notice,and even if shoezone have shoes that fit her DC properly (not easy for everyone to find shoes that fit,and his feet aren't growing,so he'll be in them for a while ) why should she have to write off the perfectly good and legal until very recently shoes he already has??

Should add, a few years later that school ended up going down the route of limited supplier uniform.

I can't help but think part if it was because they'd had enough of parents and students not bothering to follow the uniform in the first place.

Always amazed by parents who choose a school for their kids, then instantly start battling against, the uniform

(a) you're assuming there is always a choice in schooling.
(b) if you'd bothered to read the OP, she isn't "instantly battling against, the uniform" (sic) She is querying whether a unilateral uniform policy change without consultation is reasonable given she bought shoes that adhered to the previous policy.

On the subject of cheap school shoes, I bought £15 school shoes from a budget shoe retailer at the end of May, having reasoned that "they only have to last until July, and there's no point spending £30 on shoes that won't fit in September".

Reader, I had to replace them at the beginning of July, because there were whacking big holes in the soles that went all the way through.

So, altogether, I spent £32 on school shoes and had nothing to show for it. I am never, ever doing that again.

We had to buy new school shoes in early July one year. I spent £48 and kept my fingers crossed they'd last until at least Christmas.

You know what's coming. Three bastard weeks he wore them. Another £48 at the beginning of September.

I think that for the purposes of school uniform, holiday time doesn't count, because you don't expect to wear very specific school shoes in the holidays (not particularly weather-appropriate for a start) unless perhaps you wear them to a holiday job. HT has effectively given parents a few days' notice. Parents who might save up all year for uniform costs and have spent that money in June/July when the main shops do their deals and the uniform suppliers are nagging for orders.

I do agree that it depends on whether the policy has changed or just the enforcement.

And I think it's both a false economy and potentially harmful to buy cheap shoes (because they aren't as hard-wearing and may not fit well). Schools should not be encouraging a throwaway attitude to clothes and shoes.

"Always amazed by parents who choose a school for their kids"

You cannot choose a school (unless you are going private) just express a preference (unless Scotland, in which case you get your catchment school). The school you get might be your lowest preference, or if unlucky, not your preference at all.

And, depending on OP's clarification, this might be a change of rules since her DC started, so deciding preferences (which she did 5 years ago) may not be relevant anyhow. As the policy and/of how it was implemented had been acceptable for 4 years.

I think the school is being U re: timescale - I'm a governor at a primary school , and we notified parents of
the last uniform change several months before the new uniform should be worn (just before Summer Term half-term break in readiness for new school year in September). But at the end of the day - their uniform, their rules.

You could send your DS in in the "wrong" shoes, but bear in mind this could disrupt his education (sent home to change shoes, etc), get him hassle off teachers, or lead to more severe sanctions.

But PLEASE, OP, whatever you do, don't do what my Mum did(twice!):

I started secondary school just after my older sister had just left school completely (not the same school as the one I was due to attend). My Mum decided (even though my school's regulation duffel coat was grey and my sister's had been brown/camel) that she was not going to buy a new school duffel coat for me when she has my sister's which was "perfectly good". I got pulled up by teachers numerous times for having the wrong coat, but whenever I reported back to my Mum that I'd been told I had to stop wearing the "illegal" coat, she would just tell me to tell the teachers that "my Mum says she's not forking out for a new coat when I have a perfectly good duffel coat already". At the time I was 11! I basically when without a winter coat all through most of secondary school until I outgrew my sister's coat.

The second time was more like OP's example - after my 1st year at secondary school , the school changed part of the uniform, from a plain grey cardigan to a v-neck jumper with the school stripe around the neck. Again, my Mum wouldn't buy the new jumper as what I had already was" perfectly good". Again, I got endless hassle off teachers for wearing non-regulation uniform (even after my Mum took the buttons off the cardigan and sewed the front up to look like a jumper). Again when I reported back that I'd been told to stop wearing the "wrong" item of uniform, threatened with detention, etc, she told me to just tell the teachers "my Mum says...." as she had with the coat the previous year. I would have been 12/13 by this time. I just didn't wear a jumper until I grew out of the cardigans.

So, if you are intending to send him in in the wrong uniform, please be prepared to go into school and fight your own battles against the uniform change, and don't expect your DS to do it for you!

One would expect clothing and footwear to last a certain amount of time so no 6 weeks isn't long enough as people replace when grown out of and can't be expected to 're buy everything and waste perfectly good items just because they change their minds 're a policy.

Not good enough things should be phased in so when things are replaced they cab be replaced with acceptable items rather than having to bin them all and replenish in one hit.

*went without (ffs autocorrect!)

Should also add that the uniform change at the school where I'm a governor was partly due to a change of uniform supplier, and also wanting better quality of such polo shirts and sweatshirts/jumpers that bear the school crest/logo. Parents were consulted over a period of several months before the change was notified)

I just don't understand the completely irrational fixation about school uniform in this country. I wish schools would just educate the children. It really doesn't matter for goodness sake.

It's bizzare.

And yr 6s should be exempt for the most part within reason. With several hundred pounds worth of clothing needing to he purchased in just a few short months, feck off with sudden changes that mean you have to go out and buy more shit that will bareky be used

Dds going back in mini skirts and jumpers that are too short in the arms but it's just bit worth spending out on new stuff

"but are no longer allowed because of the brand name."

Can't you cover or remove the brand name?

Giles Girls tend to grow a lot in y6 - I'm not sure your uniform will last the year if it's too small already!

We do have a spare skirt the next size up but we have this every yr

Hence why by the time the next size up will actually fit this time round it won't be worth replacing. I'll just let her down or something

Hem

This has made me remember my school situation,in the 70s.
I went to a direct grant school at the time that those were grammar equivalent - essentially a private school ,which took grammar school stream children after the 11plus,so state funded.
High achieving school,awash in tradition,high expectations of us,and also quite a few families where grandmothers,mothers,aunts,daughters,had all attended.

The year that I started the summer uniform was changed,and the new dresses were very different to the old uniform.The school's attitude was that any family with old style uniform could keep using it,and that covered not only girls who had inherited older sisters uniform,but also families who had any of the design before that left,which was pretty old.So three completely different styles/colours/designs.

As long as you were in some form of the uniform the school didn't care,we didn't care,people learned and passed exams and the world continued to turn.
I think this contributes to my feeling of about all this uniform stuff

Asda have men's smart black shoes from £18. I'd get a pair of them that comply with the policy and send your ds in the compliant shoes. Although it is a shame that his others wore out in June, sending a letter re next terms shoes at the end of the academic year is reasonable as this is when the majority of people are about to buy new school shoes.

If he will not have occasion to wear the £50 shoes as they are almost new, you might be able to sell them on eBay/any local selling you use.

Although this is unfortunate, there is no way I'd get into a battle with a new head teacher over this. It's absolutely not worth it and will probably only end with you having to buy compliant shoes.

Except cheap shoes often don't last so need replacing more often so you end up actually spending more than you would have done on one pair to last the yr.

No way should previously perfevtky good shoes be wiped off a list when new heads decide to (as pp put it) piss Mark the territory

Ds & Dd used to go to a private school & when they had a uniform change (including change of name for the junior section) there was a 2 year wearing out period before the new uniform was compulsory.

Personally I think 12 months is the minimum notice there should be of a change.