First and surnames on leavers hoodies is a safeguarding issue

[SavonDeMarseille]

Just found out the Y6 leavers hoodies (FFS since when was this a thing for Yr6!) will have the full names on their hoodies in the year number with their own name above the number and the school emblem and name on the front. AIBU to think this is a big safeguarding issue and should not be permitted. AI also BU or to want to take this up with the PTA who are organising this. Hoodies are worn all week on Yr 6 school trip.

DD has a popular name but a quite unusual surname and there is no way in hell I would allow her to go about in a hoodie with her full name emblazoned on it. I truly find it utterly peculiar that anyone would.

I would have wanted my surname on if this was a thing when I was a kid. But OP was offered a choice. Which is reasonable. First name only, full name, surname only or nickname. So there is no issue.

yes - though regardless of what DD wants, she's not having her full name and that's that - as her parent I make that kind of decision as I wouldn't expect a Year 6 to understand the ramifications.

FWIW, DD's hoodie has Year 6 where the one in the photo upthread has Tasha and then all their names in the numbers. The kids then had the option of having their initials on too, either on the front or on the sleeve. They also had the option of having a school logo hoody or a plain one. DD got one of each and wore the logo one as uniform and the plain one out of school, even for a few months after leaving primary.

It’s a leavers hoody!
They can’t be traced to the school if they’ve left 🙄

Opt out if you don’t like it, otherwise get a grip.

My old grammar school used to take pictures in the first year for their records (and a picture for parents to buy and make money out of). For some reason someone must have unearthed them and thought it was a good idea to put them on the website. This would probably breach data protection these days but it was in the days of mainframe computers so everything was paper.

So, being traditional and all that, there is the year, the form, for the boys initials and surname and for the girls, full name

Thankfully, the ones for my year group got lost.

No sense sometimes

DD1 just got hers. Some kids only have their first names in the number 19 but there is no big name on the back. So somewhere in the number in tiny writing is Little Rockbird but nothing to say that she is her. However, in that strange way that preteens sometimes have, she is refusing to wear the hoody out of school events because although no one will know her name, people will know what school she goes to. Clearly the school uniform she's been wearing for 7 years is invisible...

My dd1's hoodie with her name on it was worn precisely once - on the way home from school the day she got it.

It stayed in her wardrobe till she grew out of it. Can't remember what I did with it after that, it's probably in the loft.

yes - though regardless of what DD wants, she's not having her full name and that's that - as her parent I make that kind of decision as I wouldn't expect a Year 6 to understand the ramifications.
What ramifications?

My DD loves her hoodie, obviously now she’s in year 7 it’s uncool and she doesn’t wear it.
Her high school PE kit has her name plastered across the back, comes as standard and is compulsory.
I’ve volunteered on the PTA for 6 years, if you think you can do it better why haven’t you offered to help?

What about name tapes on school clothing, do you have problems with this too?? Full names on all items of clothing. We have large name tapes, with full names on the front of PE tops and skorts. Also quite common to have them on the backs of outer sports wear. They then wander all around town in them

I don't understand what the ramifications of having your name linked to your school can cause? they won't even be at that school after July.

it's a trail. In this day and age I'm all for making that trail as invisible as is possible.

But I care quite a lot about my privacy and DH is almost obsessive about it.

But do I think any trip that means your daughter couldn’t fully take part be cancelled then yes, I think that’s perfectly fair.

Frankly that is utter bollocks.

Her overnight trip is in May. We have worked closely with the school to ensure she is included where possible. There is one activity on the whole trip she absolutely cannot do, and the sleeping arrangements for her are amended to suit. Instead of doing that activity, she will be with her SFLA doing something pretty cool. Instead of being in the big dorm, her and a group of her friends have a smaller room with an en-suite and side room for the SFLA.

But you think it is fairer if she and the entire year group miss out on the whole trip, a trip the school does every year, a trip that all the kids really enjoy, just because there is one activity out of six which she cannot access?

I hope to god you aren’t involved in the education of children because that’s a fucking appalling attitude.

Older I'm pretty sure name tapes aren't usually emblazoned on the outer side of clothing, but perhaps other people's are different. I remove name tapes when stuff goes to charity.

I would have thought just surnames would be better but I don't think it's a safeguarding issue. There will always be killjoys who moan about the extra expense but I think they're great and the kids love them.

Ramifications

I hope to god you aren’t involved in the education of children because that’s a fucking appalling attitude

Oh get over yourself I'm a qualified sports coach and am very experienced at ensuring ALL kids can access ALL activities.

But you think it is fairer if she and the entire year group miss out on the whole trip, a trip the school does every year, a trip that all the kids really enjoy, just because there is one activity out of six which she cannot access

One activity out of six is a vastly different thing from a day trip where a child with additional needs cannot participate.

So DD's school usually went on a day trip to a particular place, which wasn't appropriate in her year due to one child's needs. So they did something equally as fun but meant that all could participate.

So shoot me for not kicking up a fuss that my daughter missed out. Because I think she - and the rest of the class - had a far better time doing something together as a group than an activity where one had to miss out.

The analogy you've given with your dd's wheelchair doesn't make sense. It wouldn't make her safer or less disabled for other children to be using wheelchairs when they didn't need them. It does make a vulnerable child safer if their personal details are kept as confidential as possible.
It makes perfect sense. And it actually would make her less disabled as she is disabled by her environment, and if all kids were in wheelchairs, the whole environment would be adapted to suit. She’s disabled by others not understanding what it means to be in a wheelchair so that would help too. It would also means she wasn’t different, which was the actual point you were talking about. There safeguarded child’s details can be kept private, they can CHOOSE not to have their names on them.

I have explained the ACTUAL RISK up thread, but I'll repeat it. The risk is if the name of a vulnerable child is spotted by someone either in person or uploaded to social media in a way that identifies or even suggests that child's school. This narrows down their possible locality very considerably. Given that they will be transferring to secondary, any interested party will be able to find out through a quick google search what secondary school they're likely to be going go.

Again, so the child does not put their last name on the hoodie. So there is no ACTUAL risk. And even if the name is there, there are far, far easier ways for finding that out than trawling the social media accounts of every parent across the country who might have a child in the right area in the right class, who might have taken a photograph of their child in a hoodie, which might^ be good enough resolution to read a name. If someone knows enough about the locality that it was a good option to do that, they would be better nipping down to the local school and hanging around at school drop off. If a person is so intent on finding a kid, they will find them without some names on a hoodie.

Some people need a bigger problem

One activity out of six is a vastly different thing from a day trip where a child with additional needs cannot participate.

So not any trip that means your daughter couldn’t fully take part be cancelled then yes, I think that’s perfectly fair. then? Sometimes it’s OK for kids to have to accept they have different circumstances, and that all the other kids don’t have to miss out because of that?

This thread has reminded me that when I was 7 I was given a sweatshirt with a picture of The Fonz on it with his thumbs up on the front and on the back it said "Stay Cool Notonthestairs>. Bloody loved it.

Our youngest child will not be able to have her name on her leavers jumper. She will be disappointed but we will deal with that when it happens. Non problem.

So are people saying that no child in the class should be allowed a leaver's hoodie if there is a vulnerable child in their class? Or that vulnerable child's name is left off?

Yes this is a safeguarding issue. A child who has an abusive parent or has been adopted could be traced to a school by the jumper. I would ask whether the PTA are going to get consent to use the children’s names because they may not be aware of all safeguarding issues.

Surely, by the point at which a person is close enough to read the writing, they're close enough to see the face of the child already?

A child with an abusive parent or has been adopted isn't likely to be having contact with them anyway.

And again when you have a school year of 18 or even 13, then yes - it becomes far easier to spot a name.

DD was in a class of 16. Their names were repeated several times, in the same normal sized font as most hoodies. It made the numbers look far better than having only a handful of names in large font.