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.

social media is hardly restricted, kids seem to share everything, as do the parents, and yet no one gets their knickers in a knot about that stuff [cofused]

totally

@WorraLiberty

That’s why we have a password, she doesn’t go anywhere with anyone without it.

All sorted out. Our order says Just call me xxx as the childs full name.

So, a total fuss about nothing given you got to say what name was put on the hoody

social media is hardly restricted, kids seem to share everything, as do the parents, and yet no one gets their knickers in a knot about that stuff

Oh I’m consistent. DD has no social media, she’s under the required age limit.

My profiles are as locked down as possible and I don’t share anything personal.

Ex copper here. 2 things:

1: I'm disturbed by how many people seem confused by the term 'safeguarding';

2: Ditto 'Data Protection'.

Realise may not be a popular view but hands down I think if you don't actually know what you're talking about then don't post shit as if it's fact. Sharing personal views one thing, abusing and confusing important matters of law and safety just no.

Actually I'll add a third point:

3: Very sadly, the vast majority of actual safeguarding issues and abuse issues are either within the home or from someone who knows the family. IE folks who know names anyway. Public estimates of 'stranger danger' crime (whilst I'm not remotely diminishing the impact of those offences) are wildly high vs reality; likewise public estimates of the % of offenders know to the family is low vs actual reality.

Clearly many MNers don't work alongside children at risk, have any idea of the extent that the LA and carers work to safeguard their identity, and prevent the information becoming public
It takes this thread for you to know that the majority of people probably fit into this category?

*knowN to the family

if you don’t want your child’s full name to appear then ask for it not to.

I can’t see why you are getting worked up about this.

If a Y6 child is sufficiently naive that they would it r adult who had guessed their name then you probably shouldn’t be letting them out of your sight in the first place.

Trust

My credentials as a parent are obviously lacking, because I increasingly find pages of angst over things that would not even occur to me in the first place, never mind occur to me to get worked up about.
This is one of them.

Yes it’s a safeguarding issue, as it violates the privacy of the kids

Privacy does not equate to safeguarding.

Some children, if approached by a stranger who "knows" their name, might assume the person knows their family and trust them / go with them.

I love the picture of a stranger going up to a child with 30 (or even 60, 90 or 120) names on his hoody and working though them all till he hits that particular child's name. Seriously?

It’s beyond me why some parents want their child to parade around in public advertising their full name and the school they attend, but each to their own. Our school doesn’t go in for this sort of thing thank goodness- but even if they did I would say no. My ds would understand why.

With regards to cost for parents...
In my school these are done at the START of Y6.
EVERYONE wears them. All the Y4/5 are jealous as hell and can’t wait to get them!
They replace the cost of jumpers for the year. The kids LOVE them!

I love the picture of a stranger going up to a child with 30 (or even 60, 90 or 120) names on his hoody and working though them all till he hits that particular child's name. Seriously?

The last 3 years at DD’s prep had 15, 13 and 18 pupils respectively. Suddenly becomes a lot more readable!

@SophiaLovesSummer

You’d have loved our last PTA meeting where a parent was quite aggressively questioning the Head Teacher about her implementation of the Pupil Equity Funding because GDPR meant she shouldn’t be privy to the background information of pupils who were allocated PEF funding and that by spending the money on those children she was breeching GDPR.

The last 3 years at DD’s prep had 15, 13 and 18 pupils respectively. Suddenly becomes a lot more readable!

Still laughable. “Hi, Jerry, Tim, George, Andrew, Tom, Dick, Harry, Jayden, Kayden, Aiden, Your mum says I’ve to pick you up”

Most uniforms have badges or their school name all over it as it is. The big school near me has the brightest colour jumper in the world. The children hunt in packs in town after school and easy to spot even in mid winter as they all rarely wear coats ( and make me feel cold)
I do get that some parents do not want their children to be found , but it must be a very small percentage and the school would be aware of it all anyway? The parent doesn't buy the item on sale ; end of the problem?

And I can guarantee if I wanted to, I could easily find out the name of any local 11 and 12 year old and where they live. This information is easily available.

I just have to ask my DC and they'll each tell me the names of every kid in their class along with siinbs names, roughly where they live (sometimes specifically where they live), and any interesting "facts" they know about each child/family.

siinbs = siblings

They'll also tell me parents names and jobs/place of work if they know them.

My D.C. are both mid twenties and they had Y6 leaver hoodies so as a ‘thing’ it’s been around a while. No,leavers photos for them though (or for me back int eh seventies).

They loved them and still have them, it was a massive treat for the whole year group and made them feel grownup. It was a small year group (less than 30) so the font was reasonably big it you’d still have to get close and hold them still to be able to read it. We picked the name/nickname that was printed in big and a couple of families decided not to have any name at all.

As for expense, I was part of the PTA at the time and the head asked us to cough up to buy hoodies for two leavers whose family couldn’t afford it, only the head and the school secretary knew who they were so everyone was included and happy.

How about school uniform
Where the child's name is sewn onto the outside of the clothes. Lots of schools seem to do this?? I'm sure this helps in the much more likely event of lost property (or taking other peoples items) than the much smaller likelihood of there being an identity issue. I am assuming and hoping for the latter scenario the school has a policy about displaying your name on your uniform.

FFS when I left primary school I only got a French Dictionary!

Seriously though, the idea of a keepsake hoodie with all your friends names on it sounds much nicer. Doubt a safeguarding issue as the children are leaving school.

Is it another American thing?
What's the problem with something being 'American'? (Not that I'm sure this is).

Many people have stated that some children just have their first name on the jumper so what's the problem?

Or shall we all keep shouting SAFEGUARDING without any knowledge of what it actually means?

If you're concerned about people knowing what school your child goes to, how do you deal with the school uniform issue? Do they change into it once they get to school?