To think that the ‘no bag’ school rule is ridiculous

[Mumtobe193]

So my DD is due to start primary school in September & I’m just really baffled by a school rule banning a school bag? I don’t know whether it’s something that’s come about in light of covid or if it’s just a school policy? But I just find it quite ridiculous. I’ve had to purchase a book bag with the school logo on which is solely for her reading books, class work and letters etc. Then I’ve to purchase a clear plastic folder which is to contain her pencil case with all her stationary, a packet of tissues, hand gel, a water bottle (disposable can’t be a reusable one for some reason) and her snack. I’ve heard nothing from the school about their policy on lunchboxes? But I have heard from other mums who already have kids at the school that they will be expected to bring their lunch in in a plastic carrier bag, and this is a rule that is apparently coming into play as of September. Also unsure whether she will need a bag for PE?

So when she starts school, she will be carrying a plastic folder with all her daily essentials in, her lunch in a carrier bag, plus a book bag. Would it surely not make a lot more sense for the children to just have a big school bag that they can throw everything into? Rather than carrying 3 separate items in and things getting lost/mixed up etc. I just don’t get it? Anyone else’s DC school have a similar policy? Why??

Not sure how bringing a book bag in is OK but a school bag isn't from Covid infection perspective. Space wise yes

It's all interconnected though.

Because the school can't prevent some things having to be taken home, so the children need to have some form of bag to carry those things in. The smaller they are, the less room they take up which is important with all the SD conditions put into classrooms to restrict the available space. However, because they will be limiting the amount of stuff transferring in/out of school a bookbag should be more than sufficient to carry them.

Also if they restrict it to one specific type of bag - that is lightweight, slimline, fits in existing storage, restricts the amount of extra crap the kids can bring in etc - then it helps from the Covid infection perspective too.

If they can go in a tray they dont need to be put on a coat hook, in usually narrow cloakroom, where they may be knocked off/picked up by multiple people nor do teachers have to find extra storage for bulky bags.

Plus most bookbags are made from a material designed to be wiped down, so if the teachers have to handle them - eg to change reading books/put in important letters to go home etc - then they can easily be wiped down without being damaged.

School Governor here . These are Covid rules although I’m sure some schools will have done it in the past just to get rid of the inevitable clutter . In covid times less bought into school, the less has to be cleaned down . Our school is allowing reusable water bottles but they have to be sanitised immediately on arrival at school, and parents are told that they must be washed as soon as they get home. There is inevitably a time and cost factor to cleaning 30 water bottles but it was felt that it was something worth doing with environment in mind provided this was carefully managed. There are guidelines and suggestions which the National Association of Head Teachers pulled together which cover things like this and also eg the need for clean clothes everyday , no food or snack sharing etc but each school will have adapted them to what works best for their specific circumstances and carried out a detailed risk assessment . Sadly for all of our school children, the school experiences will be somewhat different When they go back in autumn but I’m sure schools will welcome their pupils back in such a way that it is still a positive experience . I’m hoping that all the hand washing , cleaning etc in place will mean we are less of risk of outbreaks of norovirus , colds, coughs , headlice and threadworms..... though obviously the main goal is the deal with the Covid risk .

@ineedaholidaynow yes primary, just the junior school though.

I think it's just possible that the school know their requirements and what will work for 30 kids better than you do. So why not pack in moaning and nicely try it their way?

I think it's just possible that the school know their requirements and what will work for 30 kids better than you do. So why not pack in moaning and nicely try it their way?

Perhaps cos some parents have already kitted their kids out with stuff on a very limited budget and now have to fork out for more stuff thats only for temp usage after receiving an email?

It might be ok for new starters as they had to buy everything already. But parents who have everything from last year might not be able to afford to replace things that were barely used and were banking on just using it.

@Roswellconspiracy

I think it's just possible that the school know their requirements and what will work for 30 kids better than you do. So why not pack in moaning and nicely try it their way?

Perhaps cos some parents have already kitted their kids out with stuff on a very limited budget and now have to fork out for more stuff thats only for temp usage after receiving an email?

It might be ok for new starters as they had to buy everything already. But parents who have everything from last year might not be able to afford to replace things that were barely used and were banking on just using it.

It's not like the school are doing to for fun is it?

It's ludicrous not allowing a bottle to go from school to home when that same bottle went from home to school anyway and the child itself, including shoes etc, is also!

My son cycles to school now so I'll be sending him in with a backpack regardless.

I didnt say it was for fun. But leopealso lost their jobs or survived on 80 percent of their wages and might struggle to three perfectly good bags and spend 3 pound a day on bottles of water of they have multiple children at school.

and some of those parents might have new yr 7 starters which cos hundres to kit out plus the bus pass plus a locker fee.

Its a bigger ask than people might think tbh. Plus unifirm shops are requesting appointments rather than drop in so even sourcing the bag with 2 or 3 kids in tow isn't just a click away. Cost me 4 pound postage to order from mine online and the book bags are a tenner each.

Ds just started primary (Scotland). He is allowed a school bag for his snack and a water bottle. All stationary has been provided by the school. When he has pe he has to go in his kit.

They are also using their cloakroom for bags/coats.

When there were only 6 children last term they were allocated pencils etc from school that they kept in a named tray.

Surely the clear folder can go in the book bag over shoulder and bottle in with packed lunch. pE kits would stay all half term.

Gosh our school is the complete opposite to what's been said on here and our school is pretty small too. I have a child in ks1 and a child in KS2.
Information has been sent out to us and thr only change is the want them to go into school in their pe clothes on pe day.
Everything else stays the same. Bags allowed, drinks bottles, stationary and pencil cases, they provide them with a huge plastic reading folder

I've always provided stationery for DD2 because I buy pencils she finds easier to hold because of her SN - and for years I asked if they could give her a set place to sit in the classroom to reduce her struggling to organise herself and her belongings - so Covid's helped her out no end in that regard! Currently all bought, labelled and in quarantine in a ziplock bag in the boot of my car.

The bag thing was a right ruddy pain in the arse before the summer when she was in in the bubble provision though - she couldn't manage to carry or organise everything without a bag - she is much better at getting independently organised when she knows that everything goes in her rucksack and I've cleared it with school for her to still use it in September as an adjustment. Reading folders just didn't work for her at all - the only change is that she's not taking her iPad between school and home - hopefully enough of the school laptops they loaned to families to access online learning come back or we're going to end up having to sort out some solution that lives in school for her!

They're not wearing ties in September (because they don't tend to get washed the same way the rest of uniform does - I'm rejoicing in this change and hoping they never come back), and they're going in on PE day in their PE kit (again I'm rejoicing in this change because it makes my life easier in terms of it not being lost constantly).

My only real issue is the junior starters really haven't been given the clearest guidance about what's happening (the school are not the best on communication) and the only reason I really know what's going on is I've got a child currently being taught by the new Y3 teacher!

Even in normal times we discourage large bags as we simply don't have the space.

The book bag fits in their drawer.

Normally a small cloth or bag fits on their peg with their cost. I think in September we are telling them to dress in PE kits on the day and not bags to be brought in.

We will have hand gel in classes but children can have their own if it fits in their drawer.

Packed lunches are be be brought in a lunch bag or box and will be stored in the classroom. They should be no bigger than necessary - so no rucksack or backpack.

Our school had no spare space and we can't have lots in the legs as these are in the already narrow corridors.

Ours don't need to have disposable bags and water bottles however.

Ours leave water bottles at school. Lynch bags are only allowed for special reasons (severe allergy or special needs), so that’s maybe 15 kids in the school?
We need to bring in stationary, but it stays st school.
Not sure yet what will happen with PE kit and other stuff though.

I’m Irish - what’s a book bag?? Never heard of it, DD just takes a backpack. They also take plastic folders (in the rucksack) for reading books etc.

In her school they’ve always just worn their PE clothes on PE days, no changing.

@Helgathehairy this is a book bag they are thin and just a bit bigger than A4.

Honestly, some of the bags at our primary school are the size of a small suitcase. You could honestly fit enough stuff in there for a weekend away. Some of them are literally half the size of the child carrying them. So, I think you can probably partly blame the parents who have gone before you for this one. If they had sent sensible sized bags with their child (or no bag if all that was actually going in it was a book bag and a water bottle) then schools wouldn’t have to make such rules. But because parents all let their children have over sized bags, there wasn’t enough room in the cloak rooms so they’ve Now been banned.

Just as an aside though, do reception children not still get a free school meal at lunch time?

@Maryann1975 they do in England up to end of KS1 so Y2.

Eh, my primary school is bag-free and has been for years. Not enough room in the changing rooms.

They all have a slimline bookbag for a single homework book and letters. Everything else stays in school. PE kits stay in school, lunch in a lunch box.

But because parents all let their children have over sized bags, there wasn’t enough room in the cloak rooms so they’ve Now been banned.

Yup, I dont know what everyone is sending their kids with every day that means they need a backpack, never mind an oversized one.

DD did her first few years of schooling in Spain and at her school in the first couple of years they didn't take a bag at all. On the first day of term they take a drawstring bag with a change of clothes (just in case of accidents etc) and that lives on their peg along with their pinafore that they wear over their clothes. It only goes home if and when the spare clothes have to be used.

On Fridays the children are sent home with their pinafore and a plastic folder with their homework, homeschool diary and any permission slips. On Monday they return with their homework folder and laundered pinafore.

I think this all comes under the ‘theatre of covid.’

It makes no difference. And so much effort expended. So much inconvenience.

A child with an infected lunchbox is infected themselves.

Yup, I dont know what everyone is sending their kids with every day that means they need a backpack, never mind an oversized one.

Jumper/light raincoat if not worn, water bottle, homework, reading book, lunch. And extras like show and tell, craft work being sent home, stuff school request to be sent in.
On the way into school not such a problem as we could make them wear the jumper and carry the bottle and lunch. On the way out though teachers always made them shove everything into the book bag. (They've got 30 kids to corral, I guess they need everything in one place, then they can just check each child has their bag on the way out.) Result crumpled books and leaks. A ruck sack kept everything flat and neat and dry.