Change to school PE kit, does this sound reasonable?

[lucie8881]

Not sure whether I’m missing something glaringly obvious so I thought I’d see what others opinions are on this. For background, my 2 daughters attend the same high school, one in year 10, the other year 8. The basic PE kit comprises of a polo shirt to be worn with either shorts, tracksuit bottoms or a skort. The skort was introduced three years ago, it’s a short a-line style gym skirt with integrated cycling shorts. All the kit has the school emblem and colours and can only be purchased through one supplier specified by the school. Due to coronavirus precautions in place, on PE days, children are to attend school in their PE kits with their blazer over the top.

At the start of the school year I asked my daughters what their preference was for PE kit and both opted for a skort and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, for when the weather was cooler. However, my eldest DD has had a growth spurt so her tracksuit bottoms are now too small.

During the summer holidays last year a new head teacher came into position, and from the outset he seems to have taken issue with the skorts. On several occasions he has asked girls to pull the skorts down as they are too short. But because of the integrated shorts you can’t really make them longer or shorter.

Then this afternoon I receive an email from the school, addressed to all parents, stating that with immediate effect skorts are not to be worn as it’s been identified as a safeguarding issue.

Now I’ve got just 2 days to get hold of some shorts for my eldest, which irritates me on a few levels. My DD has worn the shorts previously but didn’t like them as the waistband was thick and itchy and the legs were too loose fitting so we’re more revealing than she was comfortable with. Plus they’re not the cheapest and I’m not able to shop around. There’s no point buying anymore tracksuit bottoms as they are standard length and will be far too short.

I just can’t see what safeguarding issue there could be around the skorts? Unless I’m missing something?? My concern is that the change is fuelled by the head teachers own personal views on what is appropriate dress for women/girls.

I’m going to email the school tomorrow to ask whether there has been an incident that I’m not aware of that has led to the change.

Am I being unreasonable for being annoyed by the sudden change to PE kit and missing a genuine safety concern?

some of the girls at the school I work in wear their skorts at age 16 from when they bought it 3/4 years ago and they are basically hotpants. Its not "safeguarding" but it is inappropriate to have your butt hanging out around school (and playing sports). They've gone about this the wrong way and need more alternatives that make sense but I don't disagree with the general idea of appropriate dress for ALL students. We make both boys and girls wear tracksuit bottoms over their shorts / skorts for class (same as OP that they come in in kit now) and the girls often wear leggings underneath

YANBU
Dds school has the same policy of pe kit with blazer. They sent an arsey email about uniform during lockdown, and complained on pe days that some students were wearing different (not school branded) kit, even though it was the right colour. And that this needed to be addressed asap "in case you needed to order stuff online"
Well duh, of course you would have had to order online because the uniform shop was closed. (Ours also have to get most from 1 supplier)
I cant believe that during a pandemic when they've got loads of extra rules and systems to get on top of, they are faffing about whether a PE kit (not even the standard uniform) is exactly right.

The boys teacher came over to the girls PE teacher to ask her to speak with her class regarding those wearing skorts, as the skirts were riding up whilst they were playing and causing a distraction to the boys

So talk to the boys and tell them to look elsewhere!

However, it's a bit weird that the skorts are all so short (don't they have shorts built into them anyway and presumably the girls also have underwear on?) I don't have one myself, not really my sort of thing, but some ladies run in them.

I don't like hotpants where womens' bum cheeks hang out and would have something to say about that, but if the skorts are that short, then the issue is with the supplier, not the girls wearing them.

However, it's a bit weird that the skorts are all so short

Skorts for athletics are designed to be short so they are less of an encumbrance.

Fashion skorts are longer as their main function is as an item of everyday clothing - not to do hurdles or marathons in.

To be honest if you see professional athletes at events like the Olympics they wear kit that is so skimpy they are practically naked - but do they wear that kit on the bus? Or in a shop? No they don't. They cover up with a trackie between events or wear a formal outfit at things like the opening ceremony. Really wearing a teeny tiny skort or shorts that aren't much bigger than knickers just simply isn't appropriate for traveling to and from school. It's sports wear.
'Safeguarding' seems to be a word thrown around a lot it's almost meaningless sometimes.
To be honest the regular school uniform that teenage girls have to wear is a stereotype creepy fantasy already so if schools were that concerned about safeguarding they would have got rid of knee socks and plaid skirts years ago.

@Ilovemaisie

To be honest if you see professional athletes at events like the Olympics they wear kit that is so skimpy they are practically naked - but do they wear that kit on the bus? Or in a shop? No they don't. They cover up with a trackie between events or wear a formal outfit at things like the opening ceremony. Really wearing a teeny tiny skort or shorts that aren't much bigger than knickers just simply isn't appropriate for traveling to and from school. It's sports wear. 'Safeguarding' seems to be a word thrown around a lot it's almost meaningless sometimes. To be honest the regular school uniform that teenage girls have to wear is a stereotype creepy fantasy already so if schools were that concerned about safeguarding they would have got rid of knee socks and plaid skirts years ago.

Schools asked for children to come in PE kids to avoid the need for changing.

OP's school hasn't asked for children to wear tracksuit bottoms , which might've been fair enough.

They simply banned skorts, which means they're perfectly happy with girls coming to school in shorts, which are even shorter than the skorts according to OP.

Whatever safeguarding or "appropriate " to wear in public issue there might be, banning skorts doesn't solve it . So the question remains .. why?

Accidentally good point. Why skorts and not the shorts?
Uniform rules just annoy and baffle me tbh.

@Ilovemaisie

Accidentally good point. Why skorts and not the shorts? Uniform rules just annoy and baffle me tbh.

I think a lot of posters missed that point , being to focused on skorts and their appropriateness. Any issues that there are with skorts would still be there with shorts.

I'm a right old cynic, but my suspicion is that skorts are an issue because they look like skirts and all the associated (sexualised) images they portray.

It's the idea of them that's a problem. Too tight,too short, wrong size etc are also issues with shorts. There's no risk of flashing either because of the extra layer.

So in my eyes (not saying I'm necessarily right) it's shorts -sporty,functional, unisex, fine .Skorts look like skirts - flappy,flirty,decorative , "sexy", "distracting".

No school has banned girls from wearing shorts for PE. Hell,they demand it as part of the correct kit.

A simple pair of leggings underneath is all my daughter's school required.
This seems a bit much.

I haven’t rtft but I will say as a teacher currently working with the wear or kit to school on days you have PE situation, some of the skorts are just too short. I’m a fairly young, female teacher so not stuffy and old school but it’s just not appropriate that I should see students’ bum cheeks as they leave my lesson. It’s an all girls school so nothing to do with boys being distracted. If there were boys and they came in with half their bum hanging out I’d have a problem with that too!

*I think a lot of posters missed that point , being to focused on skorts and their appropriateness. Any issues that there are with skorts would still be there with shorts.

I'm a right old cynic, but my suspicion is that skorts are an issue because they look like skirts and all the associated (sexualised) images they portray.

It's the idea of them that's a problem. Too tight,too short, wrong size etc are also issues with shorts. There's no risk of flashing either because of the extra layer.

So in my eyes (not saying I'm necessarily right) it's shorts -sporty,functional, unisex, fine .Skorts look like skirts - flappy,flirty,decorative , "sexy", "distracting".

No school has banned girls from wearing shorts for PE. Hell,they demand it as part of the correct kit.*

This sums up my thinking exactly.

Still awaiting response from the school ...

@ProbablyLate, if you go back and read the thread, I don't think you'll see anyone who has an issue with a requirement to put on trackie bottoms at all times except playing sport. That's both boys and girls, regardless of whether it's shorts and or skorts

@ProbablyLate

I haven’t rtft but I will say as a teacher currently working with the wear or kit to school on days you have PE situation, some of the skorts are just too short. I’m a fairly young, female teacher so not stuffy and old school but it’s just not appropriate that I should see students’ bum cheeks as they leave my lesson. It’s an all girls school so nothing to do with boys being distracted. If there were boys and they came in with half their bum hanging out I’d have a problem with that too!

And shorts are never too short?

@Remaker

You cannot make uniform changes with immediate effect. That is absolutely outrageous. Is it a private school?

I would be questioning it and wanting a clear explanation of the safety implications. Would also mention that you are uncomfortable that this seems to represent policing of female bodies which is discriminatory.

I'd be asking if it has been discovered they are flammable. They were ok last term and aren't now, what other reason can there be?

Our school has an ongoing issue with skorts. Tracksuit bottoms are 'sort of allowed' after much fighting and probably only pushed for because trendy right now but not leggings (the girls preferred option, apparently because some people wear leggings that are 'too see through'. They insist that younger years wear the leggings under the skort (which is not a great look) or just the skort. Older years are allowed leggings (but this gets withdrawn every few years. Legend has it that a whole year 11 cohort staged a protest by attending school in too small skorts with a lot of bum cheek showing and won this concession. Personally I am a casualty in this ongoing war because I have purchased so many blinking 'just right' tracksuit bottoms when the school decide to enforce at the beginning of the year, and within weeks the teachers are turning a blind eye and everyone is wearing leggings. This year at the beginning of the year the PE teachers sent offenders to isolation and isolation sent them straight back again saying it was ridiculous 🤣

Spoke with some other parents today. One parent of a year 10 girl relayed an incident that happened just before the Easter holidays. During PE the girls were in the field playing hockey and the boys were a short distance away on the football pitch. The boys teacher came over to the girls PE teacher to ask her to speak with her class regarding those wearing skorts, as the skirts were riding up whilst they were playing and causing a distraction to the boys. The parent went on to say that their daughter hadn't noticed any sort of untoward behaviour from the boys either before, during or after the lesson. The only indicator it was an issue was from the male PE teacher

@lucie8881 IF this is true it is absolutely appalling and needs looking into.

You are absolutely right to question this.

I haven't blanked out the school name!

How can I ask for that to be edited out??

@lucie8881

I haven't blanked out the school name!

How can I ask for that to be edited out??

You report your own post and ask for changes or for it to be deleted entirely. I have already reported it for you, but you should do it too .

Thank you

I'll try again! This is the email from the school:

Good evening

Thank you for your email.

There has not been a specific incident with regards to the skorts, however a number of the skorts are not deemed 'appropriate' to be worn around school. Pre covid, students would spend the majority of the day in school uniform, only wearing their PE kit for PE lessons. Students are now spending all day, walking up and down stairs, sitting in lessons etc. Through no fault of any child or family, the skorts do not fit as well as the PE shorts.

If your daughters do not have a pair of the School shorts, then these can be lent from Mrs X's office. These shorts are new and have not previously been worn.

I hope this clarifies any concerns you may have had, however please get in contact again if you have any further concerns.

Best wishes

Did they use the word lent?!

Our school allows black leggings or tracksuit bottoms to be worn over the shorts part of the skort, but under the skirt but for their other lessons on PE days which they then remove to do their actual PE lesson. Could be worth suggesting this?

Lent!!

So not reasonable explanation of why this must be done immediately....

That’s an email that demands a call for clarity.
I’d love to see them squirm as they have to describe ‘not appropriate’ really means ‘distracts males’
Like PP. this is the hill I’d make a stand on!

Are the shorts longer? No one wants to see any arse cheeks at work, be they male/female/young/old.