To be shocked by the leavers jumpers

[Itsmytreehouse]

My dd is leaving primary school this July and we have been sent a link to order leaver jumpers.
The design has their school name and year on the front in large letters and on the back their teachers name and class mates names (including surname) with hand written messages of good luck printed all over.
I might be over reacting but I’m seeing it as a safeguarding concern that these kids will be wearing them around showing their name and school in public. (They’ve been asked to wear them to school for all next term as part of their leavers production outfit)
Should I point this out to the school or forget about it?

It’s clothing. There is no obligation to use it minimally. My kids wore theirs for years afterwards. The handwritten good luck messages sound naff, though - kids prefer to scrawl those on their school shirts on their last day, not wander around town with the messages on their hoodies for years afterwards. If they look like the secondary school leavers’ hoodies, on the other hand, they are wearable for far longer without the same sense of embarrassment.

As for surnames, most people have no problem with surnames being included (many people give far more revealing data away on social media several times a day); the problem is not asking for permission to use names and the form those names should be in, in advance.

Presumably the looked after children's carers can deal with that. They know what they're doing.

You're making a problem where there isn't one.

Isn't her diminutive name in large font the danger? Surely someone would read it more easily and are more like to say, "Hi Lizzie" rather than, "Hi Elizabeth Jones." It is also more friendly so I think the large name is the bigger risk than her surname.

I suppose if someone who wouldn't recognise her and was actually looking for Elizabeth Jones would find the full name more useful.

Also no offense to the first-names-only camp but would anyone actually want a hoodie that reads “Theo Theo Theo Olivia Olivia Olivia”, given how many kids these days share the same first names ?

How is anyone going to know which kid is wearing the hoodie?

😂😂

Well, the camp that have their knickers in a twist about the phenomenal danger for all children in potentially revealing their surname to anybody are probably also the ones who don’t expect their kids to wear the hoodies for long, having rendered them as meaningless as a memento as possible.

That's hilariously too accurate! Don't forget the Aurelia's and Jacob's!

There is some real paranoia on this thread. The chances of a random stranger noting down the name of a school and classmates names, in order to lure some unsuspecting 11 or 12 year old into a car are practically zero.

If a parent or foster parent doesn't want the child's full name on, they can ask. Job done.

Children will wear the hoodies on one day, then they'll be stored somewhere.

In future years they'll have a record of their classmates. I certainly can't remember all the children who were in my class at junior school. A hoodie might have been useful.

We went into London to a museum and I made sure she understood how easily I could find that information out. She was to ensure that if anyone greeted her by name and said I'd sent them to talk to her, she was to ask for our agreed password. If anyone ever attempts this and fails to give the password DDs know to find someone in authority, or start yelling to get maximum attention

Did your daughter wander round the museum on her own? My children were always with us when went to museums etc.

You are wildly over thinking it.

First off it wont be their school soon so knowing that means little to nothing, it not like someone can go to their OLD school to try and pick them up.

Second a peado tries to garner your (not so young childs) trust by using their name it is really lucky if he GUESSES the correct name out of 30 on a hoody.

Third most names are not remotely unique, I have a unique name both first (foreign rarely used in this country) and really rare practically extinct surname (as my family is small and dying off and I gave DC my DH surname Im even the only person left in my own family with my surname, I believe from a records search Im the only living person in England that has the surname) are crazy unique and I still have never had an issue so Im pretty sure Emily Phillips and Lewis Robinson etc... will be fine.

Fouth this is common, most schools do it and have for years without any issue to the children.

Yep theres like 3 Jack's, 2 Kade's, 2 Emily's, 2 Lewis's and 2 owen's my my DS class that 11 out of 30 kids... they weren't even like the number 1 names when he was born so its pretty random how it works out, I mean who predicts a pocket of Kade lol.

That doesnt even account for the kids with similar or varient names like Amy, Amelia and Millie.

It’s not about random strangers, it’s about estranged family/parents with non contact orders identifying and locating their children.

But realistically even in those cases if they where close enough to a child in the same class to be reading all the names on the back on a hoody (which are tiny) they would just say to the child they knew “is there a Jack Smith” in your class and find out that way.

it’s very different from posting full names on social media or newspapers.

You know what, it gets a bit tiresome when people try to enforce ridiculous changes!
I mean, if by any chance there happened to be a child in a situation where it was not in their well being to have any chance of being identified, then the school would presumably be aware of this as well as the child's guardians. They would write their first name and be done with it. I mean really, sometimes you think you've heard it all. What next, they can't write their names by hand because the child with bad handwriting might not want others to see?

That seems far more sensible. We do the same.

Exactly.

In England, 1 in 30 children experience being in care by the age of 18. It's not that rare. Many others are deemed by social services to be 'in need'. Whilst some care experienced people have commented on this thread and said they 'weren't in hiding' that doesn't change the fact that two of the biggest reasons for children being in care are abuse or neglect by a birth parent.

I can only think those who mock safe guarding concerns genuinely don't realise just how very vulnerable too many children are. Some of their stories are so horrific you couldn't even believe that so many bad things could happen to one child.

Jesus I wasn’t expecting such passionate responses 😱
to be clear I have no issues with the hoodies themselves, dd has been looking forward to getting hers for some time now. I’m not angry or planning to kick up a fuss I’m genuinely shocked the PTA printed 30 full names on a hoodie without permission. As Ibiza mentioned about estranged family this applies to us. If a relative walked behind a child wearing this hoodie they may possibly see my dd name and the school she attends/attended, they would then know which area we moved too and may try to look for us.
not an immediate danger no and I’m not implying someone will kidnap a child for having their name on display, I just think a first name is more than enough and could put a child in danger from an absent parent for example. The hoodies cannot be changed as they’re already printed and ready to collect on Monday.
anyway many parents are in uproar about gdpr and lack of consent on the school whatsapp group so I wouldn’t need to say anything if I wanted to. Appreciate the replies that actually took the facts into consideration!

Exactly. Which is a depressingly common situation that needs to be considered.

We had many Williams/joes/serenitys so we went for firstname plus initial of surname

No. I don't see it as a safety concern. I've seen many, you'd need a magnifying glass to read any of the names.

We do first names only for this reason, but I couldn't get too wound up about it. If it was my child though I'd put a coat over them when out and about.

First names and first letter of surname is plenty

Some schools only have surnames

A school near us just says "Year 6", so that the hoodies can be passed on to younger siblings. People complained at first, but most people now seem fine with that

Did you consent to the full name being printed on them? You needed to.

The school name is no different to wearing uniform, but I do think it's unusual to include surnames. No risk at all to most children, but a significant risk for the odd one or two.