School ties

[FarewellNoel]

DD's school (primary) are insisting all pupils, including those with SEN wear ties at all times in school. DD tells me their classroom is 'boiling' and that the thermometer on the teacher's desk suggested it was above 30 last week. Am I unreasonable to send her in without a tie when temps are predicted to be in excess of 25? Currently around a quarter of parents persistently send their child in without one, with another 10% or so not sending them in with one on hot days. The school is actively cracking down though and kids have been told off today for not wearing them.

Just get her to loosen it at the neck.

I don't think just sending a child in without one is the answer. Speak with the school and follow up in writing to the head and the chair of governors.

Unfortunately because so many options for discipline don't exist any more and there are parents who refuse to accept their child can misbehave, uniform becomes something academies especially seem to home in on. Perhaps because not wearing uniform is a matter of fact not opinion.

Ours always wear a tie. My dcs always wear short sleeved shirts and are allowed to take their blazer off when its hot

Do you have a class WhatsApp or similar? I would canvas opinion on there before going to the school.

I think ties are ridiculous. My DD wouldn't be able to cope with one. I would just send them in without one and send an email to the teacher explaining why and to speak to you not your DC if they have a problem with it. Thank goodness DD's school uniform is inclusive.

They're clip on so can't be loosened and top button has to be done up for them to clip on properly. Even our local secondary allows ties and blazers to be removed in particularly hot weather and they have air conditioning.

My DD wouldn't be able to cope with one.

Of course she would, if she had to. Don't be ridiculous.

I would make them get used to it. In high schools kids get isolation for not having the correct uniform. It's best they learn now.

Ours wears ties, but we have a summer uniform that doesn't require a tie. That's great but that means two lots of uniforms for the different seasons.

Many autistic children have sensory differences that make close-fitting, formal and ‘scratchy’ clothes intolerable to them. Any school that doesn’t adapt uniform to meet their needs (eg no ties, soft collars, a variation in waistband) would be acting in a discriminatory fashion.

Class WhatsApp all seem to think they're ridiculous but varying degrees of wanting to stick head above parapet. I just think a classroom in mid 30s is too hot for having ties and top buttons done up.

Not being able to cope with specific restrictive items of uniform is quite common, therefore, and it is wholly unreasonable to say that a child with sensory needs will wear excruciatingly uncomfortable uniform ‘if they have to’. In all inclusive and reasonable schools, they rightly don’t have to.

DC3 is meant to wear a tie (primary schools) but he hasn't worn it recently as I have said it is too hot, he still goes in wearing his fleece but that is usually in his bag at home time.

Just to say, I'm fine with them in sub 25 degree temperatures. I just think there comes a point where they inhibit learning. My youngest came home today with hives/heat rash. I just think a bit of common sense in saying 26 degrees and above is no tie weather. And I agree, those with sensory issues should be treated as a special case even in winter.

Ds old school had to wear shirt, tie, thin v neck jumper and a blazer. Over 25 degrees allowed to remove jumper only! He passed out twice with the heat when there. And they still didnt allow no blazer /Tie.
I moved his school. Much more relaxed with uniform.

If its a rule then they wear it Challenge the rule if you want to but don’t just send them without SEN is not a license to do anything what if your SEN child didn’t like clothes Would you expect the school to accommodate them naked?

I am really glad that schools don’t, by and large, have this [illegal] attitude. Those with SEND are entitled by law to ‘reasonable adaptations’. In the same way as you would not require a wheelchair user to climb stairs and would provide a lift, ramp or ground floor room instead, a child who cannot, by reason of their SEN, wear the normal uniform, is entitled to ask fir a reasonable adaptation, of which eg a shirt with a soft open neck would be an example. Wearing no clothes is not a reasonable adaptation, so parents, child and school work together to find the best solution.

I think ties are ridiculous too. DS' primary schools didn't have them but his secondary did (but only for boys). I noticed last Friday when it was so hot they still had to wear them. Completely nonsensical.

As for needing permission to remove a blazer or jumper, any school with a rule like that would be getting very short shrift from me indeed. A teacher doesn't get to tell a child how hot they are.

I am very glad indeed that dc’s primary and secondary schools had open- neck polo shirts (or in primary, summer dresses for those who preferred it) that could be worn all summer. It has made absolutely no difference to their educational experience or outcomes, but it shows that both schools actually cared about their pupils’ comfort.

The whole thing is bloody ridiculous, dressing small children up like tiny lawyers. What is even the point? How many people actually have to dress up to ties anymore? It's not exactly the norm in the workplace these days.

it is ridiculous- here kids put a noose around your neck and run around with other kids in the playground 🙄

I think your attitude is a sign of the complete snowflake society we've become. We all used to wear ties to primary and secondary school in the 80s and 90s (and no doubt before) and I never heard anyone moan amount it in the hot weather 🤷‍♀️.

Are you sure? Most state primaries didn’t have uniforms in the 1980s…..

I'd send them in with q tie 9n but let them take it off once in. If it's good enough for Royal Ascot....
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/06/16/hot-ascot-organisers-relax-dress-code-heatwave/

Yes they did. The majority of schools had uniform in the 1980s. Not all wore ties but plenty did.