To think that school isolation shouldn't be used for uniform errors.

[LondonElle]

Hi all my son has been given isolation on two
Separate occasions for not having the correct school shoes at his secondary school ( the first time was because he had sprained his ankle and due to swelling had to wear trainers) the second time because his shoes had broken, I ordered a pair they didn't fit so ordered another pair which took a few days to arrive) both times he had a note and the ankle injury happened in school.
Both times he was given a full day of isolation, this is standard practise at his school.
To me personally this is excessive, both times he was placed in isolation with pupils who had physically attacked others.
I fully accept and expect punishments if deserved but this doesn't sit right with me?
Is it standard practise in other secondary schools?

Theres a middle ground though surely. I personally don't give a shit if someone's in a track suit or leggings. Some of the nicest people I have ever met wore all sorts of stuff that would have snobs turning their noses up.. and I've served many a stuck up arsehole man in a suit.

They could always just allow generic stuff. Then you could source from anywhere. Click and collect in asda or next. Grab a skirt in aldi or something.

Nope I’d be looking at exam results, pastoral care and what the school has to offer my child rather than the uniform they have to wear.

my dds old school had a really strict uniform policy and yet the school still managed to get itself put into special measures and had a terrible reputation

I'd be inclined to agree, it seems silly, our school put kids in isolation for forgetting a tie, but equally our school is in the top 5% for results in non selective state schools. They have very high standards and make that very clear from day 1, if a parent or child doesnt want to meet them they are free to go elsewhere, and many do transfer out first term, the school isn't the right fit for everyone. It's not about the uniform really, it's about discipline, pride etc I guess. It seems to work really well in our school, we're very happy with it, DS hasn't forgotten his tie yet! I can see it wouldn't work in all schools, but seems to be part of a winning formula for ours.

That said when clearly injured surely they should be able to get some kind of pass!

Threads like this make me so glad I'm in Scotland where uniform madness doesn't seem to exist very much.

Anyone coming down hard on kids with broken shoes in this economic climate is a cunt. End of story.

Just to clarify our school hasn't done very well at all in ofsted inspections, they have high standards for the pupils but make a lot of mistakes themselves for instance my son has been marked as unauthorised absent 3 mornings in the last week when hes actually been there.

I remember being put in isolation at school because my trousers weren’t black enough. They were the same trousers I had been wearing for the previous 2 years! They had obviously just faded a little. This was 20 years ago.

I don’t believe in strict uniform rules, and I don’t believe in isolations as a punishment for infringing them.

But I bet you get quite a few kids chancing their arm (leg?) with the, “twisted ankle miss” line so they can wear their trainers. Did you actually speak to school about it? In my children’s school, you would have to go to the student support office with a note from your parent (or they’d have an email or phone call from them) explaining, and then you’d get a pass. Was that isolation for wearing trainers, or for not following the procedure for an exemption?

The secondary. Dd3 was in. Would have accepted the accident. For
Broken shoes they had a cupboard with spare shoes in and the child would had in something for the shoe (usually their phone) they got it back at the end of the day when shoes were returned.

Ew..they made kids wear shoes that other kids had worn? That's gross. Even bowling allys stopped doing that now and allow your own shoes.

YANBU
I remember when I was about 14/15 someone threw one of my shoes over a fence into a pond, couldn’t get it back and had school the next morning so didn’t have chance to get another pair of shoes. I wore black pumps and ended up in isolation.

It's great that some parents would do that, but I fear that not all of them do and would judge a school for being scruffy or having low standards, poor behaviour, no authority etc.

It does seem excessive, especially for the sprained ankle.

I know sometimes teenagers can push the boundaries, but you’d think schools would make allowances for cases when parents have contacted the school to explain why the uniform is incorrect, or give a few days grace to allow parents time to replace broken / lost items. It’s not always possible to replace uniform items instantly.

I just don’t understand the obsession secondary schools have with uniform. And every secondary school near me seems to have an equally strict uniform policy, so it’s not like parents have the option to choose a school with a relaxed uniform policy.

They should be told to piss off then. Why should parents be forced to spend 35 pounds plus on a blazer just because some snob wants to make sure no one accidentally assumes their kid goes to shithole high down the road.

You can get plain.blazers for like.10/11 pounds. The logo triples the price

The point is that if the child gets away with minor infringements, it sends the message that other infringements will be tolerated.
There are too many parents who believe that their child should be an exception, because, because, because.....
How much time would be wasted if schools had to investigate the exact circumstances of each uniform error and decide how to act in each separate incident?

The ankles incident happened at school? The school phoned me to pick him as he couldn't walk and I took him to a&e, they said it was a bad sprain and to wear trainers, I sent a note with him and contacted his head of year via email to explain.
I agree that some sort of sanction is needed for persistent and deliberate uniform infringements but not isolation.

YANBU
My kid’s secondary is insane. You twitch in line or cough and it’s straight to isolation. This is when on their break queueing to go in! They get sent to isolation for existing!! Notes don’t help, they should.

Absolutely I would be raising this with the school. Just petty enforcement of rules for the sake of it rather than actually giving a shit about the actual quality of education a child is receiving.

School uniform is utter bullshit anyway, especially in the current environment.

Provided the school was informed by you, via email, beforehand then I think both incidents were unreasonable on the part of the school. Students turning up in white trainers instead of black shoes out of nowhere is a different issue.

When one of my DCs' shoes broke at school, they were glued back together by a handy teacher with a hot glue gun. They broke again a few weeks later and DC was sent to the caretaker who used some industrial strength adhesive to repair them overnight. In the meantime, DC was told to wear PE trainers. We did replace the broken shoes but it couldn't be done immediately so we really appreciated the school's practical and sensible approach.

Previous post has just reminded me of something...my friends daughter is a school refuser due to autism, the only way my friend could get her daughter into school one day was to let her wear white trainers, she was put straight into isolation.

Isolation should only be used for children who persistently refuse to follow school rules. I'm not a fan of school uniform generally, but isolation for a one off uniform infringement is ridiculous.

Your school sounds crap anyway - I've never heard of a child being refused trainers while recovering from an ankle injury.

😁 I was so waiting for this remark and I do kinda get it. However the school had very few issues with footwear. I suspect this may be why.

Not saying I agree with it btw.

My child got punished for not having socks with the school logo on it for p.e. I refused to buy it because it is so excessive. I think him wearing black socks is enough. I've paid over £120 just for the school blazer and the p.e kit which all has a logo down to the shorts.

I now have tracksuit bottoms with the logo so the teacher doesn't see that he is not wearing the right socks I refuse to buy that.
It is not a private school it's an academy that has a variety of children from families of different incomes. I don't know how I would have coped if I had more than 1 child. It's horrible to punish the child and their education suffer for it. Some families cannot afford school uniform nowadays.
I remember when I was at school only the blazer had a logo and then it was enough to wear the school colours.

Was isolation definitely for the trainers and not the mobility issues with a sprained ankle? One of my dc is frequently injured and isolation is the same place as they go if they can't mobilise around the school easily, except they are treated much better, presumably to rub it in to those in isolation.

Where is their evidence that good exam results are connected to ridiculous uniform policies? There are plenty of schools using this uber strict policy which are barely adequate or in special measures.

How is it that elsewhere in Europe schools manage to produce better results without uniform?

The main use of over strict uniform policy is for social selection. It always has been. As a child I remember WC families turning down places at grammar schools or the premium church schools because they couldn't afford the ridiculous uniform policies. There is no evidence that the type of policy which puts a child in isolation for being poor or being injured improves their exam results.

Agree OP fair enough at senior school they are old enough remember pe kits etc and sure some might try it on and wear trainers for example but broken shoes that need replacing ? A lost blazer that parents can’t afford to replace straight away etc etc kids even if senior school age have no control over that and I think it’s unfair to punish the child

my dc are very hard to buy for shoe wise , wide feet and in adult sized men’s shoes by age 10 , it’s always a pain in the arse and not sortable within 24 hours