So are these school shoes or trainers

[Shoesortrainers]

School have published their amended policy from Sept. This style is showed as unacceptable as they apparently trainers.

Er no they are school shoes and they
are the ONLY ones that fit my wide footed , high instep child. Believe me we’ve tried and tried over the years. They are just like me unfortunately. Plus sensory issues too.

School shoes must also be black and of polishable leather (they are!)

School refusing to budge. In fact the teacher dealing with uniform is being very rude and obstructive.

So Mumsnet are these shoes or trainers.

Parents out up with far too much uniform nonsense. Just say no.

Get rid of uniform altogether. Expensive and divisive,

If he's in charge of uniform, then it's literally his job title to control uniform. If you don't want your child to wear a uniform, send them to a school without one or home school.

@DoraDither current shoes probably need replacing for larger size plus do not want her first few weeks of secondary to be overshadowed by this. I’ve not even mentioned this to her other than saying we need to get new shoes. She mentioned the previous difficulties so isn’t looking forward to it as it is.

Plus She’s nervous enough about the future for other much bigger health related reasons. The next six months or so are going to be a hugely worrying uncertain time for us as it is. Show shoes are the least of my worries. In fact I’m going to send off a formal complaint to the head and tell him how I want a response in writing. I’d done with discussing it. It can go to the governors.

Swiftly managed out of your child’s school due to wearing incorrect footwear? Imagine going to PRU because you had the wrong shoes on. What the hell? What school is going through all of that effort?!

I think our school dictate the same now. So basically smart office shoes for kids who can’t just jump into a car, but might need to walk in all weather, and slip about and soak their feet.

Pretty sure it’s the same photo used.

I bet the school is an academy. These appear to be the worst for this, and of course there is now no local control.

This!

For primary they are fine but they are not formal black shoes.

Don’t know if it helps but rugby studs are often much wider fit than football studs so I buy those then replace the laces with the elastic ones with a toggle.

Hard, slip-on shoes can be unsafe and uncomfortable for children. They need something securely fitting and flexible, so they can run and kick a football.
Schools that want children in office wear are being ridiculous.

@ItsBritneyBitchhhh sadly it does happen. Lovely Kids in PRU cos of uniform breaches. Lovely undiagnosed SEN kids in PRU cos of behaviour points for silly reasons yet called disruptive and the school not coping.

Lovely kids mixing with those who have already started to be exploited and involved in county lines. Education system really is shit in some places and often in places you wouldn’t expect.

@Badbudgeter thank you!

What 11-16 year old is walking around for the majority of the day in those awful shoes. Whatever happened to comfort especially for the kids that have a long journey into school?

I understand those kinds of shoes more for sixth form as in most schools, everyone has to dress extremely formally. In school, a lot of the kids want to play football/basketball during their lunch or break time. I started secondary school in 2011 and everyone wore Vans, Air Forces, Kickers or Wallabees for comfort

This drives me bonkers! Why do they do it? We want young people to make informed decisions for themselves so they become adults who consider a situation and work out the best way to act, picking up on clues, considering the activities, considering their feelings and other people’s. A draconian rule about shoes - which doesn’t consider practicality, comfort, health, preference or affordability and is only designed to instil into kids the need to conform with each other and with some outdated view of what ‘smart’ is doesn’t do that. And it doesn’t prepare them for work, when most people (except if they wear a uniform so they are recognised or for health and safety) just ‘dress for their day’.

I remember all too well the problem of getting shoes for a child who finds H fitting too tight. In the end a podiatrist advised me to find a shop that stocked German shoes and that worked for us. We used to joke about his German feet but it was such a blessing. Don't know if that would be harder to sort now with Brexit.

What does their actual uniform policy say? Not the crap they’re sending out to parents, but their policy.
As someone who has always struggled with shoes, I would say the shoes are absolutely fine. Surely, it’s better to be comfortable all day. Also, those slip on shoes in the picture are not proper sturdy shoes to be wearing.
Ask for the Chair of Governors email address and ask them.
My daughter wears black ankle boots because they are the only footwear she finds comfortable for school. They are a Clarks pair, but school have never given her any grief for wearing them.
The school should really put this much effort into teaching the students!

They’re a bit if a mix aren’t they but I would say very practical school shoes that are great for the classroom and playground. Our school would allow them.

What does this mean?

Since joining x Trust - x School became a new academy and as such is classed as having No Formal designation from Ofsted.

Get your daughter some men's shoes. They're a much roomier fit.

I did the rugby boots instead of football boots and they do seem wider for some reason.

Isolation within the school maybe? But certainly not PRU which is off-site. PRU is usually a stop off when a child gets expelled and is waiting to attend their new school (can sometimes happen during exclusion where that’s where they go for an education until their allowed back in school).

Regardless, it’s all very OTT for some bloody shoes. I wouldn’t even go to war with it with the school, my child would still just wear them. Especially for the reasons you’ve given

They are shoes, as far as I'm concerned. With the slightly less formal appearance of a trainer. Shrainers DP calls them🤣 DS1 wore them all through primary school, then when he got to secondary school they weren't permitted. It was really difficult finding shoes he was happy with. His feet are very narrow, with a high instep - the eyelets of laced leather shoes dig into his feet and slip on shoes just, well, slip off. The inner edge (boniest part) of his instep is purple with bruising as he has to tie his shoes really tight to stop them slipping at the heel. He never had those problems with the Velcro shoes. He also takes a long time to tie his laces - he's awaiting an autism assessment and seems to have minor issues with dexterity. Maybe I should be inspired by you, OP, and take it up with the school.

Shoes.

They are standard school shoes for primary aged boys.

I don’t know the exact terminology (I just googled it), but I think it means that Ofsted can still inspect the school if it wants to.

I think it's ridiculous this is even a discussion. I've accepted that uniforms are a thing and won't go away (even though I don't agree with it) but policing every single other thing shoes, hair, socks etc. Is ridiculous. The shoes are fine. They would pass in very work place I've ever had. Also uniform rules are fuckton more rigid and formal than any job out there. I think it's some type of weird control thing cause there is no real life reason for it. However, the school is wrong you can't win this battle. So you need to decide how much energy you are willing to spend on it.

You asked a question and I answered. Those are shoes. What's sold as shoes for kids these days aren't shoes, they are trainers. Whether they are more suitable is a different discussion, but we all wore shoes like that at school, I went to a girls ' school and we wore brogues or penny loafers.