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.

They don't look suitable for a Secondary School child. There are options out there which aren't laces but are suitable - my brother was never good with laces but we found him some (and now he wears work boots exclusively so has to be good with laces 🤣)

Don't know why people are ragging on the "girls" styles. To of them are Mary Jane style which are perfectly fine for school, I wore similar through most of Secondary school from Dr Martens, and one is clearly a fully laced up version if worried about winter.

Absolutely shoes. I also have an extra wide fit child with super high instep and it REALLY limits your options.

It’s Stockholm syndrome. A lot of parents actually like it.

Meanwhile my kid (and many of his friends) does a 4 mile round trip to school on his mountain bike on bridleways. Guess what his ‘formal’ shoes and ridiculous uniform look like after a week of that in winter. And guess what the blazer and polyester shirts and trousers smell like after a week of doing it in summer. No showers after PE/sport at school either.

Uniform is designed and thought ‘smart’ by people who drive everywhere and spend their days sat on their arses. There is absolutely no consideration given to practicality and the active lifestyles of kids.

They would be fine at our school since they are black and smartish. Look like a cross between a trainer and a traditional shoe but it doesn't matter how you define them. There are lots of these style around us - supermarkets do them too - and my kids have been wearing them for years.

I hope the school accept them. What a waste of time!

This.

The time and energy spent policing the tiniest details of a child's clothing, teaching nothing but the importance of pedantic adherence to rules of no practical benefit.

These look like bog standard school shoes to me!

Yep, YABVU and deliberately obstructive. Your kid will get suspended because you can’t follow a simple rule.

To me, these look like a bit of a hybrid trainer-shoe. But more of a shoe than a trainer because I couldn't imagine that they'd be much good for playing sports in. I think that it might be the Velcro straps that are sending the school into an unnecessary meltdown.

All of my nearby secondary schools have strict uniform codes.

It’s not always possible to find a school near enough to your home for your DC to attend that have a relaxed uniform code.

Children are not adult men. And is there anything stopping an adult man wearing smart black velcro shoes to court?
It's not as simple as finding a different school. Schools shouldn't be able to micromanage footwear to this degree. There's absolutely no need for it.

@Shoesortrainers For a girl also try women's Orinoco 2 Lace and Orinoco 2 Edge (slip on). Both come in matt and patent, women's wide fit, and have excellent soles. There's also Hamble Loafer or Georgia, the latter of which also comes in extra wide women's.

They're school shoes, but your school's policy is bollocks, so they don't meet requirements.

Unfortunately those shoes are on the list of 'what not to wear' so YABU for that reason. However, school are being very unreasonable having such a crap policy to begin with. It's inexplicable.

The school aren't saying they're not shoes though - they're just saying they're no longer allowing that particular style to be worn.

The school have called this shoe a trainer to me.
Compared them to Lonsdale and adidas. I looked at him and said they are nothing like it unless I need an eye test?!

Yes she’s a girl. Been wearing boys range for a couple of years now as only thing suitable. Choices for girls with wide feet are shocking.

Even going down the SEN route is unlikely to resolve this tbh. My elder SEN child has had so much pressure on him about his shoes. He wore the same. Recently he went off and declared a style that he was going to get and is wearing them. He has been struggling ever since with the sensory aspect and his behaviour has deteriorated because he literally cannot cope. However he wants to confront. Be accepted. Not be highlighted by the teacher for his shoes. The shoes are two months old and wearing out too. Normally two pairs of shoes max a year here needed. Sometimes one of a slow growth year. At £65 a time I can’t afford it.

They’re school shoes, and the school policy is bonkers. I’ve had this bullshit before. The problem is, when I’ve bought my boys the “proper” shoes, they simply fall apart. My boys would kick a football around on the playground all day, and the “correct” shoes were basically shoes designed for an office, so they couldn’t withstand boys mucking around. I now refuse to a spend fortune on shoes that then end up at the cobbler every few weeks until they inevitably have to be replaced. I buy smart but robust shoes - similar to yours - and I’m not budging on that. I go along with all other school things, my DS does his homework, I engage with all school activities, I’m an “obedient” parent. But I’m not pissing around with office shoes.

They are school shoes, you wouldn't go for a run in them. I work in a school with a strict no trainers policy and these would be allowed. If I were you I would go above this teacher and speak with the head. They are leather shoes from Clarks, it's bonkers that the school are calling them trainers.

These are sold as school shoes, my son wears them to school.

I was just coming on to say the same thing- podiatrists and physios hate ballet pumps yet they are deemed as suitable.

my daughter had to wear insoles which meant she could only wear trainers- we had a battle every year of secondary school and she had to carry a permission slip to brandish at the teachers who stopped her in the corridor- even then she had teachers saying that they didn’t believe that she couldn’t get shoes to fit

sadly she wouldn’t let me phone the school to complain……..

It says leather style shoes. Not that they have to be leather.

@Shoesortrainers. Try Doc Martens they do a school shoe range without the yellow stitching and was how we got shoes for 2 of my difficult to get shoes for dds . Thankfully we are out of secondary schools now.

I honestly still get nightmares from the 17 shoe shop to find shoes dd1 liked that fitted. The woman on Clarkes had 1 pair and seemed to feel dd was unreasonable for not liking then as they were "what they had in her size". So apparently this means you should wear shows you don't like.. we didn't buy them. Dd1 is now 25 and still appreciate that I got her wish for a shoe she liked as well as one that fitted.

"The school" haven't called them a trainer, they've called them a shoe, but not a formal shoe.

One teacher might've called them a trainer but the school havent. To me they are primary school shoes.

Schools are just making things difficult for everyone for absolutely no reason. There is no reason at all kids shouldn’t be able to wear what is comfortable for them.

DD has wide feet and wears Clark’s Hamble. She’s had the current pair for two years and they’re wearing well. Would they work for your DD if you got elastic laces? At her school pretty much all the girls wear Hamble or DM shoes.

That level of oversight of uniform is the sign of an SLT in trouble. Is it an academy chain?
I feel your frustration, dc1 has overly wide feet (wider than an h) with high instep. We too had only 2 choices. If I recall the rhino cadet shoe worked. They have extra wide...
https://www.startriteshoes.com/products/cadet-black-leather-boys-lace-up-school-shoes

You sound like hard work. You complained in your OP that the school were rude but you seem to purposely go out of your way to insult this teacher, who is literally just doing his job. There are ways of going about this which allow you to have a bit of diplomacy.

My daughter wears something similar from adidas. However, the sole is slightly different.
They are comfortable and easy to remove. Don’t scuff, easy to clean and we can polish them. I think it’s important for their little feet to be kept comfortable over a long day at school.

Are they formal school shoes? No.
Trainers? Yes, I’m afraid.

School is being a bit unreasonable though.