Just read the bloody uniform policy!!!

[flingoringo]

I've just read an article about a school in Gateshead where lots of kids were sent home or out in isolation on day one of term because they were wearing the wrong shoes. The offending shoes seem to be mainly a Vivienne Westwood ballet flat (with a big silver VW emblem on the front) and a Nike walking boots. Lots of kids wearing the same, from yr7 to yr11.
Parents are up in arms, obviously. One mentions the CoL crisis so the need to scrimp and save to spend A HUNDRED QUID on the Nike shoes. One mum said her yr7 daughter won't be going back she's finding her a new school.

The school (taken over by an academy in 2019) says the policy is clear, plain black shoes with no logos. That they have done their best to help yr6 parents understand what was to be expected once on yr7.

Now I don't necessarily agree with schools being overly strict with uniform policy. But I do accept that I have to agree to follow the rules at the schools that I chose to send my kids to and if we chose not to then of course they'll be consequences.

AIBU to think it's it's completely ridiculous that this happens every bloody year?!

That’s the wrong school.

That’s the wrong school.

I think it's wrong that these kids are sent home or have to spend the day sitting alone in a room.

Particularly if they're just starting that school and it's the first day.

Blame the parents for that. They chose to send them to school wearing the incorrect uniform.

My school had a rule that trousers had to be dark grey, and certainly NOT charcoal or black.

I have never looked at a pair of school trousers and taken any notice of the colour. Nor do I think it particularly offensive to wear charcoal instead of dark grey. I personally can't tell the difference.

There are different shades of grey as it is if you're buying from different shops, and as this was before internet shopping really took off, it meant traipsing around different towns and cities to find some which were both in stock and which were well fitting.

They also checked socks too - which couldn't be seen under the trousers. They had to be dark grey. Who cares if they're grey, black or navy?! You can't see them. I appreciate having a rule against white socks or trainer socks, but lining everyone up and sending a threatening letter home because someone's sock had a stripe at the top or was slightly off colour is and was ridiculous.

Vivienne westwood for young school kids?

Idiots.

But the kids shouldn't have to suffer in the first instance.

If it's happening every day and it's one or two kids then fair enough.

But they should be given the kindness of being allowed them to settle in the first few days.

Sending 100+ hungry kids home isn't an intelligent solution to this problem.

Jesus Christ. Picky much?

My personal experience is that offices don’t allow staff to wear flip flops due to safety, especially if a staff member would walk up and down stairs in them. Work places can be held liable if a member of staff has an accident like that, so as far as I was aware, it was sensible to back themselves up and for general safety. Just the same as as how you’re not supposed to wear flip flops while driving. Whether people pull staff up on it is a different matter. I personally love flip flops but I can also understand why that office rule has been there.

Anyway, the point is, schools go too far with their shoe rules and don’t reflect most jobs. Just let people be comfortable but safe.

Blame the parents for that. They chose to send them to school wearing the incorrect uniform.
I agree. The parents giving the sad face in the local press are always keen to talk about missed learning and how much they care about learning, but they clearly didn't care that much because they're more bothered about ignoring simple rules and buying their children designer ballet flats than school uniform.

DoItAgainPlz I agree with you on the dark grey Vs charcoal grey. That level of inspecting is unreasonable to me. Just say dark grey and be done with it as long as they're quite clearly a pair of darker grey school trousers. There's always some difference between M&S, Asda, Next, John Lewis etc.

I think some PP totally miss the point

Not eveyone can afford VW shoes for their teen/tween so that's why they have this rule

Imagine being the one in Sainos mary janes and all your mates are rocking the designer and expensive pumps

Uniform or not there will always be the flashy ones - it'll be the bag or the coat or the PE trainers and VW ballet flats @ £100 are surely not common. And what kid would even recognise that?

Children will only grow into rule-respecting adults if the majority of the rules they are expected to follow are sound and sensible.

The more ridiculous rules forced onto children, the more children will think rules are foolish.

It isn't picky in the slightest, no. There's a substantial gulf between the claim that nobody who has an office job is allowed flip flops and someone saying in their personal and by definition limited experience it hasn't been allowed.

I don't disagree with the rest though.

Not having expensive logo shoes is hardly ridiculous rule though !

Fine, it’s the way you are commenting about my posts though, but not directly to me. Clearly not all offices give a shit, I hold my hands up. But wow.

Hadn't even realised I didn't do the quote there tbh. But yeah, it's not the default for offices. I don't doubt the safety requirements may vary.

Yes as is life. Kids do get to an age where they notice what people around them are wearing and with the internet and social media, there’s no hiding such differences anyway, uniform or not. They’re not in school all day nor do they have blinders on from school to home and vice versa. Besides, many people these days have no issue buying brands secondhand or more and plenty are not paying full price or even half that.

Having a quick search for £100 VW black flats and found two pairs on Vinted for under £35 including shipping.

Oh well, my post only applies to the school linked.

Which was my second point: life is full of compromises and sometimes, to be blunt, you have to suck it up and deal with things you don't like/want.

I’ve never heard of a ban on flip flops! I can wear flip flops (and have to the office). I often walk around. The office with no shoes on!

My son’s school didn’t allow blazers off yesterday. It was 31 degrees here! I was too hot in shorts and t-shirt!

I absolutely agree that in this particular case there has been a failure on the part of the parent in terms of adherence to the uniform policy.

However, it's pretty clear that schools, particularly academies, are increasingly enforcing frankly ludicrous uniform policies. There was another school yesterday where children were sent home for not wearing tights with their skirts. In 30 degree heat.

School uniform should be practical, comfortable, and affordable.

My child isn't suddenly going to learn better because he has a pair of grey trousers with a logo embroidered onto them that cost three times more than the plain ones in Asda.

He isn't going to learn better because he has to wear a tie, in a world where ties are going the way of the dinosaurs. DH doesn't wear one, and he is a company director working in the tech industry. And why is the default uniform choice an item of clothing that is almost solely worn by men in the adult world. What message does that send to our girls?

Uniform should consist of trousers, skirts, shorts in warmer weather, polo shirts, and jumpers or cardigans with sensible shoes that protect feet in science lessons etc. Absolutely no need for anything else. Most of the rules are about imposing selection through the back door and I wish we had a government that clamped down in it.

These rules about not allowing blazers and tights off in a heatwave are utterly ridiculous and just show that school rules should be challenged.

I hope this was challenged on health grounds?

@SocialistSally

Presumably they allowed blazers to be removed in very warm classrooms?

Smock as in ocergarment with sleeves, velcro at the back. You would still need clothes! Smock was only worn in school, and not all the time.