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?!

If you don’t like it go to another school.

This is genius advice along similar lines to "if you don't like renting, buy a house".

Because I couldn’t find any for my son that fit his needs- including a dropped heel, and be able to add orthotic insoles!!!

im not refusing to follow, there just aren’t the shoes out there

I’m with you OP - plain black shoes. Every supermarket, Next, M&S etc do them. Even Nike have a pair of all black ‘trainers’ that actually look like shoes and cost £40.

It’s to stop shoes becoming the thing that the kids all get precious about - wearing the latest £150 high tops or Vivienne bloody Westwood shoes or whatever Tiktock
says in trendy

By the same token I’ve visited European countries regularly and have never seen some of the appalling behaviour from children that we see in this country, and which generally goes unchecked by parents - in many cases the bad behaviour is aggressively defended. Maybe it’s about maturity and different/higher standards.

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.

How much choice do you realistically have, though? In our area, if you don't put down the local school your child will end up travelling for miles.

How does wearing Nike boots affect teaching and learning?

I do agree non-uniform is not the way to go but I also think schools can relax a bit on these policies. The Nike shoes and ballet flats are OK IMO.

‘I have an autistic child too and the uniform policies are so rigid they don’t take account of sensory issues. So apparently it’s about protecting poor kids but not disabled ones.’

exception not the rule - speak to your school about your child needs. Doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be a uniform policy that almost all kids can easily follow

Wearing Nike boots when the regulations clearly state no logos affects teaching and learning quite a lot. The teaching is to stick to the rules, and by not doing so, you are clearly not learning.

You can't complain about uniform costs if your are sending your kids in £100 shoes !

Course you can.

People complain about unnecessary costs all the time, while spending money on other things. People go on holidays, buy new clothes, get furniture for their homes etc but they still complain about rip-off energy costs.

School have probably felt perfect fine with accepting this as part of your very specific set of circumstances, rather than 'have had to accept it' but uniform for most kids is far superior to own clothes.
It would be nice for schools to have the benefit of the doubt rather than this continual implication that they are all draconian prisons

There is a reason why he can't do that: many schools have no lockers and he will be already carrying more weight in his bag than children are meant to carry.

I know finding shoes can be hard especially if your feet are off

Plain black is usually the easiest to find

And you can minimise the potential problem by being canny about what you buy - having the clear "fashionable " choice doesn't suggest trying to stick as close to the rules as possible

'Another brick in the wall' is now playing in my head.

The education system isn't about getting people to adhere to rules for their own good. It's about turning out people who are competent enough to be productive workers, but not creative thinkers who will challenge the status quo of the elite who run this country.

But that has to do with the culture in the school, not with the uniforms

Absolutely. The culture was awful and I'm pretty sure kids are still bullied in school because of what they wear. I still stand by my comment that just because the previous poster wasn't bullied at her non uniform school that no-one was or is. I didn't imagine my awful teen years.

What is wrong with parents just following the school rules - Clark's shoes did mine fine (and dd2 even wore uniform in 6th form) if you have a lower budget supermarkets have similar or even shoe zone. Nobody needs designer brands for school

But the best sort of adjustments for equality is one that is inclusive. My child also doesn’t want to be singled out as different because of her disability. It’s not hard to have a simple uniform that’s affordable and doesn’t have to include a blazer and clip on tie.

Some students may still need adjustments but the more inclusive you make the general uniform the better. But I’m used to this sort of disability exclusion on MN

Then he should wear more appropriate footwear. Simple.

It does happen the other way its just never reported on. My 7 year old has been threatened with missing PE next week if I don't pay £11 for a PE top rather than the plain t-shirt (same colour as PE top) that I sent her in with this week because I'm a bit short this week and the postage and packaging from the online shop would mean I was spending £20 on a top rather than £4. She also loses her uniform constantly so I need spares for those occasions.

I know some parents do take the mick with uniform policies but some really are ridiculous. I thought it was supposed to be affordable now so why are primary (and secondary for that matter) still allowed to insist on logo uniform that's costs 4x as much as the supermarket versions.

I think the school is absolutely in the right. What about kids who can't afford shoes with designer labels. The whole idea of a uniform is to avoid this type of nonsense

Unsure if this has already been mentioned but it might make more sense for schools to have a dress code rather than uniform.

Although I'm sure even that wouldn't be adhered to.

At our school they sent out a uniform reminder before the start of new term - black formal trousers and plain black shoes must be worn. That same day there were multiple parents on FB discussing where the best place is to buy black jeans and trainers. Schools will never win the war on uniform when the parents aren't on board.

‘How does wearing Nike boots affect teaching and learning?’

it affects behaviour in school when kids start to need to have THE Nike boots, when kids feel ashamed to not have THE Nike boots, when kids fall out or fight over or nick THE Nike boots etc

plus - poverty policies. I was the poor kid who dreaded non- uniform days because my clothes were old, 2nd hand, not the ‘right’ label etc Wearing a uniform that everyone else wore meant one less thing to worry about

They do if everyone is wearing the same clothes. DC was "told off" about how horrible her home clothes were by another student during mufti - granted it wasn't only directed at her.

We lived in mainland EU before and didn't wear uniform and never had issues. DCs were much younger though.

And where exactly did I say that?

I bet my DH would have been bullied whether his school was uniformed or not, his school was awful.

I did have some incidents at my school (non-uniform related mind) and the head teacher swiftly intervened and it never happened again.

I bought mine black Nikes because he would have been made fun of in smart shoes. It does look mismatched with what he’s wearing

I am familiar with the school, and frankly, not surprised at some of the idiotic comments from the parents whose dc have been sent home.