Unreasonable teacher/school

[DontKeepScratchingIt]

My GD (13) goes to a school rated "needs improvement". It's crap. No other schools are in the area, so a different one would mean getting 2 buses, taking well over an hour. That school is already at full capacity.

Yesterday was the last day of term. The shoes she wears split yesterday (it's a 45 minute walk home), so her dad emailed the school to say he was sending her in trainers, explaining why. Her mum sent the girl with a note, too.

The teacher refused to acknowledge those messages, and instead put my GD in "isolation" for the whole day (2 boys were in isolation for poor behaviour) - so she missed any lessons, but also a little party they had for end of term. AIBU in thinking the teacher was very mean and spiteful?

That’s mean.

We had kids who broke shoes etc. They would get a permission to be out of uniform in situations like this.

As a teacher if I didn't believe a note I would call home and check. Unless the child has a reputation/history for lying/forging notes I might not try. It's pretty easy to tell a fake one though.

School gotta have rules. They'll just think it was swinging the lead on the last day.

Depends on the school behaviour &/or uniform policy.

Do the teachers actions match the policy?

If they do, then it is reasonable, if they don't then it is not reasonable as they have breached the policy.

You need to read the school policies.

It isn't about a teacher being mean and spiteful if they are following school policy.

Then they can ring home and check - i think it was pathetic. I left a school that treated kids like this

Unless your DC regularly comes in wearing the wrong uniform, I think that is completely unnecessary for one day in the wrong shoes for a good reason, especially as a parent informed them. Usually I would let things go at the end of term but I would follow this up as the punishment seems excessive. DH and I are both teachers and I think the school has been unreasonable.

Utterly unreasonable. Last day of term? what does it matter what she has on her feet? I would make the point (when writing to complain) that this type of nitpicking unreasonable behaviour would mean that any reasonable parent would, in future, keep their child at home, rather than see a child punished for something which is outside of their control.

My son's shoes fell apart a week before the summer break so he wore his trainers. I wrote an email and they were fine with it.

The school seems overly Draconian.

Absolutely pointless punishment. I would just keep her home if it happened again, so what have they achieved?

It does appear harsh but how many times does she not have the right uniform? I also can't see the link with the school being requires improvement. Is that part just to show that anything the school does to disciple the kids must be wrong. If the school was rated good would it be OK?

Completely unreasonable and mean. These sort of teachers don't earn any respect from the children.

I'm usually in the camp of follow the uniform policy....

But this is just silly.

Aside from having the opportunity to buy new shoes with an evenings notice, it's ridiculous to buy them for the last day of term.

There should be a level of understanding that accommodates uniform breaches for a short period of time when an item of clothing fails.

Otherwise the expectation is families should have replacement items constantly on the back burner which is not appropriate/environmentally sustainable/affordable.

I'm a head of year, no way would I have done this. Really, really shit of them.

This is pathetic, and I’m truly embarrassed that you’ve managed to reach adulthood without developing any sort of analytic thinking skills.

Unreasonable and also a rule that is generally in danger of punishing pupils whose families are lower income. However schools are ridiculously strung out at the end of term and it was probably a knee jerk decision while the teacher was firefighting a bunch of other issues.

Eh?

They were completely unreasonable. Last day of term and there had been contact from both parents - and who’s going to buy new shoes for the last day of the school year?! Absolutely ridiculous. DD has has just moved to another school from one where they were given detention without any warnings, for just putting their hands in their pockets, and told they should have planned better if they hadn’t needed the toilet at lunchtime but did by later in the afternoon.

If it matches policy then the policy is stupid - a sensible policy would allow a grace period (with a note from the parent) for a shoe that breaks in the morning and there is no time to replace it. Obviously not a common occurrence, but it can happen.

Yes, on the face of it it does seem unreasonable. However, as someone who deals with this on a daily basis check the full story. We often get this…

1. child arrives in wrong shoes
2. offered new shoes
3. refuses to wear them
4. told they have to wear them or consequences will follow
5. Child kicks off with staff
6. placed in isolation
7. goes home and complains they were put in isolation for wrong shoes

The child isn’t actually in isolation for wrong shoes, it’s that they refused the very reasonable request of wearing the correct ones offered to them for free and then abusing staff. Not saying this is the case here. But do check.

And perhaps it does. OP hasn't been back to say what the policy says.

If it does include a grace period then it hasn't been applied correctly and the child’s parents will be able to complain.

Any school policy has been agreed by the governors of the school before being implemented.

How utterly unreasonable! Surely what with you E-mailing and sending your GD in with a note, they would of been more reasonable & accommodating?!
And she missed the party... Who puts a child in isolation for that! I feel for you & your GD.

Have you considered a chat with the Headmistress/Headmaster and highlighting this teachers un-reasonable behavior.
Accidents happen, things go wrong that's life! They should understand this!

I wouldn’t accept my child wearing shoes offered to them by the school, that’s so unhygienic! They don’t have to accept some random shoes, any school who can’t cope with them having trainers for one day have bigger issues.

My son’s school shoes went the week before school ended. I sent him in trainers and apologised, the staff looked at me like I’d grown an extra head. Couldn’t have given a shine shite, everyone was just dragging themselves to the end of term without caring what was on some child’s feet as long as they were appropriate.

OP, there is likely to be more to this than you have been told

The shoes had split and the parents notified the school. It’s nothing to do with a school uniform policy but all to do with an unreasonable teacher.

What do you think the parents should have done?

All they've taught her is it would be far easier to stay home until she gets new shoes next time.