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?

@missedmyappointment 'of course there have to be rules about shoes'?
Surely the only consequence of wearing unsuitable shoes is that the shoe wearer is incredibly uncomfortable?
If you don't think kids or teens can be trusted to choose their own footwear I dread to think how they're going be able to make meaningful decisions in an adult workplace.
Stop infantising people who are supposed to be nearly adults!?

That's really sad :(

What a horrible thing to do. I'd be writing to the Head teacher and asking whether the staff had ever had training on relationships, empathy especially. Other than that I'd consider moving house rather than let my child go to such a crap school.

As a teacher, I don't think it's spiteful per se but I don't understand why there wasn't another option for her. In the two schools I've worked in (both academies), either the note would be fine or she would have been offered spare school shoes to wear and only put in iso if she'd refused. It does feel a bit harsh on the last day especially as no one could expect you to go out and buy new school shoes for the last day of term (!) but I know in schools with students pushing boundaries a lot there tends to be a much harder stance taken.

Gross you guys really force kids to wear random shoes that other people have worn 🤢

Like, spare school shoes are actually a thing that exists.