Have the school done the right thing even though it punishes the wrong set of people ?

[Mumof3bringwine]

DC is in year 6 and as I am sure everyone with a child in the same year is aware the leavers celebrations are in full swing.
The leavers hoodies were organised by the class parent rep.
The hoodies were handed out a while ago and the children have been proudly wearing them 2 days a week in school and were due to wear them for their residential.
unfortunately the Rep has purposely left 1 child without a hoody and also did not include their name on everyone else’s hoody.
I am not sure why it has only been bought to the attention of the school now, but they sent an email basically saying due to one child’s name not being on the hoody they are now banned from being worn on the school premises. Some very angry parents who think the school are punishing the children for something not in their control.
I am not sure what else the school could of done ? I believe they made the right decision but I seem to be the minority!

I’m glad you agree. The parent is dusgustibg.

The school had two shite options available to them and chose the least shite one. The other parents need to focus on helping their DC see that. Can you or team with a few other parents to come up with a replacement idea for the residential? Is there enough time to have a set of school t-shirts printed on a unique color of blank? Othewise I think the students will all be able to get past their disappointment if adults encourage them to do so. Hoodies sound pretty miserable to wear right now anyways.

There is absolutely zero excuse for taking the child's name off the hoodies. That is pure bullying of a child and honestly it's at the level that her DC's secondary should be forewarned. There's a subset of PTA/year-parent volunteers who use their volunteering to fill their need to be in charge and very important. Unfortunately parents as a group may be even worse about standing up to queen-bee behavior than kids and tweens are (parents are busy and it's just easier to let them run everything) and they can really get bold after years of being unchecked.

Agree with the school. Cannot think of a suitable sanction for the person who did this, unfortunately.

I find it extraordinary only one person did the design. When I did them, there was a few of us involved choosing the layout and then it was checked and checked again for spellings and everyone was included. Seems very odd that they went to print without the name on it.

it is awful that they did that. I have dealt with my fair share of awkward parents but I’d have never ever punished a child like that. How did the school not notice the day they were given out. I would have thought the second the child said ‘where’s my name?’ That they were scooped up again and reprinted at the expense of that parent who messed it up.

(we had the opposite problem in that a boy joined at the start of year 6 and so we obviously had to add him in but the second the good went to lint about a month later, he left so they have a random child on their hoodies that no one knows!)

Read all your updates and agree with the school that no hoodies are to be worn.

class rep sounds horrible and has ruined it for everyone. Who leaves one child out over a couple of £.

Just hope the poor child who was left out doesn’t get bullied from the class over it.

Yeah I understand that, as the reason she had her order cancelled and refunded but what’s that got to do with why the child’s name should be removed from every hoodie?

I still think all the parents who did nothing are partly to blame too.

All you needed was a team, and that when rep did snap, "fine I remove her and her child" someone else involved saying "don't be so ridiculous", and the whole thing would have been avoided.

Lazy parents only complaining about the "power hungry" PTA and reps trying to do things should be ashamed of themselves.

Shit like this only happens because no-one bothers stepping up.

That’s awful. Yes absolutely right call from the school. I’m not sure what else they could do.

A suitable sanction would be for all the parents to demand their money back. They ordered hoodies that had all the children's names on that they would be able to wear on the residential. The hoodies supplied do not have all the names on and cannot be worn on the residential. She won't be able to get the money back from the suppliers as they have fulfilled the order correctly, but she should be forced to refund all the parents, allowing new hoodies to be ordered with all the names.

Alternatively, and perhaps less costly for her, if the supplier is able to add the missing name she should be made to collect all the hoodies, send them off to have the missing name added and pay for a hoodie for the child concerned.

How sad, good job you only have half a term left!

The rep is a nasty cow! The other mother had paid the correct amount, no idea why the child’s name was removed from the jumper.

I agree that the hoodies need to be banned if one child has been missed out and agree with another poster that this is why the school should take responsibility for ordering them . The class rep should be thoroughly ashamed of themself , fancy doing that to a child however much you hate its parent .

That’s awful! They need to fix the situation though rather than ignore it by not allowing the hoodies. Get the name added and get the child a hoody. Ask the rep to pay the difference.
The other parent was right though about not paying vat on a childs hoody, though I wouldn’t have argued over the few £. The vat was only charged on the 10 adult ones. At £30 each they were already expensive.
Is the rep taking any responsibility? Is anyone holding them responsible?

I would support the school. It’s horrible for that one child. Doubt my kids would even wear a hoodie after that.

I remember a Mum at DD primary school who tried to organise a secret Santa for DD friendship group for all but one kid as she didn’t like her. We chose to opt out after this and she not very happy - I believe my name was mud!

Parent of left out child sounds like a total nightmare. I feel sorry for their kid and for the class rep.

Hi, class rep 👋

Completely agree. Why on earth exclude one child

I agree with this. The rep sounds mean, but equally who’s to say that she hadn’t had so many complaints about the VAT that she snapped. Unless you’re going to step forward & volunteer, I don’t think anyone should complain about anything!

This is just appallingly. Poor kid. The school have done the right thing. And also perhaps the parents who ordered adult hoodies should of paid the VAT, not everyone.

I think the whole class should complain about the class reps actions. Really not ok to remove the child’s name. There has to be some accountability for such mean spirited and unkind behaviour directed at the child.

Honestly the school wouldn’t have time. I was part of a parent committee that did the hoodies, yesrbooks , party etc and it took hours of my time. Getting the sizes, collecting the money, organising the design etc. the situation the OP describes is very rare.

If you don't volunteer, you can't complain. If you know better, then by all means, do volunteer and get involved.

Unless you’re going to step forward & volunteer, I don’t think anyone should complain about anything!

This is a ridiculous blanket statement. Parents shouldn't keep quiet about unfairness and bullying just because they can't or don't want to take on a task themselves. It sounds like this parent has form for conflict and bulldozing over people and it's gone on because anyone who does speak up gets this sort of treatment from her.

Of course complaining can be excessive and exhausting. But you're advocating for an equally unacceptable extreme.

You absolutely can complain about a parent bullying a child!

Making a mistake is one thing. Being a vile, horrible person is not OK.