Since when?

[McSteamyorMcdreamy]

Posting here for traffic.

My DD starts year 7 next week. Local secondary. Nothing fancy.

She and we are respectful of uniform policy and have purchased everything we need to. She looks bloody smart and we (and she) can't wait for her to start.

As 11 year old girls will do, they have tried their whole set up in front of their friends and all of them said the same thing:

"You will get sent home with those shoes"

They throw detentions out for the most minor of uniform infractions and DD is now having a massive anxiety spiral that she's going to get a detention or worse sent home 1st day because of her shoes.

I spoke to a friend who works in the school office and showed her a picture and her response was "oooh, I'm not sure. Air Force 1s are the best way to go"

Since when have trainers been a smarter, more acceptable form of shoe than a patent loafer??!!!

For full disclosure she has chosen the Kickers Edie loafer as in the link

https://www.kickers.co.uk/adult-women-edie-loafer-patent-leather-black/14913640.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UK+-+Kickers+-+Search+-+Brand+-+Core+-+Broad&utm_term=kickers&utm_content=brand+-+Kickers&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20162340688&gbraid=0AAAAADiNwZXHWpJ1LFmAfTE2drVjkEy8k&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwsrFBhD6ARIsAPnUFD1w_j6Ufhx1cfFv1a1fF0Ageht-fZYRGu_xo9ofOilAOdjE7KgGjEgaAoLrEALw_wcb

This school stipulates that hair past chin lemgth needs to be in a ponytail with a hair band that is the closest colour to the individuals hair colour, yet believes that a trainer is smarter/more acceptable than the loafer.

AIBU here?! I know trainers are more acceptable these days but are they really considered smarter considering how rigid they are on the smaller items?!

Since when would anyone think shoes with that sort of heel would be ok under a school uniform policy? 🤣

Home you go!!

As a science teacher, I certainly was advised on shoes that were and weren't acceptable. When I was a TA, we were told types of shoes that weren't acceptable, e.g. open toe etc

Did you not find this completely demeaning?

Teachers are meant to be highly trained professionals. Ie. capable of independent, critical thinking. And evidence-based practice. Literally all I see now are brainless 20- and 30-somethings without any pedagogical nous, an original thought or sense of professional identity or even basic dignity to them, bending over backwards to fulfil SLT diktats, spouting management speak, bullying the kids with pencil and hair bobble rules, issuing detentions and endlessly clicking away at the “positives” and “negatives” on whatever app the school uses.

Why are you allowing yourselves to be diminished in this tragic way?

And yes, I realise this is nothing to do with shoes. 😂 I’m just watching in horror at what goes on in English schools and wanting to understand why no one is protesting.

To bring it back to shoes, what possible relevance could your shoes have to your professional performance. (Barring lab safety rules.)

I do realise that I’m ancient and that health and safety was not as big as it is today. We were still allowed to walk to school in Icy conditions and have snowball fights on school premises.

but I also remember wearing 4 inch stilettos (I know my bad) and jam shoes. Going back to the original point of the kickers shoes they may have a heel, I still don’t think of them as high, they have a block heel

Same here (1970s) 😂 They're bloody gorgeous shoes, though, @McSteamyorMcdreamy! Flats for school, and preferably lace-up so good for running about. New cool shoes for weekends and holidays.

My school re-wrote the uniform specs after my fashion rebellion, in which I successfully argued my shoes fit the letter, if not the spirit, of the law. Not a recommended strategy for first year!

Long time ago now, but im sure my science teachers wore safety boots? No idea if thats still the case though. I remember (showing my age!) that shell suits were quite popular and you weren't even allowed in the room with those on - quite rightly too as they were so flammable!
In primary, I wear heels most days. The only day I don't is for PE or outdoor learning.

Hi all..back again!

We went for these in the end

https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/eris-edge-youth/26184961-p#bts-rtb__full-description

She's happy and hopefully so will school!

Lol. I am not allowed open toed shoes at work and I work in an office. Shoes that are not safe to run in and where you expose more of your foot than necessary to dropping hazards etc are a hazard that some employers are not willing to tolerate due to insurance and WHS issues. How bizarre that you think having to wear comfortable, safe shoes, particularly in a science lab could ever be remotely demeaning 😅

As you’ll know, having read my post with great care, I of course acknowledged the lab safety aspect. Not controversial.

What is controversial is the level of control exerted over kids in English secondary schools. Really dark and twisted. They are bad places and will not produce citizens capable of dealing with the challenges of 21st century. Just a generation of brow beaten rule followers who think that utter irrelevancies like the colour of your pencil and the shape of the shoe warrant daily attention and punishment. They’re meant to be learning about the world and growing as human beings and instead they're being told to be quiet and obey above all.

And it is genuinely shocking to see how many women in this thread are participating in this madness and competing over who follows the rules most precisely.

Utterly mad.

I like those. I would wear them.

At DD's school trainers or logoed shoes were not allowed, and definitely no heels.

The first shoes you posted are definitely heels in my book.

These are lovely

The new shoes you picked look great and I can’t imagine the school will have an issue with them.
The old shoes were too high for school and for an 11 year old
Hope she has a good day

I left school many years ago but one of the vivid memories I have when it comes to uniform is that we HAD to wear things in school colours. But my parents had bought me a blue coat. My senior mistress stopped me at the school door one day and told me it wasn't acceptable. My Mum spent no time in telling her that it was expensive and there was no chance of it being changed just to 'suit school colours'. She soon shut up. Rules like that are ridiculous.

I don’t disagree with a lot of your points but shoes are really important.

Left to their own devices, plenty of tweens and teens would pick shoes that are wildly unsuitable. The kids need to be able to walk to/from school, walk all around a school campus, up and down multiple flights of stairs, and typically muck around in the playground a bit.

Heels aren’t suitable for any of that and it’s not a good idea for a growing child’s feet/legs to be tottering around on heels.

So while I’m not a fan of draconian uniform requirements that stipulate whether your trousers can have pockets or the colour of your hair tie, I think shoes are really different and integral to the health and well-being of a child.

The last pair the OP picked are perfect. The first pair, no.

All the secondary kids across all schools here wear flat Kickers.

Black Nike are no more or less a fashion statement than Kickers, and way better for her feet and mobility than heels.

Those shoes are godawful, unsuitable, overpriced and chavvy as shit. Take them back and get something suitable for school.

Sorry, replied before seeing your new shoes. So much better!