or is the school?

[claw3]

Just had a phone call from school to say that the Head has decided to clamp down on 'incorrect' school uniform and that my ds 13 is with her in the office and they want to send him home to change his shoes.

He is wearing all black plimsoll type shoes, which up until this point have been allowed in school.

I explained that these are the only school shoes he has at the moment and that i cannot afford to buy him any different shoes until the 13th January, but would do so then.

She has told me she has been advised by the Head that he will have to stay home until the 13th.

I have told her that is ridiculous and is not acceptable to me. She is going to get back to me.

YANBU Bloody hell I hate school uniform obsessives like your ds's head. Fuckwits.

They are not legally allowed to do this. Assuming that they have a current uniform policy (ask to see it, check that it is signed and dated (within the last 2 years) by the governors and ask to see the minutes of the governors meetign where it was agreed) then they can send a pupil home briefly for the time necessary to adjust the uniform (ie to change) or they can sned your child home if they persistantly and defiantly flout the rules. In addition they have a duty to make uniform affordable and to ensure that no one is effectively put off applying to teh school by expensive uniform. As you are saying that you will sort his shoes soon I cannot see how they can say that your son is persistantly and definaly flouting anything. They are acting illegally. I would make an official complaint (ie write using the words "official comnplaint") and say that you feel that the school is unofficially excluding your son and that he is being discriminated against as you cannot afford new shoes right now.

Grumpypants, no they still havent got back to me. I will wait until after lunch and call them, if i havent heard from them.

Your right it is 5 days and they have to inform you in writing giving grounds for the exclusion.

Their policy does state 'shoes' and technically 'plimsolls' are not shoes, but in my defence lots of the girls wear 'boots' and i assumed because the whole school were wearing them and i hadnt received anything from the school telling me these were unacceptable, i thought it was ok as long as they were all black.

I dont want to cause a stir and start being petty by pointing this out, i just want until the 13th and for ds to stay in school until then!

Both !
They are unreasonable not to give warning that they will be clamping down on uniform and giving a grace period for people to get sorted out
But YABU to think that canvas pumps are appropriate school footwear for a child in winter !

YANBU- my issue here would be the exclusion of some pupils and not of others. It's flipping ridiculous.

I think if you are fore armed with a bit of knowledge, they will back down pretty quickly. Good luck.

Madamearcati, im a firm believer in natural consequences, especially at 13 years old, he is not a baby!

The school are not concerned with summer/winter attire, they would be unacceptable if it were 90 degrees outside.

isnt it a tad cooooold for plimsole type shoes ?

Tell the school you are more than happy to go and buy him a new pair of PROPER SHOES, and will forward them the reciept so they can re-emburse you.

Lucyellen, totally agree wearing plimsolls type shoes, his feet must be freezing and get wet. I havent been able to get a pair of wellies on him since he was about 5 year old

No teenager ever died from cold damp feet. By this age you have to let them learn basic cause and effect stuff anyway.

But I would be furious with the school. Uniform rules are one thing, arbitrary, lengthy suspensions quite another. I detest people who run off to the local paper (unless I'm working on that paper!) rather than tackling things through the correct channels but I can see how easily this sort of idiocy tempts people to phone the editor.

When you say "plimsoll" do you mean trainers? I can't honestly see any 13 yr old anywhere going to school in what I think of as plimsolls.

Most kids here wear plain black converse to secondary school.

Duchesse, this type of thing. They remind me of the PE plimsoll, awful bloody things, but cool apparently when you are 13!

www.office.co.uk/mens/converse/all_star_ox_low/21/576/3967/1/1

have to go out now but hope it goes okay. will check back later!

yabu, sorry but you should have planned for your children´s school shoes in your budget I think.

it´s not the school´s problem (or fault(!)) that you spent too much for Christmas (as you say) and now cannot afford shoes (pretty basic need).

If you are skint, you could still look on e-bay or a charity shop, or ask any of your friends for hand me downs. (I swap loads of clothes and shoes with other mums at the school)

They are plimsolls duchesse and quite expensive for what they are as I can't see them lasting 5 minutes, especially in this weather. They look like lace up plimsolls you wear in pe in primary.

They are the fashion in some of our local schools, thankfully dcs's school won't allow them as there is no way I would let dcs wear them to school.

just seen the link, i would take issue with those as school shoes tbh however i would certainly wait until you could get him a new pair

Have you signed a home-school agreement? All schools are required to have one and all parents are required to sign it. There will be a section there relating to sending students to school in the correct uniform.

Chandon, its not that i spent my children's school shoe money on Christmas!

I wasnt expecting the Head to decide today without any warning, that a handful of boys would be used as scapegoats and that it was no longer acceptable to wear the shoes, that the whole school have all been wearing for months and months.

Um, those Converse are £35. You could get two or three pairs of decent school shoes for that.

I'd take a good guess that the OP didn't actually buy Converse ones - just ones like it (though I stand to be corrected )

Well, they have to start somewhere, and it is the first day of term. Also I'm quite sure it says "sensible black shoes" or words to that effect in the uniform list. And for £35 you could get a really decent pair of clarks or even some Startrite/rhino/whatever they call themselves for older kids in the sale.

FunnyLittleFrog if you know of somwhere I can get three adult sized pairs of black shoes for £35 I would like to know where it is