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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect school uniform back if labelled

27 replies

verytellytubby · 21/05/2010 11:37

I'm so annoyed. DD lost her school cardigan a couple of days ago (it actually had two name labels on). Hasn't turned up in lost property. One of my DT's lost his school jumper last week and the other DT his whole PE kit (all labelled!) including the PE bag with his name in huge permanent pen

It's a lovely school and I couldn't be more happy but it is worth mentioning to the office? I have a feeling the items find their way to lost property then get pinched! I wonder if the office could keep labelled items for a couple of days so you can collect in person.

It actually seems pointless to label the uniform (and it's not cheap).

OP posts:
Bobbalina · 21/05/2010 11:43

Well labelling uniform doesn't prevent it from being stolen, just makes it easier to return if lost, surely?

Pikelit · 21/05/2010 11:45

YANBU in that labelled school uniform is absolutely no guarantee of its return. Especially since labelled school uniform tends to be the sort of uniform that gets looked after and if found lying around will get taken (to the wrong) home and substituted!

I don't know how old your dcs are but I wasn't a very sympathetic mother when people "lost" things. In fact, I was downright ferocious since I couldn't afford to keep replacing things that were then just left lying around the school.

I suspect that if you have a word with the office, they may suggest you persuade your children to take better care of their stuff.

HecateQueenOfWitches · 21/05/2010 11:47

Not unreasonable at all. Unrealistic maybe . My son managed to lose a coat. Don't know how some kid took it home and the parents thought it was his with my son's name written on in in several places but it never came back to school.

I seriously think some parents think wayhay. Bonus.

I can understand jumpers etc, where the parent may not look in the label - a school jumper looks like a school jumper looks like a school jumper . I know I've discovered jumpers with some other child's name in them after some time because I don't read the labels every day.

But not coats, or pe bags. That's someone deciding ooh, great I'll have that.

hocuspontas · 21/05/2010 11:53

I only wash uniforms once a week so wouldn't notice labels for at least that. Even then I don't actually look at the labels thinking about it. So even a genuine mistake might take weeks to surface. It is a case of getting your children to look after their own stuff better to minimise losing it. Dd3's PE kit went missing in the first week of September but I haven't lost hope that it might be lurking somewhere!

nickschick · 21/05/2010 11:57

The best thing to do in my bitter experience is to sew a contrasting stitch down the back of the cuff of the neck then you can spot it a mile off specially if you go to assembly then you can 'neck watch'.

Why do I never get anything decent brought home by mistake? all our mistakes havent been washed for 3 weeks and are full of holes.

Original poster
verytellytubby · 21/05/2010 11:58

DD is usually really good with her belongings and this is the first thing she's lost (year 3). The DT's are just 5 and useless. Now the weather is better I don't send them in with jumpers, meanie that I am

I feel the lost property system at our school is fair game to top up your kid's uniform. If it's labelled and found, surely it can be returned to the actual child rather put in lost property which means you won't get it!

OP posts:
Original poster
verytellytubby · 21/05/2010 11:59

nickschick - genius!! I will do that!

OP posts:
strawberrycake · 21/05/2010 13:11

I teach in primary and have been shocked helping little ones change to see crossed out names on name labels or the remains of name labels torn out, sometimes I've been able to still deciper the name of the original owner. I normally give the child unlabeled lost property to go home in and return the top to it's owner as found (discretely, it's rarely the kids fault) One mum was so intent on doing so I ended up calling her in and threatening to hand back any clothing VERY loudly at the gate to the original parent in front of everyone! It stopped. She was unbelievable, I'm talking EVERY item on the child belonging to someone else. The poor child was mortified and and had admitted to stealing under instruction, other children were beginning to cotton on too.

The best items so far for not getting lost are personalised ones, my dd's coat has a flower motif sewn on the bottom and I changed the buttons on her cardi for ones off an old one. Worth the effort. I also try to avoid buying anything too samey as much as I can.

Bobbalina · 21/05/2010 13:11

verytellytubby "I feel the lost property system at our school is fair game to top up your kid's uniform." thats not very honest

biddysmama · 21/05/2010 13:20

you can tell which is my ds's becasue the cuffs are chewed! he has one jumper thats like new for conderts (he is in the choir) that never gets taken to school.... hes managed to lose his pe kit and hats hardly ever make it home!

i am mean and wont replace anything so close to the holidays as he always gets a full new uniform, the size bigger in september.

islandofsodor · 21/05/2010 13:25

I teach in primary and have been shocked helping little ones change to see crossed out names on name labels or the remains of name labels torn out, sometimes I've been able to still deciper the name of the original owner.

Unfortuntely (or fortunately) our school has a thriving second hand uniform market so it is very likely that children's uniform has 2 or 3 names crossed out and labels removed.

Dd lost her coat the day after she got it from swop shop and I hadn't got around to labelling it (I had immediately donated her old one to the swop shop whilst I was there). Luckily we found it dropped down behind her peg but I couldn't remember whose name was in it when I went in to try and find it

stealthsquiggle · 21/05/2010 13:30

A whole PE kit including bag? DS's school would keep hunting for that until it turned up - now he is Y3 that would largely consist of his teacher sending him to look/ask in particular places, but they would still try.

I think the only thing we have every lost for long enough to replace it was a pair of swimming trunks - which eventually turned up in the prep school staff room - only identified because one of the staff who has a child in DS's class spotted them and brought them back. In the prep school they have to have their names on the outside of all their games kit - presumably to stop lazy little toerags putting on the first kit that comes to hand rather than bothering to look for their own.

strawberrycake - at the poor child being made to steal to order.

biddysmama - I have just darned the ends of DS's sleeves to get the jumper to make it to the end of term. I am not 100% sure he can still get his hands through them though - and may not find out for some time if the weather holds

biddysmama · 21/05/2010 13:33

yep, apparently its been missing for weeks and hes been using the classes spare set including pumps that are too big which i dont understand since he has size 3 feet at 8 years old... whos pumps are they? the teachers?

ageing5yearseachyear · 21/05/2010 13:37

agree that it can take some time for wrong stuff to surface

i always ended up going into school and asking for lost property.

name tapes where you would expect and also on the inside sleeve where nobody thinks to look.

my dsis went and took her child's coat off another childs back once- it was brand new and had his name in marker pen on it. other kid had taken it home and his mum had removed the label.
this may have been fuelled by bitter memories of her entire pe kit being stolen day 1 of secondary school and us have to share one for the next 3 years!

but i agree- all my kids school we were told that if we put a name in it it would be handed back if found

BalloonSlayer · 21/05/2010 13:41

Oh some gormless kid like my DS1 has probably got it.

Eventually the mother will twig and it'll get returned.

mumofthreesweeties · 21/05/2010 13:47

My son' school bag went missing and was never returned. To this day I still cant believe how dishonest some parents are......

cat64 · 21/05/2010 13:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

stealthsquiggle · 21/05/2010 13:59

The cardigan and the jumper I can understand - they could be lurking in a dusty corner or could easily have innocently gone home (I can imagine an extra jumper going undetected in our house for some time) but the whole PE kit is another story.

OP - how much access to the school do you have? Personally I would start by checking all pegs (not just the right class) and surrounding areas - DD's possessions end up on random pegs all the time at nursery, and random stuff on her peg - I presume because they all drops their possessions on the floor and staff pick stuff up and dump it on the nearest peg.

colditz · 21/05/2010 14:01

NICKSCHICk that is GENIUS!

Original poster
verytellytubby · 21/05/2010 16:54

Bobbalina - I'm not talking about me helping myself to lost property I'm moaning that some (hopefully only a few) do!

Other than strip search the children I've done all I can with my search. Looked in every nook and cranny and every peg.

OP posts:
motheroftwoboys · 21/05/2010 17:11

You wouldn't believe how much labelled stuff never gets picked up from lost property in our school. Lost property is really well run, open every morning 8.30 to 9 and every night 4 - 4.30. Letters are sent out to home and to class (and logged in a book) for labelled kit. I think they sent two reminders and then stuff is sold in second hand sale if not collected. However you still get students turning up 6 months later and asking for things! LOADS of stuff gets left in changing rooms every night!

Bobbalina · 21/05/2010 18:28

sorry tellytubby misunderstood you there

brightyoungthing · 21/05/2010 19:27

OP, your kids must go to DD's school where she too lost her whole PE kit in year 2.

I went in and explained to the teacher that someone had taken her bag that contained pumps and outdoor trainers, t shirt and shorts, jogging bottoms and hooded jacket.
All was clearly labelled.

She just told me to look in lost property and I said surely if it had been found somewhere it would have been put on her peg as all was labelled ? She said no so I looked but it was not in lost property anyway.

Whenever she had PE, DD told teacher that PE kit had been taken and was told repeatedly that it was not teachers problem

In the end I went in to the school and told teacher that it was her problem, and asked if she had given notes out for parents in the class yet? No, she replied so she did it the next day and a couple of days later it was returned by a girl in DD's class. Not difficult was it?

In the same year one mother went mad because her DS had 'lost' 6 named jumpers.

If items are labelled they should be placed on child's peg or in the relevant class cloak room, not left in lost property where anyone can help themselves.

nickschick · 21/05/2010 22:00

It actually got to a point in Ds school that every friday I would round up all lost property and return it to each child if named and if not it was washed and dried ready for reclaiming .....what made me cross was that in the staff room was a sack full of school jumpers from years previous - I washed and dried those too and some children who didnt have jumpers did have jumpers (no mums complained) and the rest were sold for a £1 each at the school fete.

hocuspontas · 21/05/2010 22:11

Who are these fairies who should magically put wayward items back on pegs? Most mislaid items get found after school by the cleaners. Are you saying that cleaners should know the names of 200+ children and their classes then spend half an hour finding the right classrooms and finding the right pegs in their own time? You should be thankful they get put the stuff in lost property instead of leaving hem behind the radiator or in the bin wherever they found them!