Am I right to be miffed that my daughter has been asked to remove friendship bracelets in senior school?

[chocolatespiders]

Thats it really she has worn them for 2 years and loves them they are part of her individuality.
They are made of thread and are covered by her school cardigan and blazer so they are not on show as part of her uniform, during PE she wears a tubi grip bandage on them to prevent any health and safety issues.
Today during a uniform check today she was asked to roll up her sleeves so the person checking saw them and she was told she needs to cut them off
She was then told the only students allowed to wear then are Sikhs.

I am just not sure how i feel about this, she really doesnt want to removed them but i dont want her to be sent to exclusion because of them!!!

She needs to learn how to undo them for school and put them back on out of school....no biggy.

Could you remove them carefully, and refasten them using some elastic, so that if another inspection happens, she can push them up her arm, out of sight?

Usually I am on the side of Rules Is Rules, and you should support them, but this seems so innocuous, and is clearly important to your dd, hence trying to find a way round it.

If the school states no jewellery or no excessive jewellery then nope, you are not right to be miffed. Is it the Sikh thing you're more miffed about?

Rules is rules.

(and I speak as someone who used to wear about 40 of the buggers )

Alter them so that she can remove them for school and put them back when she gets home.

If she decides on some subterfuge to keep wearing them, and doesn't tell you, that's her decision, and her reposnsibility if she gets pulled up on it. But don't involve yourself in supporting her to break rules.

Yes, rules is rules but ... if the school is actually making pupils roll up sleeves during uniform checks to see whether they are wearing pieces of thread that are completely undetectable when they are in uniform then they are rather going OTT and probably have too much time on their hands.

And I would imagine that Sikh girls are not allowed to wear friendship bracelets either, even if they are allowed a Kara.

"And I would imagine that Sikh girls are not allowed to wear friendship bracelets either, even if they are allowed a Kara."

Exactly. It seems a bit of a stupid rule tbh, but if that is the rule, then you should encourage her to accept it.

We ask girls, and boys, to remove jewellery, including friendship bracelets and charity wristbands.

If she's been wearing them for 2 years, isn't it time they came off anyway?

I ask all my students to remove any bracelets and would not make an exception for your dd. We have no Sikh students but they would be allowed to wear their Kara but not a friendship bracelet. If your dd's friendship bracelet was hidden under her blouse I would not see it. I do not hunt for poor uniform but when I see it I expect it to be corrected.

none of these things are really hidden under sleeves though are they. If you lift your hand in the air then they may well disappear down the sleeve, but they tend to fall right down when the students are writing, unless they have their sleeves so long they are covering their hands and their fingers.
Have to say am very about you plotting with her, and also giving her a tubi grip for games - tubi grips are for students with injuries, not those who choose to not follow the rules of the school they have chosen to attend.

Rules is rules is rules. School is a good time to learn this before you hit the world of work, where rules really ARE rules.

What are the school policies on jewellry?

If it says none, then she should go by those rules.

For work once, I had to visit a pharmaceutical manufacturing line. I had to remove my make up, my nail varnish, my jewellry, my high heels, oh and to put on a paper suit. I looked like a tellytubby!

Exclaiming at that point that they were subduing my individuality would have been extremely unprofessional to say the least!

Thanks for the input some good intresting points..

Not sure of the Plotting with her by keeping her safe during PE just as the parents whose children have earings provide micropore tape for them to cover them to keep them safe during PE.

What a ridiculous rule,she will clearly fail all her exams due to the wearing of a bracelet

Don?t

?wear too much jewellery, i.e.
◦no large looped earrings
◦no facial piercings except for one stud type earring in each ear
◦no necklaces, bracelets or rings
?no inappropriate badges (e.g. racist or rude)
?wear too much make up or nail varnish ? stick to natural colours
?wear training shoes (except for PE lessons)
?wear denim/leather clothing
?dye your hair an unnatural colour, e.g. pink, green, etc.
?wear outdoor coats inside the building

I have not been finding ways for her to not comply with rules and you really should not make assumtions like that. This has only been brought up today after 2 years of her wearing them at the school , me making her cover them up for PE was my choice and for safety reasons not to hide them away from anyone.

I guess it doesnt help that i went to a school where we did not wear school uniform and self expression was very much encouraged, and it did not affect my exam results or career.

Well, technically she's breaking the rules, tsk tsk, but it's not an important rule really, is it.

What you need to consider is a) how often they will do a uniform inspection this thorough, and b) whether it will be the same teacher again, or whether she'll be able to get away with wide-eyed, 'what? not allowed these tiny bracelets?! well, I will cut them off as soon as I get home!'

She'll run the risk of losing them though, if they get cut off and confiscated. Definitely suggest to her that she attaches them to elastic so they can be removed/hidden quickly.

Either that or quick conversion to Buddhism?

In fairness to chocolatespiders, it was me who suggested putting the friendship band on elastic so she could take it off if neccessary - so I am the evil plotter.

I suppose they can't allow a friendship band because of the 'thin end of the wedge' argument, but as usualsuspect says, it's hardly going to affect her school work.

However, if you do make the bands removable, at least she can carry on wearing them outside school - that would be something.

"I guess it doesnt help that i went to a school where we did not wear school uniform and self expression was very much encouraged, and it did not affect my exam results or career."

No, but you have chosen to send your dd to a school which does have a uniform, and rules about wearing bracelets, and that's why you have to go along with it.

I agree that a friendship bracelet is harmless enough!

Having a skirt that fell at least one inch below the knee had no effect on my o'level results at all. School is not meant to be about self expression, it is about learning. You do self expression afterwards.