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Original poster

Opinions please, letter about ruined clothes

40 replies

islandofsodor · 28/10/2007 22:01

Dear Mrs X

Paragraph about missing school for hospital appointment and 2nd paragraph requesting to join after school club.

I would like to raise the issue of several items of ruined clothing. This was a problem when DD started in the reception class last September. She kept getting whiteboard marker pen on her clothes and it does not wash out. I spoke to her teacher and the after school club and the issue resolved itself by me providing an extra painting apron for her to use at after school club and by the class being made to use the whiteboards whilst sitting at desks rather than on the carpet.

This term however, DD has ruined one school jumper by getting black pen down the front, she also has pen on the sleeve of another jumper and also on her tie. In addition she has managed to get black paint all down the back of her summer dress, despite treating it with stain remover it has not come out. School uniform is extortionately expensive and I can not afford to keep replacing items. I would welcome any suggestions to solve this problem, the only suggestions I have are that DD wears her painting tabard whenever she uses these pens, or that is banned from using them at all. Otherwise the alternative would be for me to send her into school in cheaper, non regulation jumpers that can be replaced more often.

Yours Sincerely

Mrs I O Sodor

OP posts:
ScaryScienceT · 28/10/2007 22:04

What's wrong with sending her to school in the marked clothing?

Original poster
islandofsodor · 28/10/2007 22:06

I do to some extent, but the dress and jumper are very bad. It doesn;t exactly look very smart for school photos, assemblies etc either.

OP posts:
EmsMum · 28/10/2007 22:22

My bugbear was glue on blazer in reception- didn't wash out and looks like dried gravy. They wore their full-cover aprons for painting with washable paint but not for gluing!

DD continued wearing said blazer till she ourgrew it at the start of year 4. Kids are mucky beasts. The main purpose of school uniforms is to keep proper clothes clean.

Original poster
islandofsodor · 28/10/2007 22:28

All well and good Emsmum but normal clothes cost around £5 for a jumper from Asda. School jumpers are £18 each and summer dress £22 each.

OP posts:
brimfull · 28/10/2007 22:57

I wouldn't bother replacing them if they are that expensive.I would just keep using the marked items,as long as they're clean doesn't really matter.

Why can't the school use washable pens though?

Smithagain · 28/10/2007 23:07

I think it is a very reasonable letter and I will watch with interest to see what response you get. DD1 has just got her first whiteboard and the pen marks are driving me nuts. (She goes to school in stained clothes, but I'm trying to keep one set aside in case of any major events such as school photos.)

seeker · 28/10/2007 23:16

Summer dress 18 pounds?! Surely some mistake (ed)

bookofthedeadmum · 28/10/2007 23:22

My dd's summer dresses are about £7 each - I get those gingham ones you can buy everywhere from February onwards. The letter seems reasonable but I wouldn't bank on a positive response. Logo'ed stuff always costs more.

melpomene · 28/10/2007 23:24

Is it a state school? My understanding is that state schools are no longer allowed to compel parents to buy uniform from a particular source and you should be allowed to buy generic (cheap) uniform from Asda or similar.

Original poster
islandofsodor · 29/10/2007 09:58

Jumopers are £18. Dresses are either £22 or £24 deoending on the size. It is an independant school. The dresses are not available anywhere else.

OP posts:
nimnom · 29/10/2007 10:09

My ds1 was drawn on with whiteboard marker on his school sweatshirt(back & front) in his second week in reception and regularly comes home with it on his polo shirts. I am much less fussy about how he looks now. He still wears the sweatshirt and I will replace it with a cheap one instead of the school issue one. Also with the polo shirts I have replaced his white ones with red ones (not strictly allowed, but they used to be part of uniform) so the dirt doesn't show up so much.
I am totally going against my nature sending my boy to school messier than I would like and not in strictly school uniform (I am a closet goody goody!!) but I can't replce a sweatshirt/poloshirt everytime ds1 gets a mark on it.

seeker · 29/10/2007 10:21

I am amazed thet the school is letting them use non washable paints and pens. ds regulalry gets white board marker pen on his 4.99 sweatshirt and it always washed out beautifully. Could you suggest they change the paints and things they use?

Slacker · 29/10/2007 11:24

I would be furious if my infant school children were using non washable pens etc at school - mine also go to private school with similarly expensive uniform. I was quite annoyed that my son in year 6 was clearly being given non washable paint to use with inadequate protection, but at least he only got it on a couple of shirts which he still wears. But little ones are bound to get paint on their clothes, it really should be washable.

Is this letter to the class teacher or the head? If the former, I would definitely take it further if you don't get a satisfactory response.

colditz · 29/10/2007 11:33

I would be FURIOUS if, after charging £18 for a jumper, they then allowed the children to ruin them!!!!!!!!!

Our school jumpers, the official ones, are £6.50 to £8. And I still send him in cheap non logo ones, because everone else does anyway, and I figure it doesn't matter ... the school doesn't mind!

Carbonel · 29/10/2007 12:52

I am sure my dc's previous school would complain if I sent them in stained clothes - we evn got a note round in the newsletters saying damaged jumpers must not be darned but should be replaced - WTF!!!

I told them they were bringing up kids to be spendthrift, and they should learn that if they damage things they should be mended, and preferably by the child themsleves!

Needless to say Head and his wife (school Fuhrer) did not agree with me ....

OrmIrian · 29/10/2007 12:57

"damaged jumpers must not be darned but should be replaced "

What? That is outrageous. Not that I would know where to start with darning anything but still....

I buy cheap uniform for that reason. Both DD and DS#2 have damaged their school jumpers already this term. Cost less than a fiver to replace so bearable. I don't know what the answer is otherwise though - kids do get mucky sometimes.

emsiewill · 29/10/2007 12:59

dd2 is in year 4, I think they only started using individual whiteboards last year, but ever since then, she has not managed to go one day without getting pen on her polo shirts. She will only wear white ones, and doesn't wear a jumper / cardigan (just won't).

I have resigned myself to her going to school in marked polo shirts - usually a dot just underneath the buttons for some reason. But I'm just glad they are the £2.99 for 20 kind from Asda, rather than the £6.50 each official school shirts...

Perhaps I will bring it up in parents evening, ask if they can use washable pens. If I was paying a fortune for the uniform, though, I would be complaining long and loud!

seeker · 29/10/2007 16:44

Why do people send their children to schools like that?

LIZS · 29/10/2007 16:55

Buy second hand . Ours cost that much new , jumpers get holed easily by badges. Bought one set new but rest from second hand sale in vgc so am less bothered by mishaps. Bet they are all wearing marked stuff anyway.

amicissima · 29/10/2007 19:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tiredout · 01/11/2007 19:20

Oh I'm so glad she's at a school with no uniform. So she's got a good selection of clothes to wear rather than (say) two skirts and five shirts and nowt else and then they get ruined. I can remember going to school in white shirts (white?!!) with ingrained dirt round the cuffs & collars and stains down the front etc. Mum was never much good at getting out stains, her attitude was, it's been in the wash, it's clean! I'm useless at stain removal too.

But being banned from darning jumpers?? Does the head have shares in the jumper producing company perhaps? But maybe the attitude is that if you can afford private school you can afford to buy new uniform every couple of months (and given the speed at which some children grow that may be necessary anyway).

nickToD · 01/11/2007 19:41

Seeker: small classes, small classes, small classes and did I mention..

nickToD · 01/11/2007 19:41

Seeker: small classes, small classes, small classes and did I mention..

nickToD · 01/11/2007 19:46

sorry- didn't mean to send it twice!

2boys2 · 02/11/2007 05:16

white boards??? sorry to sound thick but what are they?? the only white board i know about is the big one on the wall that the tacher uses to write on