Warm school shoes, is there such a thing?

[QuietlyStorming]

DD’s in reception. Has a pair of decent Clark’s school shoes that so far have been pretty robust (similar-ish to https://www.clarks.com/en-gb/jazzy-jig-kid/26175306-p )

Insists on continuing to wear dresses and tights to school (knitted) no interest in trousers and warm socks, fine in herself but complains feet are always cold. Bit unusual as this kid tends to run hot and shun jumpers/coats (although thankfully not in January so far!)

I totally sympathise as I really hate the cold myself. School policy is ‘sensible black school shoes, not trainers or boots’. (Which I understand, not complaining about it.)

Is there a shoe style that is a bit warmer but still ‘sensible’ for this time of year? 🤔

Thank you!

You can get lovely fur or fleece lined school boots. Or insist she wears a pair of socks on top of the tights.

Thanks @Yourethebeerthief I did have a look at some fur lined boots but as the school policy says no boots i’m wondering if it’s doable. After all a chelsea boot is usually seen as ok for school I think 🤔

Hmm this is a hard one because beyond boots and trainers, most the other covered over shoes are going to be clearly aimed at boys. Not that this should be an issue but even in reception children are observant.

My DD has always worn school shoes from the boys section (yr1 now) but they are allowed to wear plain black trainers. So we've always bought her trainer-style ones so it's more gender neutral than the other styles. I wish she was allowed to wear boots, I don't understand why they aren't?! They're allowed to wear sandals in summer but not boots in winter?! In the snow/ice I sent her in her boots anyway (which happens to be plain black) and nobody commented to us, but she's back in her usual trainers now. The other upside is that she wears the same shoes for PE days too because they're trainers anyway.

I think Kickers might be worth a look for your DD?

Would she get away with wearing leggings in whatever colour under the skirt or dress? Might be worth a try and just see if school say anything...I've seen girls at DD's school do this before. Another not quite so warm alternative would be a pair of socks, or long socks, over her tights. She could keep a spare pair at school too if her feet do get a bit wet she could change the top pair at least? DD always wears trousers but in the very coldest weather she wore two pairs of socks. Also if the weather is terribly wet on the school run she wears her wellies to school and takes her school shoes in a bag and changes them once she gets there. I know a few of the other children in her class do similar so at least she's not got wet feet before she's even arrived.

Slightly bigger shoes and sheepskin in insoles would help. Socks over or u der her tights or trainer socks /foot slip things if she wants them hidden.

DMs are well made and warm and do shoe styles but I wouldn't want to spend that when she'll grow out very quickly.

I'm in favour of school unifirns but I do with they weren't so fussy about something like she's where they need to be functional and well fitting. Just insisting on plain black footwear would do the trick.

Go half a size up and put merino or sheepskin insoles in the shoes. Wool tights are also warmer than the basic cotton ones, although they are more expensive, I think they’re worth it- DD has Falke ones. You can also get ‘girls’ style shoes that actually cover the feet, Startrite do them in a nice patent, Kickers are also an option and I’m sure there are others too I haven’t seen.

No boots in winter is bloody criminal. I can understand big clumpy things not being allowed but what about in the playground when it's raining or icy? Are they allowed welly boots to change into?

If not she'll have to accept an extra pair of socks in winter, it will make a world of difference

id just buy a pair of ‘boys’ shoes, something like this - https://www.marksandspencer.com/kids-leather-riptape-school-shoes-8-small-2-large-/p/clp60676637?intid=mobile_app_pdp_share

Thankfully they do keep a pair of wellies in school for rainy/snowy days on the playground.

I am fully on board with school uniform too, but have always found the shoe policy leans too much on style vs practicality.

I’ve just considered how quickly she’s growing at the moment as well and the fact that in about 8 weeks or so we’ll (hopefully!) be out of the worst of this cold anyway.

So I’ve gone the route of finding a pair of her current shoes one size up on vinted and have bought some thermal grey socks pretty much the same colour as her tights. She’ll grow into them in spring/summer without the extra layer.

As it wasn’t too much (and all of it works out so much cheaper than a brand new pair of boots) I’ve also gotten a pair of ‘boy style’ shoes (which is ridiculous because they’re just shoes but look much more comfortable and practical, not sure what is so ‘boy’ about them 🙄) that are a bit ‘trainer-y’ but pretty bland, also in a size up.
She can try them both and choose which to wear with an extra pair of socks if she’s cold.

It’s your feet, kid. You do you 🤷🏽‍♀️

It’s out first go-around so I guess next winter I’ll try to be more prepared to anticipate this before January hits 🙄

Thank you for helping me decide everyone 👍🏽

DD has these. They're high top but not 'boots' as such, in my opinion at least.

Could you have her wear warm socks underneath her tights?

Girls school shoes are ridiculous! My daughter has "boy" shoes.
She thankfully prefers trousers but when it's been cold she has been going in with tights under her trousers and socks on top of the tights.
She has waterproof trousers and wellies at school for playing out in when the weather is bad and I send her in with a spare set of clothes including spare tights and socks

Startrite has fully closed school shoes for girls.

I’m kind of horrified at the narrowness of the range of girls school shoes on the Clarks website. Nearly all of them with some sort of open top to them, Mary Jane type style. These are school shoes for kids! Appalled there aren’t more closed shoe options.
Obviously anyone can buy from the “boys” section too - but seriously why not include a few more of those under “girls” when you apply the filter?
I have wide feet and spent my entire childhood in “boys” school shoes and survived perfectly well, but by god it was nice when I got to secondary and suddenly a few clumpy styles were available in the girls / women’s section.

my daughter had some kickers like the ones further up when she as younger. I don’t class them as boots. I think the no boot rule is ridiculous. Mine is year 4 now and wears doc martens which I get from Facebook marketplace usually for around £20. Mine also wore ‘boy shoes’ for a while too because she found them comfy

My daughter also wore shoes like these for a while too

If laces are an issue you can buy proper lace up shoes and then buy "Silicon dress shoe laces" from Amazon (we used the INMAKER brand), they are a bit fiddly to fit but once in turn any shoe into a slipon but they can run and jump with them securely on their feet.

DD always had them in her school shoes regardless of being able to edo her laces to make getting changed from PE easier.

Get some wool insoles

Makes you wonder how in cold weather the school rules clearly discriminate against females! And wellies are allowed but not warmer boots? The adult world has moved on in terms of footwear. These kids are not going to be adults in the 1970s!

Fully agree! The thing is we’ve never pushed ‘girl’ things onto her at all and always went neutral in the early days with the view that clothes are clothes. When she was crawling I realised very quickly that skirts and dresses were a hindrance to practicality.

But as she’s grown she’s just leaned in heavily (herself) into pretty, tutu, pink, butterfly, unicorn, glittery things and it’s a valid life choice to be fair 😂 But when it comes to school shoes those style choices that are also practical are still massively piss poor. And don’t get me started on school dresses without pockets! That one really got my goat 😡🙄

Same issue here. Drives me mad that my 4 year old isn't even allowed to wear short boots to school in snowy weather. I really don't see the issue with black trainers either, but no, it's not allowed 🙄.

I did also notice that our uniform policy states skirts or pinafores for girls - no mention of trousers. Not an issue for us yet though as my DD insists on wearing a pinafore.

My DDs have now both opted for brogue style school shoes which are a lot warmer and better in the rain- although the laces are a pain! One of the styles we looked at came in patent leather so very clearly aimed at girls (not that it should matter, but…)

We had a pair of Start rite shoes, similar to these
https://www.startriteshoes.com/products/eclipse-black-hi-shine-leather-girls-buckle-angry-angels-school-shoes

We've been able to wear boots though for the past couple of years thankfully - it's not in the uniform list but the school has agreed to them in winter.

Have a good look around the playground to see whether anyone else is wearing boots, particularly the older children (whose families will have had years to navigate this). Our school says no boots but plenty of children do wear them in the winter and there is never any complaint. The last couple of years my girl has had some lace-up (but with a zip so no need to actually tie laces) patent boots from Next which are all fluffy on the inside - so much better for wet and cold weather!

No boots - everyday sexism!

I was told by a YR teacher that boots make it hard for them to sit comfortably cross legged on the carpet, and that’s why they’re not allowed.

We compromised on something similar to these Bobux ones as they’re not bulky, have no jingly, fiddly buckles and are quite low. Also very little else fitted dd at that point, so I didn’t have many options.

www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/bobux-school-jodhpur-boot-black.html?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAC13_IA4oKV3_gQ_DsG2_T_t5tlz3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7se9wqX1igMVGJRQBh2GKhG3EAQYAiABEgJLWPD_BwE