Why does my DD's coat have to be Black or Navy?

[firsttimemama]

My DC's primary school has a Navy/Grey school uniform. I abide by the school uniform rules. In the past couple of years they have stated that coats's must also be Black or Navy. DD is Yr 6 I cannot see the sense in this. Given their expense I do not want to buy two winter coats I want to buy a coat that my DD will want to wear and therefore not look for every excuse under the sun not to wear it. I have bought a dark green winter coat for her. I am loathed to purchase another one for the last few winter months at this school. AIBU?

[Timeforausernamechange]

YANBU I wish all schools could go with the coat policy at my DDs school " All children need a coat that is warm and showerproof". Common sense at last.

[confuugled1]

I would ask to see their risk assessment for wearing dark coats as you don't think that they are safe, and do plenty of googling beforehand to back you your arguments.

I would also go with what Inertia said - that they didn't have any black or navy coats that fitted your dd in stock when you needed to buy a winter coat so you bought the closest thing you could. If they want to provide money to buy another suitably warm and waterproof coat then fine but you don't have the money to buy a second coat and you needed to get one when you went out to buy one. And that you'll buy a new one in black or navy when she outgrows that one omitting to mention that will be in a couple of years time.

[zoemaguire]

Yes, I do realise it's about a coat. I think your grip actually needs to go to the person who thought that wearing a green instead of a black coat to school is a symptom of 'bullheaded, bloody minded, entitledness'?

[UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter]

Most secondary schools have coat policies as well. The one that dd is hoping to go to is plain navy or black. No logos. As is the other local school.

Secondary schools tend to be stricter on rules and so you may find that the colour will cause her more issues at secondary school than primary.

I don't see why you would deliberately flout the rules? You've shown dd that she can do what she wants. That rules don't matter and are petty and can be bent as you wish. That she doesn't need to comply.

It may be a relatively minor issue but that's even more reason just to go along with it yo not have your dd have to answer questions from teachers for something which is ultimately out of her control. If the navy/black navy was out of stock I'm sure she could have worn her other coat with a hat and gloves and scarf until you could get the correct colour.

As an aside don't you have more than one coat for dc's? We spend all weekend sports pitch side and she needs a much warmer coat than she would wear to school running around in the playground.

[Girliefriendlikesflowers]

That is ridiculous! Its one of those rules that is so absurd I would break it just to make a point

I would go in and speak to the head myself and ask for an explanation and point out you don't want to buy two flipping coats.

[FockerFun]

Another one with outstanding state primary who don't have strict uniform rules.
What a waste of time enforcing that one will be.
You can't be the only one - were all the other kids in black or navy?

[ephemeralfairy]

These threads never cease to amaze me. When I was at primary school we had a uniform but wearing it wasn't compulsory. At my state secondary, we had uniform but there were no really strict rules other than black shoes and not wearing jeans. I wore a microscopic skirt, Doc Marten boots and an army shirt as a coat most days (it was the mid 90s!). Nor were there rules about hair colour or even piercings, we all dyed our hair red/pink etc, boys had long hair, some had dreads, couple of girls had shaved heads with Mohican strips down the middle, there were pierced noses galore.
There were no significant problems with discipline, and academically the school was one of the best in the area. Very odd how times change!

[alltouchedout]

Ffs, they think the colour of a child's coat is up to them? How stupid!
My elder boys generally demand black or blue coats anyway so we'd probably keep the rule by default but I would be sorely tempted to buy them fluorescent orange coats to make a point.

[Halloweensnake]

Say to deputy head...I'm really sorry I just can't afford..the only spare money we have is next weeks food money...I could use that I suppose if it's really important she has the coat...I wonder what the reply would be

[zoemaguire]

My kids are at an outstanding primary school that has no uniform at all. That's right - none. It's quite amazing, but my kids still manage to learn stuff.

[Mumstudentbum]

Need a new coat by Monday? School pay for it! Simple. Coat is not uniform. What are they going to do seriously? Dd chose the coat so it's not as if she feels upset and wants you to change it. I'd tell the deputy head to bugger off.

[jayisforjessica]

I do actually think it's ridiculous to fight this rule "on principle". I for one choose the hills I want to die on, and they're much bigger than this. If you insist on bucking every rule that doesn't suit you, the wee ones especially, you'll be taken far less seriously if the time comes when you need to protest a much more serious indignation. If you're That Parent, you'll get branded as such, and your input will be worth far less. Think "boy that cried wolf" style.

Furthermore, instead of "this rule is unfair so we'll fight it through proper channels", you're teaching your child "this rule is unfair so we just won't bother following it". I could have a little more respect for not liking this rule if you were fighting it in a proper fashion - a petition, getting a group of colored coat children's parents together to protest, writing a letter to the school. Instead it sounds like you're just packing a strop and saying "we just won't follow that rule so there nyah nyah". Not the message I'd want to send my child.

[DeleteOrDecay]

YANBU, It's a ridiculous and pointless rule, even places of work don't dictate to employees what sort of coat they travel to and from work in so for schools to do so I think is completely bonkers. The purpose of a coat is to keep a person warm and dry, it doesn't matter from an educational standpoint what colour it is ffs.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

smellyboot
"Do they not have teaching to focus on and not get stupid about what DC wear too and from school?"

I'm very happy to abide by your comment as long as you are happy not to whine when your child turns up soaking wet because they didn't want to wear the coat that you provided.

[smellyboot]

Boney... My DC wear any of a number of coats we get given. They choose a coat every day: might be a footy jacket, a cagoul, it might be a winter coat it might not be. If they are cold then that's because they wouldn't listen when I said put a warmer coat on. Most of the time they carry them to school and back again.
I would never whinge as if they choose to get wet because they refuse to wear their coats then quite frankly that's a lesson they need to learn.
Their decision. They are KS1 ans perfectly capable of learning life lessons.

[BoneyBackJefferson]

smellyboot

Its good to know that we agree, its just a shame that so many don't.

[firsttimemama]

Just to be clear, the school uniform policy did not include coats when my DD joined the school. I do abide by all of the other school uniform rules, my main gripe here is that outdoor coats should not form part of a uniform policy. And I think you should challenge rules that make no sense - not just mindlessly comply.

[firsttimemama]

And of course I could force her to wear a coat she didn't love, but why? Because the new head unilaterally decided that outdoor coats would be included in the school uniform policy.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

Coat is not uniform in a state primary school. They cannot enforce it.
I'm a stickler for my kids wearing the right kit to school (at primary and secondary) but telling them which coat to wear is utter bollocks. How many people have two coats for their kids at this stage? It's nonsense.

How dare they tell parents what coats the kids should wear? You may have bought yours flouting the rules, but in my family coats are handed down. A child with two older siblings could easily have four or five years of coats already sitting in the cupboard at home.

Complain, vociferously. They have no legal right to do this and there is no way it affects children's attainment.

[Wolfiefan]

So challenge the rule. Don't ignore it and give your child the message that we can decide what rules we stick to.
Who loves a uniform? Or even a school coat? It's an item of clothing to keep her warm and dry.
I think it's a daft rule. But the school are clearly standing by it. Take it up with the Head. Or comply.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

Secondary school has a no-logo policy for coats. That's fine and reasonable. Their results are excellent. It seems that you can get to Oxford wearing a green coat, a purple coat, and no coat at all.
But not a hoodie, obviously, because that means you got to prison.

[mysteryfairy]

I had sympathy when I read your the first post as I thought the purchase of the coat predated the rule. Sounds from your later post that you bought the coat in contravention of the rule. On the site you linked to are very similar, but navy and black, coats so you could have obtained one even if you had to order in to store. Regardless of how enforceable or not the uniform legally is you have set up a ten year old child to get potentially more telling offs from senior staff and to perhaps be made to feel uncomfortable at her school every day. I don't actually get why you would want to do that to your DD over something so trivial.

[CauliflowerSqueeze]

Yes for exactly that reason. The headteacher has a rule and you should support that. You might feel that coats should be any colour, but there are plenty of schools which have rules about these. Just like they might have rules about wearing make up or painted nails or hoodies or multicoloured flowers in hair.

If the rule was that the coat had to be orange with purple dots and a hood made of the fur of a twenty rabbits, then you would have a point as it would be pretty impossible to find that. As it is, a blue or black coat is straightforward. There are other bigger fights to fight in schools - funding being slashed for example.

[TheSnorkMaidenReturns]

There's a crucial difference this Cauliflower funding cuts may (will) impact educational standards. The colour of winter coats do not.

[CauliflowerSqueeze]

The school has a standard that it wishes to uphold. As it is reasonable and known, it is in my opinion unreasonable to defy it. I don't think it sends a good message. This was not sprung on parents with no notice (which would be unfair).