School complaining for following uniform code

[NyanCat89]

My DD has just started her first year in school and already her teacher has been complaining about the shoes she's wearing in class and today the Headteacher told us she wants us to get new shoes by Thursday.

The system the school uses consists of outdoor shoes what they turn up in and play outside with (where anything goes) and indoor shoes that follow the uniform code.

According to the uniform code, accepted shoes consist of "Black" Plimsolls (aka sandshoes), Pumps or Court-shoes.

Personally wanting our daughter to look smart in her uniform we opted to buy some nice school shoes which I guess would come under court-shoes, anyway we got them from Sainsbury's for £12 and also have memory foam in them. I believe good supported footwear is important though it is difficult with kid's shoes, I try when I can.

Apparently every other kid in the school wears sandshoes. Probably due to everywhere selling them including the school for something like £3.

So the teacher is complaining that our daughter looks the odd one out and the headteacher agrees. If I was breaking the school uniform code then fair enough (wouldn't have let it happen in the first place), but we're not.

But plenty of other kids break the school uniform code and no one complains/cares. Kids are supposed to wear grey trousers/skirts but more then a few wear black.

Say no! If the shoes you have bought meet the criteria advise you'll write to the governors citing financial hardship to replace now.if you broke the rules that is your own fault but if you haven't then say no

Just say no. They are perfectly sensible and within the rules.

My ds wears trainers for indoor shoes as they are more supportive. Would that be an option?

They can't just change their minds. If it is within the uniform policy then they have no right to complain-they are the ones who set the rules in the first place! TBH I would be worried about sending my children to school with such petty bastards. Why are they wasting their time on this?

Has she worn her indoor shoes outside? Is that the issue?

Indoor and outdoor shoes what kind of witchcraft is this?

This is such a waste of teaching time 100s of kids changing shoes.I would not be happy.

The shoes are nice and follow uniform code.

A lot of new build primary schools have this policy of indoor and outdoor shoes. Must spend all day changing shoes. Its also why ds doesn't have lace up shoes as they take longer to take on/off.

If by 'sandshoes,' you mean those dreadful black plimsolls with elasticated fronts they used to sell in Woolworths, then there's no WAY I would have allowed my kids to wear those all day. Synthetic material and no support? Yuk. Much more healthy to wear properly-fitted Clarks.

the school is probably assuming they are her outside shoes and asking you provide inside shoes?
I assumed all schools made the children change shoes, surely their outdoor shoes often get covered in muck - which then would end up everywhere especially if the children sit in the floor (at assembly for example)

Yes the shoes I'm on about are her inside shoes, they keep them at school.

thatdearoctopus
"If by 'sandshoes,' you mean those dreadful black plimsolls with elasticated fronts they used to sell in Woolworths, then there's no WAY I would have allowed my kids to wear those all day. Synthetic material and no support? Yuk. Much more healthy to wear properly-fitted Clarks."

Those are the ones, I don't understand why every other parent would choose that option.

Not sure what a court shoe for children consists of really but I would probably interpret their (frankly stupid) code as PE plimsolls/pumps for indoor.
What a waste of time all that footwear changing at least 6 times a day.

I don't know where you live Miaow but the word sandshoes hasn't just sprung up, it's been in common use since at least the 1960s and probably decades before that.

The thing to do here OP would be to speak to the school and have a conversation about what the teacher has said

Primary school uniform is actually not legally compulsory, only secondary school.

What a load of nonsense. Plimsoles are shit for support and being slip on you need to a scrunch feet to keep them on.

They arent available e in many width fittings either so on half the kids they flap about.

Bull shit.

I don't think the shoe in your image is a court shoe though.
Here's one dictionary definition. Here's another and another. The image in the op shows a fastening strap so they are not slip-on which I would say is the main feature of a court shoe. The fussy bow on the toe would also make it dubious if the strap wasn't there as a court shoe is usually plain.

here is a court shoe.

OPs shoe is more like a pump I.e. ballerina pump with strap.

I don't see how court shoes can be safe to wear all day.

They are more party shoes

Can't be good for feet

I think they want indoor soft plimsolls not outdoor shoes like you've got. www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-38812587/slippers-at-school-children-explain-the-benefits
I don't know what they mean by court shoes as my understanding of court shoes is not what kids would wear to school.

They might mean mary-jane style plimsolls, ask for clarification. In ds international school it was normal to change into "houseshoes" ie. Slippers or rubbersole canvas shoes which I think is common in many European countries.

School uniform is not legally compulsory for either primary or secondary school, there are secondary schools that don't wear it. The department of education provides guidance for schools on uniform but doesn't legislate it.

I wouldn't want my child wearing pe pumps all day either. Surely it must be chaos with kids changing shoes every 5 minutes? What about if they have to go outside from one building to another? (Mobiles for instance that don't have toilets). Do they have to carry their shoes with them?

I was presuming something like these. Nasty.

They are being preposterous
Is the point of inside shoes and outside shoes to keep carpets clean?
(what a bloody faff how about a doormat)
If so it matters not at all what they look like

I'd tell them no.
Unless your DD wants to look the same, in which case I would get her some pumps (though with a huge ? about their comfort and suitability for daylong wear) at a time convenient and affordable to me.

If by 'sandshoes,' you mean those dreadful black plimsolls with elasticated fronts they used to sell in Woolworths, then there's no WAY I would have allowed my kids to wear those all day. Synthetic material and no support? Yuk. Much more healthy to wear properly-fitted Clarks.

Clarks do sell those black fitted pumps, actually - they're called Doodles.

OP, your school shouldn't be asking you to change shoes that match their uniform policy.