School Photos - it's all kicking off!

[pretentiousrubberduck]

My daughters school had their individual and sibling photos today. Unfortunately, the school didn't let any parents know, so many of them sent children in without proper uniform, in dirty jumpers, messy hair etc. The school emailed at the end of the day, apologising profusely, and said they had made sure everyone had the correct (and clean) uniform and neat hair for the photos. Well, it's all kicking off on the school fb page. Am I the only person that thinks that you should be sending your child in in clean and tidy uniform anyway, regardless of the day? Especially as it's a Monday (I'd understand if it was later in the week and you'd run out of clean uniform!). The school are getting slated on social media, although nothing like this has happened before. I feel a bit sorry for them.

There were times I forgot it was school photo day, made no difference at all. I would not dream of sending my dcs to school with stained clothes ever.
I used to work in a primary school and there were children who came into school after holidays in dirty clothes. I'm talking jumpers encrusted with 3 week old food and still having the stickers I had given them from before the holidays stuck into their shirts.

I don't think it's fair to criticise the school on Facebook or similar given the school has already apologised. Individual parents feeding back to the school that they are disappointed not to have had the chance to send Daisy and Maisy in matching plaits or that Bill and Ben are coming to school with extra gel in their hair tomorrow because they'd been promised they could gel their hair for school photo day is fine, but it doesn't warrant a public outcry.

I think most parents do their best to send children to school in clean clothes and looking presentable but for lots of families, the school photo is the one that gets printed and hard copies shared with the wider family so extra effort may well go in to making them 'photo ready' rather than everyday 'school ready'.

DD2 is at secondary school and handed me her school photo with the encouraging build up, "you won't be buying this one; I look like I've been scalped". To be fair, she had a point! It was taken shortly after PE so she'd scraped her hair back into a very severe-looking ponytail. She said she'd have done her hair differently if she'd known they'd be photographed after PE.

@pretentiousrubberduck

It gets worse! The main complainer is now having a go about the swimming lessons, because they weren't informed that they were free! It wasn't enough that the school obviously didn't ask for payment, just an email informing parents what day they need to bring swimming kit in. It wasn't clear enough that the school were covering the cost, and that was very inconvenient for them! No word of a thank you anywhere

Urgh. This is really dickish behaviour. Poor school.

@TidyOmlette

If it makes them feel any better our school had to send out an email confirming that the ‘family’ photographs would just be the siblings at school. I’m thinking someone obviously thought it was a whole family gig!😆

Our school used to do family sessions at the beginning or end of the day for anyone who wanted siblings not at school or even whole family, so it's not unreasonable for people to think that.

OP, just tell them to buy the photos and the memories they will bring back in 20 years time will be much more than the standard school ones.

I agree with you OP
I was a single parent, couldn't afford to cover childcare for two, so money was very tight, but my two always had white shirts, the correct navy sweatshirt with the crest on it. I just couldn't believe what some people sent their kids in to school wearing. eg, pale blue shirt. Why would they even buy that? It's white. The uniform is a white shirt. I guess if nobody says anything then you think it's fine.

They think it's allowed because nobody challenged them

I might have been mildly irritated but I certainly wouldn't be slating the school on social media. When mine were in primary, more annoying was that they always did school photos the day before half term when they were due a haircut.

Well my DS2’s school decided to let the children get changed for PE and then back to uniform before their photo. DS2 is 8 with a “proper” tie that he’s only just getting the hang of as they haven’t changed for PE for the last 18 months due to Covid. His photo looked like he’d been dragged through a hedge backwards! I did complain as DS1 who is in year 7 told me that the photographers his school used made sure the year 7’s ties were straight. The photographers for DS2’s school are retaking the photo at their studio for free!

This thread is making me chuckle. I used to teach reception & I really did always try my best to smarten up my ragamuffins 😂 my first school always scheduled reception after lunch which was baffling. They’d be covered in food, mud, their hair in all directions! I used to get my TA’s to re-tie ponytails, straighten collars, wipe faces! I’d have a spare school jumper from lost property that I’d whip on the actually dirty children 🙈

My second school always did reception at 9.15am, much better!

My DD has just started a no uniform school & I would be annoyed if there was no notice! I send her in simple plain tees & cardigans & skirts. For photo day, we’ll be going much smarter 😄 & French plaits as they stay put & don’t look messy!

I would want to know in advance and make sure they were photo ready. Doesn't mean they aren't clean and tidy on other days.

Surely a slightly ruffled and messy child is a more accurate representation of their school years anyway!

There were two years when photo day coincided with me being (unusually) away for a week. I discovered what DD's hair looked like when DH was in charge! (I did tell him to take a hairbrush and ask one of the mums to do it in the playground before school, but he didn't get there in time...)

Do all these schools manage to photograph children before morning break? Our photographs seem to take all day and by the time it's the last group some children aren't as pristine as they were first thing. The school secretary keeps clean sweatshirts but some children refuse to wear them and we've had parents complain that their child has been changed/hair tidied up (child was sent with French braid but it had come out so the class teacher had re plaited as best as he was able).
You simply can't please everyone.
Admittedly it was a big oversight not to inform parents.

Never known a school not to warn parents that photos will be taken on day X. It’s a reasonable thing to do, but it’s also in their interests, given they get a cut of the sales. More fool them!

@coldwarenigma

Circa 1972 aged 6 I had my photo with DB at school..they did them after lunch..chocolate pudding was round both our mouths...DGM was not amused ..she complained that if they were going to do photo shoot after lunch we should have had a flannel round our faces..

Can you imagine the DM sad faces if a teacher tried to wipe chocolate custard off a child’s face these days (not advocating a shared wet flannel btw , just a damp paper towel) the poor teacher would be in metaphoric stocks before the parent WhatsApp stopped pinging.

It's only a small school, my eldest in Y5 said she had hers done before morning break, and her class went last. So I would imagine most were in the same state they arrived at school in. The photo preview/order slip came back yesterday, both of mine look lovely (if slightly rumpled!) and there have been no subsequent comments on the fb page.

I remember my Mum telling me off for not letting her know in advance we were having photos done. We didn't have a uniform and she'd have put me I something nicer than my "OK to get ruined at school" everyday clothes.

It was definitely my fault not the school's though

I would be mildly annoyed - DD2 is that child who can look dishevelled between her arse leaving the sofa and walking out of the living room door (it's a skill she seems to have been born with), so if I know it's school photo day I make sure I do her hair escape-proof, with me putting the hair slides in so they're actually straight. I also have a polo shirt collar chewer so I keep one of the September multipack of new polos back for school photo day as well so both bits of the collar point downwards rather than being cock-eyed. Plus the logo cardigans come out rather than the Asda cheapies.

Not that my kids go in filthy or in inappropriate clothes the rest of the times - but I just make them look as presentable as they can be (within the constraints of what they want to get up to at school and practicalities) for photos that will go to grandparents and uncles etc.

Most schools I've worked in do the photos from the youngest > oldest classes on the basis that the reception and nursery kids are likely to get muckiest first so get them in before they've hit up the painting and water trays as well - just common sense really.

I've got some corkers of school photos of my now grown son

They were in pride of place when he was a stroppy teen