Best School Shoes!

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DC is starting in reception in September. We've been using a private nursery so we've not had to buy school shoes.

Are some brands better than others? Any to avoid?

Following as DD also starting Reception in Sept!

also interested in when is best time to get them? Get them now at beginning of hols or leave it til end of Aug??

Avoid supermarket type shoes if possible, as they will fall apart quickly- we have had lots of luck with Startrite shoes, they seem to last a whole year if my kids feet don't grow. Ditto some clarks ones. But ultimately- the best school shoes are the ones that fit your childs feet well, are flat, flexible enough for running around, have good foot coverage for bad weather, and have some room for growth.

Clarkes went down in quality few years ago but i bought my 5 yr old a pair last September for reception and im actually amazed.. he has worn them every day for school for the whole year and they still look new today .. so worth the money

Wait until the end of the holidays to allow for growth spurts and get velcro fastening for ease of getting them on and off

StartRite and Geox are good quality and will last as long as your child fits in them. I stopped buying Clarks as the quality seemed to go downhill and they would fall apart before they outgrew them.

And we go to Clarks as DD has narrow feet and they do different widths. We've made a fitting appointment online for the end of August

DC1 has just finished reception, and he wore Dr Marten's (the boot type with both laces and a zip). They lasted him incredibly well for the full year. He's got new shoes ready for Year 1, but we'll be keeping the DM's for him to wear as they're still in great condition.

Clark's are horrendous. I will never buy another pair again. Startrite always last the year for us.

Actually I was really impressed with Sainsburys school shoes (the ones with the toezone bit on the bottom) - solid chunky soles but still easy for them to fasten. DD2 is very hard on her shoes because her gait is quite unstable, so the straps tend to be the points that fail or soles that wear down unevenly on them - and they lasted most of this year and were only replaced when outgrown. Second time I've bought from them and been impressed by them. We currently have a pair of Tesco ones on the go to tide us over the few weeks till the end of term (ill-timed growth spurt - bit too long to leave in trainers but too short to spend big money for a few weeks) and they're already looking quite tatty.

Toezone from sainsburys have been great for my daughter. Kickers were destroyed really quickly on the toes and clarks didn't have good enough foot coverage for my liking. I really like bobux type shoes for outside of school but they always look quite rough/ lived in quickly so haven't tried their school shoes!

Clarks and Startrite have lasted well for us. We go with Clarks unless they don't have the style DD likes and I agree to as we can get them fitted in the shop. We order Startrite online and fit at home; one pair rubbed for a week or two after we did that so I think it's best to get them fitted in store.

I get my daughter fully enclosed shoes for the Autumn and beginning of the Spring term. She has T-bar or Mary-Janes in the Summer. We get then mid August when all the styles have arrived but not yet sold out in some sizes.

Loving the comment about we've been to private nursery so far so haven't had to worry about shoes. Does that mean they don't wear shoes for private nursery?

It says not had to worry about SCHOOL shoes. Private nurseries don't tend to have uniforms so school shoes not required. Whereas a school nursery might ask for them.

@MercuryOnTheRise I imagine the OP means private nursery as opposed to one linked to a school in which the nursery wear uniforms rather than it being a brag.

OP I’m going to get kickers as my ds has wide feet and they look accommodating to that . My older dc had start rite from the outlet section .

The best lasting shoes we have had have been Geox or Kickers. Even they don't last as long as you'd think. Kids are hard on their school shoes. 🤦‍♀️

Another vote for Startrite.
I had been buying them for their everyday shoes since they started walking and can't fault a single pair so were the obvious choice for first school shoes. Surprisingly, DD did not have a growth spurt so her shoes lasted her all through Reception and will likely be fine for first few weeks of next year (just had her measured and still fine). They are scuffed but nothing shoe polish won't resolve, soles are fine and so is velcro.

It means the child hasn't been to a school based nursery or preschool so hasn't had to have 'school shoes'. Private nursery is just shorthand for 'not a school nursery' in many locales, mine included- pretty sure the OP didn't mean anything weird by it.

I didn't fully understand the relevance of the nursery comment either, but FWIW, DS has managed to wear out two pairs of Clark's shoes at his private nursery, before he grew out of them, so we won't be buying any of them again. We've since been happy with ones from Next. Might try the Sainsbury's toe ones as they sound good.

Toezone from Sainsbury's were quite good, we got ones with chunky soles and a rubber bit that gose other the front. M&S were also excellent.

We had Clarks ones for years as that's what I grew up with but the quality has plummeted & they just kept falling apart after a matter of weeks. Their customer service leaves a lot to be desired too. They used to be made in Street in Somerset but aren't any more, they're made in Romania & the far east now.
Changed to Startrite & couldn't be happier. They fit well, last a whole year (unless they grow out of them, obviously) & are still looking good. They are also made in the UK so supporting our economy without the carbon footprint. If you buy online, I think they have free returns so you can try different styles/sizes.

I have been very impressed with Next.

Geox or Ricosta every time. Yes they're expensive but they look great.

We've tried Clarks, Lelly Kelly and Kickers. The first two were unexpectedly awful. Clarks seems to have gone downhill in recent years and the (gimmicky, expensive) Lelly Kelly ones broke so had to glue them together! Kickers (patent Mary Janes) still look fine after a whole year. Will be replacing them with another pair of Kickers.

We’re giving Bobux school shoes a go. They were only £10 more than Clarks and seem to be much better for my little ones growing and developing feet. We’ve only really worn Bobux since the first pair of shoes. The Clarks ones had such rigid soles that I knew they wouldn’t work for us.
Other mums local to me have lots of positive stories about Sainsbury’s shoes.