School Water Bottle

[BreezyGreenRobin]

Could somebody please help me with where I stand. My daughter is in year 2 at a state primary school. Her school has a very strict uniform policy and the children are required to have lots of items with the school logo on them. The school ask that all children use a standard school water bottle which is made of plastic and has the school logo on. As a family we are trying to reduce our use of plastic container for all of our food and drinks. I have therefore sent her into school with a plain white metal water bottle. I must add that nowhere in any of the school's policies does it state that the school logo bottles are mandatory, the head teacher has said that this is a verbal policy. I have now had several emails from my child's class teacher and the head teacher stating that her water bottle is not regulation and she is not allow to drink out of the one I have sent in throughout the day this includes during PE lessons. All other children are allowed their bottles on their tables during lessons and to take them to PE. I have raised my concerns regarding micro plastics with the head teacher and was simply told that this is not an issues. The chair of governor's has said that she is not able to get involved.

What can I do?

A lot of schools won’t allow metal bottles as parents can secrete stuff that isn’t water in there and which goes against school policy.

Suck it up and get the prescribed bottle. Don’t be awkward. It’s embarrassing for your kid.

Point to the upcoming guidance that schools should be minimising logoed items.

However, if you already own the school water bottle, just use it until it breaks rather than buying something new.

I’d imagine it’s to stop some children bringing in all kinds of ridiculous designer bottles too. And as pp said it stops parents sending in juice as their DC ‘doesn’t like water!’ Teacher for 20 plus years and I’ve seen it all!
Pick your battles. Obviously plastic reduction is crucial but we’re not talking single use here it’ll probably be the same bottle they’ll use all year. Continue with your choices at home of course but you can’t expect the school to adapt to suit everyone.

No child needs water all the bloody live long day. Drives me absolutely crazy!! i would not be sucking it up buttercup.

anyway good luck with this - I complained to a geography teacher about their use of PLASTIC ping pong balls being thrown into the sea to examine tidal effects. They were all left there 🤦🏻‍♀️ 🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh wow, you actually approached a school Governor about this?! Yikes.

You have two choices really. Accept that these are the school rules and follow them, or change to a different school so that you can use your special metal bottle. What would be best for your child?

The only person that’s suffering for your stubbornness is your child. Why would you mark her out as different to her peers deliberately, and make such a fuss that it could potentially disrupt her education, over something so minor?

Schools have enough to deal with, without this sort of nonsense. Get a grip!

I have known parents secrete not just squash, but fizzy drinks and in one case black coffee in an opaque water bottle.
Follow the rules!

I think the expression "pick your battles" springs to mind here. And this is one I wouldn't bother fighting - unless you want to be labelled as "that parent" through your DC's school life and ignored when you raise a serious issue.

Branding items unless bulk bought for cheap provision is elitist by pushing poor parents into spending extra money on non-essentials or choosing a different school.

A clear /seethrough water bottle is very different from one which must have a school brand.

I would point out that the law is to provide drinking water and you will send her in with an open cup and let Ofsted sort the need for a branded container.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1943/made

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/153/regulation/7

I’m in Scotland so I’m confused. Primary schools in England are allowed to do this?

In Scotland, they can’t even force you to buy a uniform. Any uniform is advisory; they all have their logo stuff but you can just buy jumpers in the right colour from the supermarket. The school also has bags and pencil cases and water bottles but can’t make you buy them. They’re not allowed.

Everyone sends their kid in uniform; some with the logos but most just the correct colour from the high street shops. Absolutely no one uses the branded accessories. But I could send my kids in jeans and a t-shirt and the school can’t do anything by ask that we try to wear uniform colours.

Do you guys actually have to buy branded accessories or your kid gets punished?

I would hazard a guess that the school branded plastic water bottle was cheaper than OPs metal one!!

How much does each bottle cost, OP?

This isn’t about cost, this is about OP wanting to provide a metal one when the school one is plastic and then getting the hump to the point of approaching the HT and Chair of Govs when she’s asked to fall in line with the schools rule.

The school should be offering non-plastic water bottles. Where we live now they are going to be regulating against plastic water bottles use because of the microplastics in them. Melamine is even worse! I would email them and also refuse to use plastic but offer them to buy a glass one that comes with a good cover. there are many made in the EU now for kids specifically because of microplastic ingestion. These are safe and look good. On the expensive side sadly though. But YANBU OP.

Whilst I agree with you OP, this will probably be to stop the ‘slippery slope’ of ridiculous water bottles. You’ve got a plain white metal one, somebody else will get a white Stanley one. Then the next person will get an enormous white Stanley cup that leaks everywhere and causes disruption.

I'm assuming the school bottle is clear, so they can see what's inside? That's the issue here, to stop sticky sweet juices coming into the classroom (not good for their teeth to be sucking on all day, as well as the risk of messy spillages). Plus uniformity stops the competition for who can bring in the fanciest one.

Is it a free bottle, provided by the school? If so, I understand your beliefs but the school bottle has been produced and purchased for your daughter whether you choose to let her use it or not, so you're not exactly saving the planet by refusing to use it. I get it more if they expect you to buy that particular one.

I would agree in the price point.

However per the OP the school dont have a rule approved by the BOM. If there was a rule it would be written down and producible (?) on request to parents and inspection teams.

Here is where the Chair needs to step in. If the verbal rule is not written down and approved its not a policy and therefore the teacher has no authority to decide the OPs child cant use the unbranded container.

The Chair has also been made aware of a child being denied access to water so that is a duty of care issue (which is solved by water fountains)

It's so they can see that you havnt filled your child's bottle with orange squash.

Are the school branded ones free, or do you have to pay for them?
To be honest, it’s a pain in the arse when schools have a water only policy and yet parents put in all kinds of juice in them.
Unless you’ve worked in a school, you have no idea how many bloody spillages there are each and every day. It’s tiresome.
If your children are just given water from a very young age then they don’t know any different! If they’re thirsty, they’ll drink it!

I agree with you on not wanting to use the cheap plastic water bottle. We did use plastic, but only hard plastic.

I also understand why the schools don’t like the metal water bottles. They make a ridiculously loud noise that echos through the building when they inevitably get knocked off the desks . My dd reported this happened multiple times a day up through about year 8.

both the plastic and the metal are likely opaque so saying it’s about keeping it to just water is not much of an argument.

Just get the water bottle … not like it’s single use anyway.

Eh? And in what way would a bottle with a logo on it be any different? Unless it’s that the bottle isn’t clear/see through and juice could be put in it. But OP didn’t say the logo bottle was transparent.

They are making sure you send water and not juice/soda

I think the issue is more that it’s metal. My sons school actually banned them recently as someone through one and it broke a child’s arm.

What a ridiculous rule by the school. People saying pick your battles, but I in fact would battle against this one haha! I don't like cheapo plastic bottles either not good for us to drink from. Stand firm!

I’m inclined to think that there is absolutely no such thing as a ‘verbal policy’. What rubbish.
Is it that the logo bottle is transparent and they can see that there is water in it rather than juice? Because that I would understand I guess.
But unless that’s the case, and the school bottle is transparent and free, I wouldn’t be complying and I’d be complaining about my child not getting access to water.
I don’t see how schools can compel you to buy their particular bottle.

It staggers me that we have become so willing to accept this kind of overreach on the part of schools.

Good for you OP! The plain metal one should be fine. My children’s school don’t have any stipulations on the bottle and amazingly every child is able to drink and learn. We’ve got big ones, small ones, plastic, metal, ones with handles, straws and everything in between. I don’t understand why water bottles need to be policed.
I would escalate this straight to the LA and Ofsted. They’re refusing to let your child have a drink - aside from being absolutely bonkers, I’d be concerned about their entire approach to wellbeing. What else would they deny the children for the sake of a stand-off? The Head/governors will soon roll over once you involve the LA/Ofsted.