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?

Just to add: I’m wrong. A child can be punished for not complying with uniform policy. No policy - they cannot be deemed to be non compliant.

I’d get the bottle but still complain!

Metal bottles are really annoying in the classroom. They skid off desks so easily and make such a bloody noise when they clatter to the floor. The kids don't put the screw lids on properly so they cause far more spillages. They do also cause much more damage when thrown.

You stick to your guns, verbal policy 😂, a policy should be in black and white, written for all to see. Have had something similar at my son's school, I just pointed out that if my son becomes ill due to the school not allowing him to drink from his perfectly adequate water bottle then I will be reporting the school to the authorities. They soon allowed my son his water bottle & it's contents!

Definitely escalate it!! They are stopping her from hydrating because of a logo.
Your concern for micro plastics is legitimate and the school have no right to dismiss it as “not and issue”!

Honestly I would consider an alternative school as this ones sounds like an horrendous environment for children to develop in.

We much prefer the metal bottles and I was a bit baffled when my child started school and had to have a regulation plastic one.

But, I will say that the plastic logoed one has lasted 6 years! So tough, impossible to break and doesn't leak.
I work in a school with no water bottle policy and most children have a new bottle every month. In the long run, the school with the logoed bottles is creating much less waste.

Metal bottles in Primary might be discouraged as they are heavy, are very loud when dropped and can be used (by any child) as something to whack another with and hurt more than a plastic one. Also they are heavy in bags for little ones.

Personally I’d have water at break policies. Classroom time isn’t for very long. Medical need is different but dc never died when waiting for a drink at break or lunch!

Also in the event of a metal bottle being weaponised (thrown by an individual) it could cause more harm/damage/injury.

The kids don't put the screw lids on properly so they cause far more spillages.

Lots of the metal bottles have sports caps though?

Also you can get a silicone base that fits over many of the bottles. Less likely to slip, and less likely to make noise when being placed down on a desk.

Of course they can't have a metal bottle on the table all day. Have you heard how loud they are when dropped?

But fully refusing a child to drink from a metal bottle isn't ok. Is it really a hill to die on though?

@ThesebeautifulthingsthatIvegot
Ours have them in open storage boxes by their desks. Books etc in there too. So the bottles don’t get knocked off the tables typically.

Metal bottles hurt more when thrown by a dysregulated child - plastic is safer.

Exactly what I think. Too much time wasted in class with glugging, spout being fiddled up and down, etc.

We drank at break and were all fine.

It’s a classroom not a cafe.

It is ridiculous OP. You shouldn’t need a branded school bottle.
By the looks of it this won’t be an issue by 2026.

https://www.schoolwearunited.co.uk/blog/understanding-the-2025-school-uniform-policy-changes/#:~:text=England%3A%20Schools%20must%20limit%20required,up%20to%20£200%20available.

looks like the majority in this thread are being totally unreasonable.

I'm not convinced a water bottle is an item of uniform.

Not that I agree with the school - there's no sch thing as a verbal policy.

if it is branded with a logo and a compulsory uniform item, as the school are stating, then it will be included.
Branded water bottles are such a ridiculous idea.

How much will that cost? And, thinking about some of the ones I've seen, what happens when you can't see inside to know it's properly clean? There's a reason why infant formula bottles are clear apart from being able to see the measurements - the same reason applies to children's bottles.

You can see inside to clean them @NeverDropYourMooncup.
The wide cap screws off to fill them and clean them. The cap often contains a sports cap type spout so children don’t have to unscrew them during the day.

@MrsEMRA PTA has no role in school policy at all. None. They are not there to act as an unelected pressure group.

Because a rule isn’t a rule if it’s not written down properly. Otherwise schools could just come up with quite unreasonable new rules willy nilly. You talk about “challenging the rule properly” - well if you recognise the need to challenge rules properly then you should understand why rules should be imposed properly in the first place. This is especially important when it involves hard up parents having to part with cash, or when it involves a legitimate health concern (and the consumption of micro plastics is a valid concern, with a growing number of studies on it)

[(Edit) adding in quote post by @rainbowrosalie
No, they won’t. Such abject nonsense.
The LA and Ofsted will “note it”, and advise the parent to follow the schools formal complaints procedure (which should be on the schools website).
Neither get involved in petty bollocks like this. ]

The school have to provide drinking water by law. If the school teacher is refusing to allow the child access to any water during the day the LA and Ofsted have to act as the teacher and by default any other staff who are aware of the issue are creating a child welfare issue. It may also indicate that the teacher may not be a safe decision maker who is in charge of children.

So on a cover your ass basis alone once a complaint is received there will be a process to contact and obtain data from the school. Having "policy" which is not written down is a massive issue for the LA or Ofsted and should result in further investigation into what else is happening within the school on the basis of verbal rules.

Unless I've missed something, why are so many people assuming the school are not allowing the child access to water? They won't let her have the metal water bottle. That's very different to not allowed water.

Most schools have water fountains. Those who don't will give children access to fill up their bottles at taps which provide drinking water. They will have cups for children without a water bottle (or in this case, the correct one).

The child will have access to water. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

Exactly.

If the school is genuinely not allowing the child access to water 9-3 in any weather but especially when it’s hot then that’s a safeguarding/welfare issue and would warrant making a huge fuss and complaint. That will not be the case. OP could you confirm?

What will be happening is the child will be allowed water, just not from her metal bottle. She’ll probably be given a - gasp! - plastic cup when she needs a drink and at lunch/break.