Academy conversion and uniform buying.

[CouthyMow]

My DD's Secondary is converting to an Academy as an 'outstanding' (non-sponsored) converter. Up till now, school uniform like ties, PE socks, blazer badges, PE tops and the 'special' school jumpers they HAVE to wear we're available from two places - the school and an easily accessible uniform shop on the high street.

The uniform shop closed down about 6 months ago. And I have just received a letter telling me that uniform will no longer be available from the office either.

It is all going to an online only service. If you order £45+ uniform, then p&p is free. If, like me, you need to order one piece a week, so never hitting the £45, you will pay an extra £2.50 as p&p EACH TIME.

How is this fair on people who can't AFFORD to get the uniform all at once? Buying £45 in one go would take half my food budget to feed 5 people for that week!

I am NOT spending extra to buy uniform that is already massively expensive - think £16 for a PE jumper, and DD can't get her old one over her head.

I WANT to just go and buy something similar to the regulation uniform from the supermarkets etc, BUT the school is VERY strict with uniform, they get a detention for first offence, internal exclusion for second offence, and external exclusion for third offence.

I can't afford the extra, but if I don't, then DD will end up getting excluded in Y10! And what about my friend who doesn't have Internet access, I only do as a family member pays for it. And she doesn't have a bank account with a card that can be used in shops or online. What about HER DD's uniform? How is she meant to buy it?

Are they allowed to do this? Put in place such a strict uniform policy, but making the uniform inaccessible to the poorest of their pupils? Is this just done to put the poorest off the school, and 'skew' the intake?

If they aren't allowed to do this, then where can I go to put in a complaint? Would it be the frankly useless and toothless DfE/Secretary if State? It's not going to be the LEA when they convert to an Academy on Sept 1st, is it?

Aaarrgghh!

My DDs' state primary has also gone to online-only uniform buying for logo-ed items. It's a complete pain in the neck, even if you can afford it. They make the jumpers to order, so it takes 2 or 3 weeks for one to arrive. Not much use if your child has lost something that has to be worn every day.

I don't know whether anyone has challenged the legality of it. There are many, many parents at our school who are struggling financially and not particularly computer-literate. I'm hoping that they are getting some help from office staff with actually placing orders ... but that might be naive. On the cost front, I do know that some parents are clubbing together to put in big orders and therefore avoid postage.

Have you tried your local council's trading standards department? They are a useful first port of call and may be able to help.

My school is currently going through the same process. We plan to keep a small stock of items in the school office in case some parents can't order online, I wonder if yours will do the same. As far as I am aware, there is a 'conversion grant' of about £65 per pupil that most schools converting to academy status give to parents in the form of uniform vouchers, it might be worth asking about this. Hope this helps.

archeoptyrx, our school is converting and we have been told we have to purchase uniform from the school at the cost of about £250 - no mention of a conversion grant. resumably the school don't have to spend it on that? I understand that the uniform cost might be subsidised for low income families though, based on what DD's friend has told her.

It would seem not in that case though it seems to be the norm for schools around here with some offering old for new uniform exchanges and others offering at least part of the grant as vouchers. My understanding was that it was meant to be directed towards pupils and families but I don't know how, or if, this is policed. Perhaps, with such an expensive uniform, your school is offering more to those families who really need it though it still might be worth asking what help is available. Apologies if this is unhelpful.

You should contact DfE 0370 000 2288 and ask to speak to the academy team.

That's what my friend did

(posted too soon!)

To be honest, I think the school would be in serious trouble for excluding pupils (internally or externally) or even giving detentions because their parents couldn't afford the school uniform. It's a ridiculously draconian policy at the best of times, but it's wildly inappropriate when lots of parents can't afford the uniform (never mind the ridiculous delivery charges to get it).

Thanks. I think that archaeoptryx is probably right about the school subsidising for low income families and keeping quiet about it. I will think about ringing them but the last thing I want is for DFES is to give my name as a complainant to the school!

My children's uniform is via an online company. They changed two years ago and we are just coming to the end of the two year wearing out old uniform period

However there are no p&p charges, returns are free you can phone up or print off an order form and send a cheque in the post. Plus there is an in scho shop once a week with special extra days for the start of the academic year.

Your system sounds very poorly thought out.

I just rang DFES. The woman I spoke to had never heard of new academies using part of their grant to subsidise uniform. She confirmed that they get a support grant to help with the cost of conversation but she did not know of it being used in that way and it was up to schools how they spend it.

The school are changing the skirts (which DD won't wear, she wants to continue to wear black trousers, which will still be allowed), and offering every parent, low income or not, one free skirt. No good to me, as DD has sensory issues and won't wear skirts EVER.

They are also changing the ties, and will replace them free of charge if you hand the old one in in September.

Everything else will have to be bought online, nothing at all will be offered in school now.

No uniform grants in my LA, not for over 10 years, so no help available to those in low incomes. Uniform grants are area specific, only some areas offer them, and my County isn't one of them.

Oh, and no changeover period either. It's bad enough that they already had a different summer uniform of ridiculously expensive embroidered polo shirts (£14 each) before conversion, but at least you could get them from the school office!

Also, most low income people I know, me included, don't have access to cheques. Basic bank accounts are just that, basic. You get a card that can ONLY be used in a cashpoint to take your cash out. No cheques, no ability to use your card in a shop, no ability to use your card online.

Postal orders you are charged extra for, so if you paid for 6 small orders by Postal Order, you would a) have to pay extra for the Postal Order, and b) have to pay 6 x £2.50 p&p. Putting a heck of a whack on top of the already really dear uniform.

Oh, and the school DOES give sanctions for improper uniform even to those whose parents can't afford it. DD shot up like a weed in Y7, she was in age 9-10 when she started Y7, and age 13-14 by the end of Y7. She went through 3 full sets of uniform, and she grew AGAIN over the May half term. Because she couldn't tuck her shirt in as it was too short, she got a detention, and I got a phonecall to tell me that if she was in improper uniform the next day, she would get an internal exclusion. They said they couldn't make any exceptions, as it would give all students the green light to blame improper uniform on a lack of parental funds and make a mockery of their uniform rules...

Grrrr

Thing is though, it's NOT loads of parents that can't afford the uniforms. The school is in a fairly affluent area, and has a FSM's percentage of just 4%. The school don't give a monkeys about the few that can't afford it, as we are also the parents that don't contribute to the school fund, as we can't afford it.

No second hand shop at the school either, no 'call' for it as "Why would the children want to wear secondhand clothes?!" said with a face.

No help with trips or uniform from school. Parents' responsibility.

There is absolutely no way that a pupil should be excluded for having the wrong uniform brands. The code on behaviour is very clear the only way that an exclusion should happen around uniform is for persistent and in open defiance of the rules. The code also says that there should be no exclusion for punishing pupils for the behaviour or actions of their parents, which in effect this is.

That is before we get to the issue of what the Department of Education has said previously over school uniform, that is it should be available from multiple sources and affordable. The person you spoke to at the DfE about Academies not providing free uniform must have been living a very sheltered life in their office, as many academies have provided and continue to provide free uniforms.

Also within the admission code there is a statement that admission must be seen to be fair and equitable and that policies around school uniform do not discourage parents from applying for a place for their child. That is in paragraph 1.9 of the new 2012 code.

Could I suggest that you go back to the school and tell them nicely that they need to revisit their uniform code, so that they are giving choice and are meeting the needs of all parents. If you put it in writing then they will need to reply and if the answer is not to your liking you can then take it further as an actual complaint.

Schools are given a financial support for FSM eligible students called pupil premium which may be worth asking the school about.

The only other thing i could think off is whether a group of you could order and bulk buy the uniform from the company.

To be honest, I'd've gone to my local councillor or MP with the school's claim that they can't make exceptions to stupidly draconian uniform rules for kids whose parents can't afford uniform. That's really discriminatory and will damage poor kids' education and life chances. I'm angry just hearing about it.

couthy, can you put a bit to one side for the next 4 weeks and then order the uniform so at least not loads of p+p. Think this is highly questionable by the school tbh. We are in an affluent area, but still are very aware of the need to have uniform at a reasonable price and in locations accessible to everyone.

I sort of get what you're saying, but high street shop isn't a lot better scenario. It costs me £5-£7 minimum to travel to the high street shop that sells DS school uniform, although in theory I could buy online, but I don't trust my luck in getting sizing right. So £2.50 postage sounds pretty good as delivery cost, to me.

You could ask on Freegle/Freecycle for 2nd hand uniform, via Freegle I just gave a load away for DS's secondary (tiny school, only 17 or so in his entire year!).

ooh. serendipity, just go a nagging email about ordering by end of July to guarantee DS's school uniform (for September). School can't be arsed to give us a timetable, but the uniform supplier is on the ball, at least!!

I can't do secondhand, due to Academy conversion from 1st September, brand new uniform. I also have the same issue with the DS's primary, brand new uniform due to Academy conversion. I can't afford to buy 3 full sets of brand new uniform that quickly.

I need to buy bits week by week from now until the start of October, for all 3 school age DC's (school coats for DS's being the final thing on the list. Fucking school COATS FFS).

4 weeks is not going to happen. Tbh, I didn't use the uniform shop in town often, as I used to just walk to the school and buy it in the office. It's the fact that they are going to stop selling it in the school office that is bothering me the most!

I am going to phone the DfE about this - will they be open through the summer? Because we didn't get the letters through the post until AFTER the end of the Academic year - which says to me they gave done it then to time it do that any complaints won't be heard, at first through lack of staff at DfE, and then because it has been 'too long' to complain...

The DfE should definitely be open through the summer. Just because they are Education doesn't mean that they get school holidays.