Pupils being told long hair must be tied back - reasonable or not?

[pannetone]

Maybe I’m getting this our of proportion (DH thinks so!) but I’m not happy with the rule the school ( secondary ) has just introduced that long hair must be tied back. This applies to boys and girls - there are a few boys with long-ish hair. But the new rule proportionally affects more girls- including my DD.

The rule was that long hair had to be tied back for safety or hygiene reasons eg in DT or Food Tech. I can’t think of a reason why long hair needs to be tied back all the time. If it’s that the school think it looks ‘smarter’, I’m not happy that it is primarily a judgement on how girls should look.

Transfer of lice? I think it’s a reasonable rule.

Head lice.

I think it’s a very sensible rule and can’t see any possible reason for objecting, unless you object to uniform rules in general.

YABU its a rule for all students, long hair tied back does look neater. The rule is the same for boys and girls, its not the schools fault that it will affect more girls.
Its kind of like saying rules on trouser cuts are unfair on boys because it will affect more of them as some girls will choose to wear skirts instead.

Way out of proportion

It is pretty standard in our local schools. Looks tidier , less easy to transfer lice and out of the way for science, art, pe, food tech etc.

My daughter's primary school and most of her after school clubs have this rule. Stops them getting their hair caught in things & lice. Think it's a very reasonable rule. They also need to remove earrings etc for sport or tape their ears to prevent injury.

It’s a fairly bog standard rule isn’t it?

Can’t really see an issue.

Perfectly reasonable rule imho. My friend's a secondary teacher and says that some of the girls in his classes won't leave their hair alone so would love them to all have it tied back.

Looking neat and tidy and avoidance of spread of head lice. There's no health and safety reason for students to have to wear a blazer or a tie, or indeed a uniform at all, so I'm not sure you'd get anywhere by objecting that it's purely aesthetic rule.

As for the "it affects mostly girls" thing... I think that's a ridiculous complaint tbh. Imposing the same hair tying rule on boys and girls is as fair as you can be. Nobody is making girls have long hair!

Headlice
Hair flicking
Getting in the way when writing. ( If I am helping DD I often tell her to put her hair in a ponytail as otherwise it flops in front of her eyes).

Not having hair ties when needed for PE, Science, Tech, Drama, Dance, Art.

Totally reasonable.

Are you trying for some weird it's worse for girls angle? Any one can have short hair and anyone with long hair has to tie it back.

Don't see a problem with this rule. There are so many classes in high school where they need to have long hair tied back. It probably makes sense just to make it a blanket rule.

Do you object to the rules on jewellery on the basis they mainly affect girls too? Contrary to popular opinion, girls don't have to have long hair and boys don't have to have short hair. These are choices that they make.

Makes sense to me

Head lice
Bunsen burners
Getting in face
"Big styles" can obstruct views if sat behind
Safer in pe

You don't want long hair floating around near a Bunsen burner. It has nothing to do with policing how girls should look. Especially if it applies to boys as well. The fact that there aren't many boys with long hair is irrelevant.

Very sensible rule. I'm more surprised it isn't more widely enforced, tbh.

YABR.

(ridiculous)

DD’s primary school doesn’t have this rule and it frustrates me that they don’t. I don’t want DD to get nuts, but I appear to be alone in this.

Don’t be ridiculous, it’s a health and safety issue. Google scalp degloving and then tell me they are being unreasonable. Easily possible with equipment found in any secondary school.

Entirely reasonable.

what dont you like about it?

both my DS;s have long hair, and have to tie back for various activities

You're being ridiculous

things in life affect different sexes no matter how much we dont want them to

where my friend works, staff can have a free breakfast between 8-830 - great you think, but who are the part time staff? who are the staff that have to get their children to school before they can come to work? mainly women - so here we have women being discriminated because they work part time?

DD's all girls school asks only that hair is tied back for science, D&T and PE.