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Secondary education

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Original poster

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

62 replies

pannetone · 05/03/2018 20:58

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.

OP posts:
StickStickStickStick · 06/03/2018 05:08

I thought all schools had this rule!

bunbunny · 06/03/2018 05:09

Maybe they've had problems with people not tying it back when they were supposed to for safety or hygiene reasons so it's easier to have an 'always tied back' policy to make life easier.

Rudi44 · 06/03/2018 07:20

My DD has to have hair tied back, I don't think it's a big deal. It's easier just to get it out of the way. It's definitely not a rule worth challenging even if you don't like it.

ReelingLush18 · 06/03/2018 12:46

Head lice will be the main one. DD got them just after starting at secondary school and helpfully gave them to me too Blush. Now her hair is always tied back neatly.

And yes it's reasonable. I reckon it should almost be made part of their 'uniform'. Pupils are at school to learn not to be swishing their lustrous (and potentially lice-ridden) locks around in a Timotei advert type of way!

woodlands01 · 06/03/2018 13:15

I work in an outstanding large academy in a very nice area. If we tried to bring this in it would cause uproar with the student and the parents.
Students tie back hair for PE, DT and Science experiments. Nothing else. I've never worked in a secondary with such a rule. Not saying I disagree - hair drama is very annoying. Just unsure how it could be implemented smoothly.

Witchend · 06/03/2018 13:32

I am always surprised round here that it isn't a rule.
When I was at school, even the grotty ones which never worried about how uniforms looked had the rule of hair tied back. Round here we have schools that will send boys home for having the wrong number of pleats in the trousers, but all the girls have loose hair.

I think it's a sensible rule.

DrinkFeckArseGirls · 06/03/2018 13:38

Ooops, that’s about secondary school. I was talking about primary regarding food in hair Blush

StickStickStickStick · 06/03/2018 13:49

Woodlands are you sure it would cause uproar? After all many of them will have been to schools with this quote normal rule.

I taught in a rather nice girls grammar woth this rule. It really is quite common!

pipilangstrumpf · 06/03/2018 13:52

It's a very sensible rule!

Livingwiththree · 06/03/2018 19:34

Head lice epidemic. Hair pulled back is mandatory at both DCs schools - all boys and an all girls school. If you’ve never had head lice in your house then i can understand why you’d think this rule is unnecessary. We’ve had it twice and i wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.

ifIonlyknew · 07/03/2018 11:21

our school had this rule back in the 80s and 90s. anyone who has worked in a secondary school will know some of the girls spend an enormous amount of time preening themselves and twiddling their hair in class. If it is tied up then this reduces distraction as well as prevent headlice spread

HooverMover · 07/03/2018 12:51

YABU totally reasonable rule

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