Coats on at school

[Flyhigher]

Teachers seem to be excessively cracking down on anyone wearing coats in school.
Can anyone explain why? The problem is the school is cold and admittedly they do wear short skirts. But staff aren't cracking down on the short skirts.

I was just thinking this 😂😂 I think the only reason mine have never got into trouble for wearing coats in school is they only rarely have them with them.

Their schools both hate it though, I have to say. I thinks its becasue they all have massive puffer ones now and they all get in the way, fall off back of chairs because they're heavy etc.

Part of the reason teens don't wear coats is because they have nowhere to put them during the school day - no lockers or pegs - and they aren't allowed to wear them indoors. So they simply don't bother because they don't want to carry them around.
Can you imagine adults at work who every time they need to move from one room to another or one meeting to another having to hump their coat over their arm (while also carrying their work equipment plus a large bag). It would be ridiculous. But we expect teens to do it.
Give them lockers FFS.

Her coat is slim. I can see the big puffer coat issue. They do have lockers. But not enough for everyone. She complains that her locker is far away from everything and she can't use it.
She probably could use it for her coat though.

Can see the sleeping bag issue. Yes.
It's a nightmare for my slim 16DD who is then wet and cold all day due to rain and asks for lifts.
I think check out the cloakroom situation people before you commit to a school! It's a sign of under resourcing!

@Flyhigher

On what evidence do you base your assertion that classrooms are cold? I had to take off my cardigan today and roll up my sleeves because it was so baking in the classroom.

Is there any reason why kids need coats instead of jumpers and vests?

All schools are under resourced and short on space. How hard is it to take off a coat when you enter a lesson and hang it on the back of your chair? We aren’t expecting them to do anything difficult.

I would love it if we had enough secure lockers and a proper canteen (we are dreadfully short of space) but the government don’t seem to think it is a pressing issue.

@Ratsoffasinkingsauage probably on the basis that I wear a big woolley jumper in the office and others have short sleeved t-shirts on. We are all different and I don't understand why people can't accept it. Are they not teaching diversity in schools?

Coats are a problem and should not be worn indoors. However, there aren't enough options in the school uniform for those who feel the cold to feel warm enough. There's one school jumper in DD school only. What if you are still cold in it? Or you feel too hot with it on but too cold with a short sleeved polo? Maybe less restrictive uniform choices like in primaries where you can buy from supermarkets help.

Problem is that the schools aren't heated properly either. It costs money to keep the heating up.

@ReadyForPumpkins

So your assertion is that because your open plan office is closed then the tiny sweaty classrooms that most kids sit in for lessons will also be cold.

They have the option to wear a vest, a jumper, a shirt and a blazer. That’s four layers. If they are still cold then they need to wear a base layer- which is far more effective than a coat.

And I will also say that the students who assert that their bags are too small to fit their coat in usually have huge fashionable puffer coats and tiny fashionable hand bags instead of rucksacks. Almost as if being practical and functional was not the point.

It's highly likely a directive from the top and very little to do with the classroom teacher, unless a practical subject when coats can be dangerous - using a Bunsen burner in science ect so take your complaint to the Head.

A base layer under the shirt, jumper and blazer should be more than enough inside.

@Ratsoffasinkingsauage can you fit a coat inside your work bag?

@Coldia Yes, I can. I have a huge rucksack so I can fit in a whole class set of books and and my coat. But I never need my coat inside and I am always too warm. All those breathing, sweaty bodies make it quite hot.

I don’t expect anything from them that I don’t do myself.

As a non-practical subject, coats are the bane of my life at the moment. They use them as blankets, to hide the fact they are texting, to drape over each other and get up to stuff (yes, really). Yr11 are the worst for this- slumped in their coats without a pen and half asleep and refusing to do any work. But come parents evening mum and dad are all fire and brimstone at me about why their child isn’t doing better. Perhaps because they were up until 2am in their x-box and then too tired and ratty to do anything. This is apparently my fault.

Well the 3 mile walk home in all weather's helps.

Are people really buying their teenage dc £1000 coats?

The teachers saying they make students take them off Id assume are from schools that are well heated. My two sons said the fraught in the classrooms are horrendous and since Covid the windows are open too. 15yo says last year he was actually shivering in class

@brokenhearted2

Yes, they are. I think some are good dupes and some are second hand. Some are obviously brand new. These are the same parents that tell us that they can’t afford school shoes.

A teen in a coat is a rare sight in my area. Cloak rooms - coats would get nicked within days if decent. We do have lockers although most don't use.
At best girls use a brolly and Ladd might have a thin rain layer.
Our school must be warm as mine have only just put jumpers on.

At my old very rough comp years ago we had cloakrooms - long since turned into extra rooms. We all had dirt cheap coats off the market partly as that's all anyone could afford and then no one really nicked them. We used to write our names in marker pen all over the inside too in massive letters

But I never need my coat inside and I am always too warm.

Presumably you also have somewhere to put your coat other than your bag.

I would say you are unusual in being able to fit your coat into your bag. I can't fit mine into my work bag. Nor do I need to because at my workplace, same as yours, I have somewhere appropriate to put it, unlike your students.

Btw I would always prioritise buying a winter coat for my child over buying the impractical dress shoes that school requires me to spend money on in order that he can access his education.

@Ratsoffasinkingsauage I hear you!

Fakes and second hand I can understand but new? Paying over £1k for a teen's coat is crazy. Ironically no one in my affluent area where half the dc go private would dream of spending that

Can the kids wear cotton vests and a woollen vest for the colder days along with shirt and woollen jumper. School blazers are very warm.
Do the kids wear tights under their skirts?
They should hang their outdoor coat up during indoor school hours or keep it in their locker or bag with their PE kit..

To be fair the classrooms also being cold would have made it easier for me. I'd have just worn some layers under the uniform.

£1k for a coat? Hmmm.
OP: Why is your daughter wearing a short skirt when it makes her so cold?

If your DD isn't wearing a short skirt, why isn't she wearing tights or leggings under trousers & a thermal layer under her blouse, as well as jumper & blazer. Since she feels the cold.

If you're complaining about what happens to other kids wearing short skirts and their coat habits, then wind your neck in.