Angry at schools dictatorship/need advice.

[Suffragette1]

The school should not be punishing your child for something which in effect is not their decision, ie it is the parent/guradians responisbility to clothe a child.

 

You should refuse your child to attend detention, write to the headteacher and the Chair of the Board of Governors stating your objection to your child being punished for something that is not of their fault and nothing to do with behaviour.

 

Info on School Dress Code

 

Info on Detention

 

You could argue that the rule on shcool uniform discriminates against low income families, and that the detentions are not a disciplinary issue.

 

Speaking as a parent governor of a school in an area where many parents cannot afford the official uniform, I would be appalled if pupils were being punished because the parents could not afford the uniform, and I would certainly take the school to task if I found out they were.

 

Agreed, it's disgraceful to stick your son in detention because of this as it is not a disciplinary issue. How far are you prepared to take this? Are there other parents you're aware of who have similar concerns? You could always go to the Star!

[rubydazzler]

I agree with most of what's been said previously on the thread about this.

 

Trying not to sound elitist or anything, but these are state schools, they don't have a monopoly on parents with more money than sense, or give bursaries or even LEA clothing grants these days. It's ridiculous to go the lengths of having a school logo on a gym shirt. Who do they think they are? Harrow?

 

IIRC, when Sheffield schools were allowed to re-introduce 'uniforms' it was on the understanding that it would be a fairly loose 'dress code' rather than a full uniform with every little t crossed and i dotted.

 

I'd complain to the Head of Governors in the first instance, as the Board must have been the ones who gave the go-ahead for the style and demands of the uniform.

 

Also, you should be the one being put in detention, you disobedient parent, not your child. How is any of this his fault?

[js2012]

Agreed, it's disgraceful to stick your son in detention because of this as it is not a disciplinary issue. How far are you prepared to take this? Are there other parents you're aware of who have similar concerns? You could always go to the Star!

 

But no one would get to read about it

[Suffragette1]

I agree with most of what's been said previously on the thread about this.

 

Trying not to sound elitist or anything, but these are state schools, they don't have a monopoly on parents with more money than sense, or give bursaries or even LEA clothing grants these days. It's ridiculous to go the lengths of having a school logo on a gym shirt. Who do they think they are? Harrow?

 

IIRC, when Sheffield schools were allowed to re-introduce 'uniforms' it was on the understanding that it would be a fairly loose 'dress code' rather than a full uniform with every little t crossed and i dotted.

 

I'd complain to the Head of Governors in the first instance, as the Board must have been the ones who gave the go-ahead for the style and demands of the uniform.

 

Also, you should be the one being put in detention, you disobedient parent, not your child. How is any of this his fault?

 

It's absurd, I could understand more it if we were talking about one of the private schools, where the kids look like they're about to go out punting with straw boaters and blazers.

 

It may also be worthwhile for the OP to look into the PE kit requirements at other secondary schools and see what their policy is, and draw the school's attention to this in the letter of complaint.

[truman]

Was any of this mentioned in the school prospectus you read before sending him there?

[Paul2412]

My son recently started a new school and was given a list of things he would need.

Amongst this list was a T-Shirt with the school logo embroided on it for P E.

This Tshirt is a plain blue one which could be picked up from any market place, the only difference is it has a logo embroided onto it.

 

I sent him to school with a plain one without the logo as i thought it was a bit extorionate to pay a tenner for a logo.

 

My son has since been given detention for not having the school one.

I asked them if i could pick the t shirt up anywhere else at a cheaper price (sometimes market stalls sell school logos at a far cheaper cost) to be told no, it had to be bought from school and there was no where else i could get it from.

 

I refused to pay the ten pound partly because i thought it was a rip off and partly because of the sheer unfairness of it.

 

I have now been told that if my son does not have the logo on his shirt then he will be given detention everytime he does P E.

 

I hate being dictatored too and find it hard to believe that they can get away with this, i still hav'nt bought one because i am stubborn but now feel like the crappest parent on the planet because he will be punished.

 

I know it may not seem like the most important thing on the earth and you may think i am being picky or fussy but this has really pee'd me off.

There whole attitude was a bit arrogant and hitler style.

 

So, should i swallow my pride and buy the damn thing for the sake of a quiet life or do i carry on refusing to make a stand for what I think is right?

 

Why don't you just stop being a drama queen and pay it like every other parent has? Or do you prefer your child to be singled out by the school, therefore bringing attention to him from every other child who will probably tease him because his parents are "tight"?

[watchcoll]

i am not a parent but i was a child at school once. my parents were the type that refused to spend money on the uniforms.

i can remember how isolating and downright embarrased i felt to be the only pupil in my year wearing a hand me down blazer that was faded green rather than dark green, sticking out like a sore thumb amongst your peers was not pleasant at school.

i can remember my parents refusing to buy standard school logo'd stuff (there wasnt even that much of it to buy) and the teachers at first questioning me about it, then disciplining me, then eventually giving up.

i can remember the other pupils asking me why i didnt wear it too. i can remember being taunted by the school bullies and made jokes of for being 'too poor' to afford to buy things, whilst they all were in the latest gear. the popular 'cool kids'.

i suppose it didnt help that i was also the school swot...

i couldnt wait to finish school and go to college. my life changed completely.

 

i must admit that i have never gotten on with my parents for a lot more than just what my rather unhappy school experiences were like, but i still think back (with more than a little resentment) to the hell i had to endure as a confused kid, amongst my peers, because my parents refused to buy me a proper uniform.

and they did refuse, as i got older i found out that they were anything but 'poor', they were actually pretty loaded and the 'we cant afford it' excuses were a load of bunkum cos they didnt want to pay, they saw it as a waste of money. didnt help me much at the time though.

 

(just my experience. no aspersion being cast on the OP. it just reminded me of school).

[horribleblob]

My son is in secondary school and they have a really strict dress code on the PE kit but not on dress. I can't understand the thinking behind it.

 

If it's the school I think it is, the kids sometimes run outside the grounds during games lessons, so the pe kit identifies them and why they are out of school. Likewise, in inter-school sports events, it's quite sensible to have your school team readily idientifiable.

[Suffragette1]

If it's the school I think it is, the kids sometimes run outside the grounds during games lessons, so the pe kit identifies them and why they are out of school. Likewise, in inter-school sports events, it's quite sensible to have your school team readily idientifiable.

 

I'm not so concerned about the PE kit per se, to be honest, I just wish that they extended the same thinking to daily wear, which they don't. I agree that it's good to be able to identify the school that kids belong to.

[harvey19]

Against the views of others I think that if you can afford the clothing you should buy it for your son so that he is not in the middle of an argument between you and the school.

Secondly find out the reason why a PT uniform is required and why it is so expensive.

In the 1960s I attended a grammar school which required the pupils to wear a uniform. In my later years my parents could not afford to buy me a blazor with an embroidered badge and so I was allowed to wear my own jacket along wiith a school tie. In summer I was not allowed to remove my tie when all the other pupils did though.