Parents’ anger as pupils suspended over uniform rules
FAMILIES SAY POLICY CHANGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE AT END OF SCHOOL YEAR AS THEY FACE COST OF BUYING NEW CLOTHING
PUPILS have been sent home from school in a row over new uniform rules at a high school.
The changes have been brought in at Buile Hill Academy in Salford, which is being supported by a new education trust after failing to improve its ‘requires improvement’ Ofsted rating.
Before the Easter holidays, pupils were able to wear socks with their skirts, but have now been told they must have 60 denier black tights.
Footwear has also been an issue, with other students sent home for not meeting the required standards.
The school insists on ‘plain black shoes that can be polished,’ which ‘must be completely black with no logos, no strips, no large or coloured bows or clips.’
It says families were notified of the proposed changes before the holidays when a parents evening was held and individual appointments offered ‘to discuss any specific matters.’
At that meeting, it was explained that Northern Education Trust (NET), which has been brought in to help turn the failing school around, has ‘an unashamed focus on high standards.’
Some parents said their children were sent home on the first day of the new term yesterday because of uniform breaches. But they are angry at the school’s new policy.
“Changing a uniform policy halfway through a school year in a cost of living crisis is completely unfair,” said one dad, whose two children were sent home for having incorrect footwear.
“Also to have children miss vital educational time for such a minor thing when they have missed so much from the pandemic and with teacher strikes is absolutely ridiculous.”
He added: “They wear plain black polishable leather shoes, of which we have bought the same ones for the last five years and have been deemed acceptable footwear by the school, but no longer fall into their niche category.
“As one of our children should be getting ready for his GCSEs and they only have a matter of weeks left in school this adds to the insanity of the situation.”
One mum said pupils were made to line up outside while staff checked their hair, make-up, shoes and uniform.
She said: “My child has been suspended, I don’t know how long for. I just think it’s outrageous.”
Another dad, whose daughter was sent home for wearing socks, said: “With the weather changing, along with classrooms being warm already, wearing tights constantly does seem nonsensical. The rules are even down to stating a hair bobble has to be black or purple, with no other accessories allowed.”
Another mum added: “It’s not really good for the year 11s, who are already under a vast amount of stress with the run up to their GCSEs.
“There’s going to be people sent home for uniform when the most important thing really is being in school and concentrating on their exams.
“If they were going to enforce all of this, then it should be in September at the start of the school year, not now at the most important time for these young people.”
The changes have been introduced by the NET, which has been brought in by the government to support Consilium Academies’ running of the Pendleton school as part of a National Leaders of Education contract.
NLEs are headteachers and trust leaders with strong experience of school improvement. The school has twice been judged to require improvement by Ofsted and last October was revealed to have the worst attendance rate of any primary or secondary school in Greater Manchester.
NET, which Buile Hill formally joins on June 1, says that from its experience, “good attendance and being prepared with the correct uniform and learning resources ensures good progress and attainment”.
It says it will always ask students to rectify any issues with uniform “which is a reasonable request” and if a student fails to comply with a reasonable request then the academy will issue a further sanction, which may be a detention, which could lead to a suspension. The majority of pupils are said to have obeyed the new rules. To prevent any financial hardship to families, the trust says it has purchased “hundreds” of items of uniform to provide to students who may not have the correct items already.
Andrew Jordon, senior executive principal, said: “I have been delighted by the overwhelming positive response to our request that the uniform policy must be adhered to and applied consistently.”
Year 11s are already under a vast amount of stress with the run-up to their GCSEs Parent of pupil suspended over uniform rule breach