DRESSING DOWN
DO YOU AGREE WITH STRICT RULES OF DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE GONE TOO FAR?
Councillor blames parents for Kepier trouser row and says they should 'budget' to pay for uniforms
92% of readers in Echo poll say they should not be forced to buy trousers from one supplier
Families slam school response but head says majority back policy
Sunderland’s senior Tory councillor has waded into the row over school uniform standards at a Wearside school.
But an online poll suggests the majority of people do not agree with him.
The Echo revealed yesterday that teachers at Houghton’s Kepier school colour-matched pupils’ trousers to make sure they had been bought from the right shop, with those who failed the match test placed into isolation or sent home.
The move split parents, with some contacting the Echo to express their anger at the hard-line approach which saw children punished for not wearing the exact grey trousers or for wearing shoes which could not be polished, while others defended the school’s right to enforce its policy. Sunderland City Council Tory Group Leader Coun Robert Oliver - himself a teacher said it was important schools were allowed to set their own standards. “Parental support for a school is one way in which pupils succeed and it is alarming to see such frequent complaints about school policies from some parents who are fully aware of the rules and expectations,” he said. “Wearing a school uniform is known to be important for schools to do well so it is essential that every pupil wears it correctly to the letter of the rules which are given to parents before term starts. “There are too many complaints about uniform and haircuts in The Echo which give the impression that some parents aren’t helping schools to enforce rules on their children when there is no excuse. “Most parents ensure that their children are correctly dressed and use their time to shop for school uniform and budget to get it exactly right rather then allowing their children to go to school incorrectly dressed. “In many Asian countries, where educational outcomes are higher than in the UK, parents are insistent on high standards of appearance and discipline and will complain only that their children need more homework.”
But the results of a poll on the Echo website suggested Mr Oliver was in the minority.
We asked visitors ‘Should parents have to buy school uniforms from a particular supplier?’.
And the answer was an overwhelming ‘no’, with 92 per cent of almost 900 respondents giving the thumbsdown to the school’s stance.
Department of Education Guidance clearly shows schools should give consideration to costs when it comes to setting the school uniform policy - but a spokeswoman emphasised schools were not obliged to follow it.
“The issue of school uniforms is one for the school and governors themselves,” she said.
“However, there are guidelines that make it clear when setting a uniform policy schools should keep costs to a minimum.”
“The School Admissions Code 2012, part of the guidelines, states ‘No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform.’
“School governing bodies should, therefore, give high priority to cost considerations. The governing body should be able to demonstrate how best value has been achieved and keep the cost of supplying the uniform under review.
“When considering how the school uniform should be sourced, governing bodies should give highest priority to the consideration of cost and value for money for parents.”