Schools are urged to plan ahead after uniform row which saw the pupils at Kepier sent home
CHARITY SAY HEAD TEACHERS AND GOVERNORS SHOULD BE AWARE OF DIFFICULTIES FACING FAMILIES
A North East charity is urging schools to plan ahead to avoid the kind of scenes which have seen pupils sent home for uniform problems.
The Echo reported this week that teachers at Houghton’s Kepier school colour-matched pupils’ trousers to make sure they had been bought from the right shop.
Pupils who failed the comparison test were placed into isolation or sent home.
The move divided parents, with some expressing their anger, while others defended the school’s policy.
Headteacher Nicky Cooper said: “We have been in constant communication with parents and homes and I need to say thank you to all the parents who have supported it.
“The very large majority are behind us.”
Luke Bramhall, from charity Children North East, said head teachers and governors should be aware of the difficulties facing some families and doing everything in their power to help.
“We work with children across the North East, looking at the impact of the school day,” he said.
“One particular effect is the cost of school uniform and the fact it can potentially have a really serious impact on individual families.
“The NASUWT found we spend more than £100 getting our children ready for school. When you apply that to people who are already struggling financially, then it is real added pressure.
“The fact that schools are turning people away, putting them in exclusion or punishing them in some other way just because they have not got the uniform at the end of what has been an extremely expensive time shows they are not understanding the situation as regards some people’s finances and the difficulties they might have.
“The real challenge for schools now is ‘what can we do for next year to ensure all our pupils are well prepared, and have everything required?’”
Schools should be flexible about allowing parents to buy as much of their child’s uniform as possible from cheaper outlets, such as supermarkets, he said: “Getting something from a specified supplier is usually more expensive then other options.”
“We spend more than £100 getting children ready for school” LUKE BRAMHALL