Headlines By James Saunders 29th March 2019
Families, learners and staff will remember that when I started at the school last Easter, I shared the result of all of the feedback I collected from them in the run up to taking up my post. Our core objectives, our six capitals and our values (Trust, Respect, Equity and Excellence) were developed out of this feedback which led to the creation of our school development plan. You will also recall me stating that I did not want to put all my energy into changing our uniform. However, what I found was something that was at odds with what you all wanted and was not congruent with the message we were putting out. I found that the dress code was not applied with any consistency which resulted in inequity across the school and was at the heart of a great deal of frustration. I found there to be no issues with our dress code; the issue lies in its implementation and its consistency of application.
I believe that we have a choice. We either have a dress code or we don’t, and if we do have one let’s ensure we use it. We have listened to the feedback provided by families and learners over the last year and have made some modifications to the wording of the dress code to ensure clarity. I would like to give you advance notice of these changes to the published dress code so that you have plenty of time to prepare for September 2019. In September, we were really pleased with how learners embraced our expectations and met our dress code, and that families supported us with making this transition. On the whole, we were pleased with the reception, however, we were aware of some misunderstanding surrounding our expectations on particular aspects of the dress code. Therefore, we have reflected on this to try and make things clearer and more transparent moving forward. In doing so, one of the areas we have reviewed is the wording around shoes as this was a particular area of confusion for a small number of families. Although, it is hard to cover for every eventuality in regards to what retailers are offering in terms of ‘school shoes’ as fashions and trends change, we recognise it will be an area we will need to revisit each year as new styles are ever evolving. We want families to be able to buy with confidence, not always trusting ‘school wear’ signs in shops as they often try to boost sales by labelling trainer-style shoes as ‘school wear’. Please do check with us first if in doubt in advance of buying footwear if you are in any doubt to its suitability. The other main issue which has arisen is around the suitability of girl’s skirts. We appreciate that this can be a difficult area for both girls and their parents/carers when trying to find suitable skirts for school.
Often girls can feel pressurised by fashions and peers to adhere to what everyone else is wearing so that they feel that they fit in. Sometimes current trends can then lead girls into wearing skirts which are not appropriate for school. To assist families with this dilemma and ensure that girls are not wearing skirts which are too short and/or too tight we have been working with our supplier Anglia Sports to create two skirt choices, which will have the school motif embroidered on. These will be the only skirts allowed as from September 2019. We will have a transitional phase over the summer term whilst our supplier is getting the stock ready. However, I wanted to bring this development in our dress code to families at the earliest opportunity so that families do not commit to purchasing skirts for the summer term which will not be acceptable from September. We are currently liaising with our supplier to see if they are able to come in during the summer term so that there is an opportunity for girls to try on the skirts so that they are able to order the appropriate size and length (knee length or below) if they wish to wear a skirt to school. Once we have more details around this, we will share this information with families as soon as possible. If girls do not wish to wear a skirt then they will of course have the option of wearing smart black trousers, but these must not be denim, chinos or leggings and must be full length trousers. I am aware that parents have mixed views on school uniform and appreciate that we will not please everyone when it comes to our dress code expectations, however as a school we do have a dress code policy and this will only work successfully if learners and families fully support us with it regardless of whether or not they agree with it. I imagine that parents/carers would much rather we spent our time on other aspects of school life in particular the learning that our learners are engaged in, we too would much rather not spend our time dealing with situations where learners are not meeting the dress code requirements. In order to help us to do this, we would value the continued support from families in ensuring their child/children are correctly dressed and meeting the expectations set. As a school we are committed to retaining an affordable uniform, other schools have made all aspects of their school uniform compulsory. This is something we do not wish to do. The decisions we make around dress code are designed to support families and not hinder them. If families find themselves in difficult positions, please contact the school directly for support. Please see the revised dress code attached for full details of requirements for September 2019. We are also creating a visual guidance document which will be available shortly to families to further support learners and families to be clear about the expectations set. Thank you for your continuing support.