Again, many, many thanks to those who took the time to respond to the recent consultation, the headlines of which are:
Responses: 167
In favour of making the WInter uniform (shirt and tie) optional: 78%
Against this, 8%
In favour of changes to make black trainers permissible: 80%
Against this, 7%
In favour of changes being made with effect immediately: 74%
Preferring September 2024; 11%
Whilst the consultation was not a binding referendum, it does present a strong case for a policy change to take to Governors, with whom ultimately the decision rests. Governors meet later this month and changes to uniform policy will be on the agenda with the proposals put forward. Every single comment made has been read, considered, collated and forwarded to Governors in a comprehensive document.
Meanwhile…
Staff will not be applying the Winter uniform policy.
In all other respects, uniform policy will be applied. If not in Winter uniform, on days other than designated PE days, children will be expected to be in policy-compliant ‘Summer’ uniform: white polo shirt, black sweater/cardigan, grey/black trousers, black footwear, which may now includes purely black trainers. Of course, wearing a shirt and tie remains an option and we would anticipate many continuing to take this up.
Uniform policy does not apply to Nursery, where uniform remains an option at parent/carer discretion
Reception and Year One remain welcome to wear policy-compliant (essentially black) active-wear throughout the week.
For all other years, PE uniform on designated days remains black active-wear and white or black trainers, which may have coloured branding (stripes etc)
Where children are not in the appropriate uniform, as per the above, there will be challenge and a polite request to parents/carers to address the discrepancy. In the first instance, this will come from class teachers, to whom any queries can be directed.
Whilst schools in the UK have the right to sanction children for breaches of uniform policy, we prefer not to do this. We will work with families where there are concerns. We do expect the correct uniform to be worn though and agreement to support this is part of the Home-School Agreement signed on admission: Parents will ensure their child wears the correct school uniform.
We believe the changes outlined above should create no additional cost for any family. We have not removed any acceptable items from the proposed new uniform policy. If an item was compliant before, it remains so. Anything purchased with the intention of wearing it this year that was compliant with the existing policy can still be worn. Similarly, there remains no requirement for branded items.
Having agreed in principle, depending the outcomes of the consultation, we would expect Governors to now ratify the proposed changes. We will inform our community and post any revised policy on our website.