School uniforms: think before complaining

In the past few weeks there have been a number of reports in the press of pupils being sent home from school or otherwise punished for minor infringements of their school's strict uniform policy.  These include:

• A girl whose trousers were deemed to be too tight.
• A girl whose skirt was made of stretchy fabric.
• A girl who had dyed her hair bright red.

I accept that it can sometimes be difficult for parents to find clothes which exactly match the school uniform policy, and that it can be especially hard in some cases, such as where a child is an unusual height for his or her age.  It is therefore easy to conclude that in some cases the rules are too strict.

Nevertheless I would urge you to consider that for many years now there has been a huge problem of violence in schools.  This has included knives being brought to school, and a woman teacher miscarrying after being assaulted by a pupil.  A report in 2009 for example found that forty percent of Welsh teachers had been assaulted.

The solution to violent classrooms is discipline, and a rigid school uniform policy is part and parcel of the more disciplined approach.  It is an example of zero tolerance.

While you might think that your local school is too strict about enforcing uniform rules, reflect that having your child sent home from school on one occasion for a minor infringement of a uniform code is preferable to your child being kicked and punched on a daily basis.