Dozens of pupils sent home from Liverpool school for wearing the wrong shoes


DOZENS of children were sent home from a Liverpool school this week for wearing the wrong shoes.

Teachers at Fazakerley high met about 60 pupils at the school gates and told them to return home to change into plain unbranded shoes.

The school policy only allows plain black footwear.

The school today said the agreement was reached with the backing of parents, pupils and governors.

But single mum Joanne Kaye said she was furious her two sons were sent home to Norris Green after turning up for school wearing black trainers with a silver Nike tick logo.

She claimed the 12-year-old and 15-year-old boys had to sit on the doorstep for hours in the rain until their nan returned home to let them in.

Ms Kaye said: “They could not even get into the school grounds. They were just sent home. Why couldn’t the school have just phoned me?

“They did not have a key and had to sit in the pouring rain.

“I am fuming because I have not got enough money to buy them both a new pair of shoes, so I have had to keep them off school.

“I thought these shoes were hard-wearing and suitable despite the small tick.

“I can understand if they were luminous or green but the school should be concentrating on the truants.”
The school should be more concerned with tackling the truants and those wearing the wrong clothes and layers of make-up than a tiny tick on a pair of shoes.”

But head teacher Nick Fleming said everyone was made aware only plain black shoes were acceptable.

He said: “Wednesday was a training day and when the school opened in the afternoon, we asked around 60 children to go home and change into school footwear.

“We did not send any of the younger students home and all but four have returned to school in the correct footwear.

“In July, I sent out a flyer and letter to all our parents, giving them two months’ warning that only plain black shoes were allowed for school.

“If not, they ran the risk of the children being asked to go home and change into the correct footwear.”

He added: “Governors, staff and children are more than happy with the charter, which all parents and pupils sign up to.

“Plain black shoes are cheaper, stop children identifying themselves in groups by their make of trainer, and stop them being competitive.”

THE ECHO

Full marks to the school
It's about time that these kids and their parents were made to toe the line. Rules is rules. You were warned. Get over it!!

I agree. The kids will always try+ flout the rules but the parents?
I would have thort theyd have bin made up not having to fork out for 'designer shoes'.

Nothing new in that, we got in to trouble for wearing winkle pickers and then later cubin heels in the 60s.

More like the teachers couldnt be arsed teaching a full class. No wonder the kids are thick as pigshit nowadays, they get sent home for fook all.

Jeeze I used to wear whatever I wanted, so long as it was tidy and resembled a uniform... but then at both Birkenhead School and Wallasey School, they were more interested in TEACHING the pupils rather than debating their clothes.

Moron's, this just entices kids to skip school imho - political correctness gone wrong. I know, from personal experience, if you miss the first few days of a new school year, you end up more reluctant to return.

If my mum wanted to send me to school in £80 Ellesse or Kickers (or even "Pod" one year, remember them lol) than that was her choice, not the schools. They were still smart and almsot completely black. There were some kids who attended with Black (sometimes with white strips) Reebok Classic trainers, it didnt affect their performance in class, and I don't recall any bullying taking place because some kids came without branded shoes.

To be honest, most of my mates shoes (who didnt have branded ones) fell to bits in a few months, mine and other pupils used to last more than a year!! Maybe it was partly down to the fact your parents would make you look after them, so you learnt to appreciate that things cost hard earned money, but I also think that a lot was to do with the difference in quality. Cheaper ones may be better made nowadays, such has been the need for lower brands to catch up in quality, but that certainly wasnt the case in my day.

My mother use to buy our things from the Army & Navy surplus stores, went to school one day dressed as a Japanese Admiral











Old i know

kids should respect what their parents buy them regardless of whether they designer or not?
Im sure you can buy quality leather shoes for lads that cost twenty quid- a quarter the cost of say, ben shermans?
My rationale as was my mums was-how many hours have to be worked to pay for....
Am i wrong in thinking that this applies more to the lads? My lad was happy wiv b.sherman, kickers etc and then it was rockport requests-ya avin a laff mate!
Whereas my daughter was the opposite- she wanted stupid, plastic, flimsy soled 'dolly shoes'. £10 from the market-totally impractical-last a month if we were lucky!!

Do parents get financial help towards the cost of school uniform each year (more specifically, shoes)?

Yes - if on specific benefits - but I'm sure it isn't so they can get their darlings Nike or Reebok.

I can understand people don't want to pay for shoes such as Clarks, Hush Puppies etc as they are extortionate (I had my arm twisted in June to buy my 5 year old girl a pair of Clarks that had a little dolly secreted in the heel of one of the shoes - £32). I'll make sure she wears them until they are too small or they fall off. Won't be doing it again. I'd rather buy a pair of leather shoes from a supermarket - Tesco and ASDA do decent ones.

No point spending loads when their feet are growing every 5 minutes!

Went to school one hot summer in wellies. I'd worn my shoes out playing footie. It was only school photo day and I was the only kid in wellies and they stuck me at the front, b......ds
I agree about Nikes being inappropriate footwear for someone who is broke, and two pairs????

My son in Park High was given a letter stating his shoes (plain black Lacoste, small alligator on side which is covered by his school pants)were not appropriate attire and to wear plain black shoes. He won't wear shoes and now goes to school in £7.50 black pumps haha

I've recently bought myself 2 pairs of shoes from different shops - both pairs a fiver (one for work.. one for going out)... I'm size 12 which apparently means I'm an alien with 10 heads...? 'Sorry we don't stock that big a size' Surely there must be a demand for size 12? It's not even that big!!
Anyway back to my point... Pair of George shoes - £5... pair of nike trainers with a big silver tick - £30?...

Good on the school... however I don't think they should be sent home... I think their nike trainers should be confiscated until 'home time' and they can walk round in socks all day... or even better - get the lost property box out!:)

I suppose being sent home would work if the parents care bout the kids education but if they dont then the kids in a win win situation-day off and looking the part for hanging round the streets.

So anyone not on benefits does not get help? In this case, I don't really see how the school or the education authority has a leg to stand on (excuse the pun) - a parent works hard for their money, they should be able to spend it as they like, if the school or education authority want to have a say, they should pay or at least contribute towards the cost of the shoes. Otherwise, I say they can fook off!

The parents should abide by the suspension, and simply not send the kids to school - the school will pay for it in the long-run when they get rapped for their high unattendance rate, and sooner or later, they will give in for fear of being fooked by Ofsted.

As I say, its about time teachers got back to teaching, instead of moaning about this, that and the other, all they ever do is moan about pay, wanting more holidays and now pupils shoes... ffs, they have no interest in being teachers now, and are simply there to leech the system to get as much as they can for doing as little as they can.

Sorry - Rules are Rules

And its about time someone done this instead of namby pamby do gooders talking about their darling sons!

Matt - Wirral stopped the uniform grants this year and it was worth the princely sum of £34.00 per child! That wouldn't cover my sons blazer for Pensby.

Black trainers are not classed as 'shoes' - how can an adult not make that basic distinction. However, the kids should not have been sent home - the school has a 'duty of care' and must be seen as responsible. It would have been better to inform the parents that their footwear was unsuitable and needed to be plain black shoes and follow this up the next day in school - then take further action. Kids do not need to show off their branded designer shoes - they are there to learn - they need to show off their educational attainment.

In my day in my school they never sent a pupil home, they made them sit on a chair in the entrance hall. they sat there all the school day, day after day until they put right what they had wronged. Normally this punishment was for wrong dress code or having long hair, mine was for having long sideburns, after 2 days i soon shaved them off. The boredom of sitting there, not being able to talk to anyone, could only move for the toilet, and being on full display of everyone in the school was a lot worse than being sent home. We soon towed the line.

But will you go haha when he starts flouting and skirting round your home rules when he is a little older. It's you who's teaching him that. I explained to my kids that we had rules everywhere so everyone was treated the same and that without rules the household woudln't work properly, even me and the missus lived by rules so as to live together in harmony. If you don't have some rules and order then anarchy rules and who wants that sort of existance.

Sense ..................Where's Harmony ?

im sorry its the 21st century who cares.... I wore trainers all the time i hate shoes.. It shouldnt matter what you wear as long as you goto school ?

Let me explain to you, your kids got sent home because you sent the little horrors off to school in TRAINERS and not SHOES. You would probably pack off your feral children to war in a SHELL SUIT you soft BINT.

i dont set out to be intentionally argumentative with schools BUT they are too full of their own self importance and some rules are meant to be broken , there are too many rules and too many things are criminally offensive now when they wouldnt have been 30 yrs ago, where has common sense gone?

I have bought clarks shoes at 50 pounds a pair in the past which have looked like crap after one term, and nike black trainers which looked good as new same price after a whole year

its a bit liek the warning your child cannot bring peanut butter to school because someone is allergic, but my child ISNT allergic/doesnt share their sandwiches/what happened to the school dinner ladies?

the day the school pays for my kids shoes, or pays my food bill at sainsburys is the day they can dictate to me what i can and cannot spend my money on, in the meantime they can all shut their gobs

carol
(new to forum , age 50, sorry im the oldest lol and got 3 kids ex wallasey visiting forum outa nostalgia )

I agree, it's all down to jobsworths in local authorities. It only took one single case of suing someone and it's snowballed into this horrible mess.
I do think that parents have got their priorities mixed up though. They seem to be doing things 'on principle', like not being able to afford shoes and being made to buy them, they seem to be somewhat offended by this. You've been able to buy cheap Chinese made shoes for the past three or four decades now, I don't see price as a problem.

Maybe its about time all school uniforms were exactly the same throughout the whole country only to be distinguished by badge and tie, and same shoes as well. That way it could be sold by one schools organisation on a none profit making scheme. Everyone looks the same, every parent pays the same, that way with no profiteering i bet you would get the whole lot, including decent shoes for less than a blazer. Whats the point in one school having a blue blazer and an other one red, anyway.

understand where your coming from. must point out that even the hitler youth had vareations in there uniform. then again chareman mou had no messing i believe. I DO BELIEVE IN SCHOOL UNIFORMS FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN AND FOR STRICT ENFORCEMENT IN THE BEEN WORN

The point of a uniform is / was that you could show that you were proud to me a member of your school. You belonged to your school as you belong to your football team.
As humans we are social creatures and need to belong to groups and interact with each other.
The gangs that roam our street are just a feral version of the social group. The Nikes, hoodies and those stupid fecking jeans with the crotch rounds the knees are nothing more than the uniform of that gang.
The kids says they are kicking back against the shoe / uniform rule because they don't all want to look the same. That's cr@p as that's exactly what they do - they all look the same in their hoodies, Nikes etc.
They don't want to wear the school uniform because it is not decided by themselves - well that is tough.
The shoe rule is just one part of the procedings - there are rules regarding hair colour / length, body piercings - all need to be adhered to.
When the kids leave school and start work (those lucky enough to) will find there are rules in the work place - do you fancy being served your Maccy D's by some punk with infected piercings in his face, or finding his nose stud in your chips?? I bloody don't!

I don't understand the parents - are they not proud that their children are looking smart and starting to become adults? It is good for the children - proud in their appearance, perhaps a rise in their confidence. What message is the parents sending out saying that they want their children to be dressed different from others - do they want them to look 'hard', stand out from the crowd and be bullied? Children should be given a good start in secondary education, it leads onto much better things in their future. Kids cannot think too much adhead of their lives, but the parents can. Perhaps their children would like to be dressed like everyone else but will wear what they are given just to please their parents!

I went to Wirral Grammar and the Sixth form there. I am glad we were made to wear a uniform with BLACK SHOES... not BLACK TRAINERS. Beb High always seemed to have lads (and lasses) trying to break the system. White Reebok Classics, fully shaved head etc etc. Its almost like they thought they were "Cool" and being gainst the rules made them "Hard" therefore better than anyone else.


Well, Im happy to report that the lads in Wirral Grammar who tried to follow this sort of behaviour, the majority of them wasted their education, and didnt go onto University. I know further education is a choice, and not to everyones taste. But when theyre all unmarried, with bottom end jobs and with 2-3 kids (yes at 21) then it leaves a certain coincidence that needs solving.

Ok, Im not blaming the fact that the shoes they wore affected school attendance and what grades they achieved. However, it is a MASSIVE coincidence that the trouble makers, truants and people who dont want to learn, all try to break the rules... most of the time involving Uniform.

I get the feeling that most of the comments on this topic are by people who have no school age kids or have never been faced with the horrible task of finding plain black school shoes for a child - especially a child who has narrow or wide or flat feet.
I have 2 kids - both teens and both in school.It has always been a nighmare buying properly fitting plain black shoes suitable to satisfy the schools. I would much prefer if they could wear something like trainers to school. They are good for your feet, provide plenty of support and are easy to get in the right size and fitting. Also they wear very well. I`m not talking about the expensive -label ones. Any old trainers would do
Both my kids have flat feet (very common). Their feet are also narrower than the average. Most of the plain black,'suitable shoes' are really crap for my daughters feet. They are mostly too flat (flat feet need a little bit of height at the heel end)
And don`t get me started on the flat ballet style leather pumps the girls are all wearing to school. They are definately damaging to anyone`s feet- let alone a kid with flat feet!!They provide no support and make the wearer grip with their toes to keep them on. But Hey! - they`re fine with the schools so thats all that matters then. Never mind the endless foot, knee and hip etc troubles storing up for the future
This topic is a case of >walk a mile in my shoes<. if you`ve never tried buying school shoes-espec for a teen ,you don`t know whats involved and maybe shouldnt be expressing your outrage and self righteousness on this topic

Im standing by my comments.
I have got 2 kids and hated the 'school shoe issues' every summer.
Welcome to wiki btw.

Thanx for the welcome. The dolly shoes you mentioned in your post - they`re the ones I`m on about. Not just flimsy and only last a month , but really, really bad for feet too. But the schools don`t seem to care about that issue.

Craig, im sorry, but University is not the be-all and end-all of life. The government are pushing far more people to go to University than are actually needed to go, in their aspirations to have a 50% level, which is out of order and completely pointless.

Just because someone does not attend university, does not mean they will end up with 2 or 3 kids by the age of 21 and have dead-end jobs. Id like to refer you to the current jobless figures for thos who have been university educated, they are sky-rocketing.

I know of plenty of people who have chosen not to go to university and are doing quite well for themselves; on the other hand, I know of plenty of people who have chosen to go to uni, and have found themselves with no real prospects in life or in some cases completely jobless and on the dole due to the sheer number of people the government are forcing to go, rendering university education no more special than a college further education.

To a LOT of people nowadays, university is simply a way of avoiding entering the real world, and staying in a childish enviroment for as long as they can, doing courses that have little benefit or that they have little interest in making a career from, but it keeps them in the "school enviroment" for another 5 - 7 years, acting like big kids, whilst running up massive debts etc...

To attend a university and earn university qualifications should be aspirational and is marvellous if the person can go on to use that education further on in life to do well for themselves, but at the same time, let us not forget, that it is precisely the "bottom end" jobs as you refer to that keep this country going, not the brain surgeons, not the marine scientists, but the people who work at Tesco's and keep the shelves stacked, the people drive lorries and deliver our goods, the farmers etc, these jobs usually don't require any university education! If all brain surgeons were killed, we would'nt notice, if all supermarket workers were killed, we would be pretty much doomed!

I chose not to go to University, from quite a young age I was told I could go with ease, but it never interested me. When I was at Birkenhead School, being a top private school, it was almost drilled into the kids that they would go on to University from day one, ad I still never wanted to go. I decided to start my own business at the age of 16 instead, and I can't say I have regretted it. Maybe in 10 years time, ill look back and say yeah, I wasted my brains by not going on to University, but ill deal with that bridge when I come to it. And being in a "top end job" and having lots of money does not always make you happy - my dad is living proof of that!

The wearing of school uniform is the first step of conformity.

The areas they need to conform to are :-

All pupils are equal.
Behaviour suitable for a learning environment.
Respect for staff.
Willingness to learn.

As you can imagine, if a pupil is non-conformist in any of those respects, not only is their education affected but so is the edcuation of the many other pupils who want to learn.

Very nearly all schools that have turned round and rigorously enforced a uniform policy have had a significant improvement in the results of the pupils, and despite what the newspapers say, this is of incredible benefit to the pupils not just the school.

Its all about equality and fairness to produce a learning community.

I was non-coformist all the way through my school years, in fact it was fair to say I was a "problem child" in many respects, I never listened in class, got into trouble reguarly, rebelled against the rules etc... if this supposedly damages a childs education, how did I go on to consistently attain in excess of 90% in all my exams, even 100% on a few occasions in History exams, and even attend Birkenhead School?

My sister on the other hand, 2 years between us, found it much harder to keep up with me, and yet she was "very" conformist and quiet, almost to the point of being a swat, and whilst she worked hard and did very well, I was always the clever one in the family.

Some people dont half talk utter bollocks, you are either born clever or your not, your uniform doesnt have anything to do with it.

We'll make a socialist out of you yet. well said.

The pupose of an uniform is that we all dress the same and can be indentified easy. This is the same for schools, employments etc. But in schools teachers should lead by what they say and have some kind of uniform the same for all teachers.

Re: Grants for school uniforms if you are on benefits. They were only available for secondary school age children as it was considered that primary school uniforms are not compulsary - despite the fact the schools flog their own badged sweatshirts and you are given a list of items and colour of uniform before your child even starts school....

They were available for secondary school age children and I believe used to be £35. Not sure whether that was per child or per family. Since I wasnt sure about the amount or even if I would be entitled I enquired with the council about a unifrom grant and was told they were abolished this year.

I have heard rumour that the council consider those on benefits are getting more than enough money to be able to pay for a school uniform. Clearly they haven't visited that godsforsaken dry-cleaneresque uniform shop in birkenhead and asked for a full list of their obscenely extortionate prices.

I would like to know the official version though and have asked. Predictably I have been waiting a while for a reply. I will let you know what pc patronising gobbledegook they come up with if and when they do respond.

Matt im totally on your wavelength, where others see trouble I see leadership skills, people who dare to think outside the box...anyway back to the trainers.

For the record Im a difficult person, i seem to have a knack for rubbing up hitlers oops i mean authority figures the wrong way, but then i have a very hard time following any rules like a sheep , i question everything and anything and im a complete pain in the arse, so naturally my kids are like me. and im proud of it, we cant all be the same.

For the record I gained a Bsc Science degree which was a total waste of time as im happiest living a 1950s lifestyle and being a stay at home mum cooking baking cleaning sewing

my daughter has just left school with 12 GCSEs and 3 A levels , the son who prefers trainers has a brain the size of a small planet

just to inflame the issue further the day they send little MOHAMMED home for wearing his trainers is also the day i might toe the line too , so far they are too shit scared to do this in case the said parents scream Racist

Well, lets see England go to the World cup and play in whatever clothes they want...

Ferdinand in a lime green Ben Sherman shirt, black pants and nice shoes.

Rooney in a white with blue stripe Umbro Tracksuit.

John terry in his Birthday suit.

I do think that educational attainment and uniform wearing cannot be linked. A frame of mind can. It is easier to waken up in the morning and KNOW what you will be wearing from Mon - Fri. Imagine - no co-ordinating, no stress looking for that certain favourite jumper, which handbag/sports bag has your school items in. It should be a stress-free morning. Anyway, you only need to buy a few shirts a year and couple of pairs of trousers and the blazer can last up to 2 years. This must be cheaper than buying all the flashy designer gear some parents think the kids should wear at school. Shoes are expensive, but can be worn out of school as well. Kids are proud to dress up smart and be proud of their appearance - its just the parents who instill this emphasis of wanting them to be different and kids pick up on this and abide - it pleases their parents. Why would anyone not want to be proud of their childrens' appearance when they are at school. They soon leave: 4 years is such a short time in their lives but it is the most important nowadays.

the thing is all this banging on about looking smart , the nike trainers DO look smart in my opinion if i want my kid to wear trainers and not boring old lace up orthopaedic granny shoes then it shouldnt matter, theyre black, they fit, theyre on his feet,they do not stand out in any way shape or form what more do they want?

to take exception to them is so petty , its the pettiness i dislike. Mind you nobody has complained at his school yet so i think we are in the clear, im a stickler by the way for enforcing the things that really matter in life but i cannot get excited about obeying dress codes , there are far more important issues which need addressing in schools such as bullying, too much homework dont even get me started on homework , they have had my kids 6 hours a day so if they cant knock it into their heads in that time theyre not doing their job properly, a further 3 hours in MY time int he evening is out of order, i dont ask them to come to my house during the day and cook dinner so i dont believe in homework i think it makes them stupid

the greatest way to get a kid interested in something is to bring it alive for them and non stop education is so dreary it makes them switch off, there is a huge difference in life between those who are sucessful and those who are academic the two dont always go hand in hand, as far as im concerned im the expert on my kids not some supply teacher following a politically correct government imposed rigid curriculum which changes like the wind depending on whom is in government

so if some parents cant afford NIKE trainers and send their kids in proper shcool shoes, the kids in NIKE trainers may skit or bully the ones wearing granny shoes so have them all wearing the same i say

i suppose its one less thing to worry about susan so i agree with you when you put it that way. At the moment to be fair at my sons school they seem very random on who they chastise and who they dont,

mind you if it wasnt trainers it would be haircuts or rucksacks or something, bullies always find a way and a person to pick on , so like ive already said they need to be firm on bullying rather than enforcing the wearing of cheap clothes/shoes or unbranded items in case somebodys fragile ego takes a bashing, do you all break down in tears because somebody has a jack will t shirt and youre stuck with shopping at primark? isnt that a learning curve too?

and what about school trips such as ski-ing at 800 quid a pop, optional BUT thats because they cant legally enforce residential trips regardless of how educational they claim they are and also do we ban school trips because some cannot afford them, I if i had my way id ban them outright as that really sorts out the hard up from the able and half these trips are subsidised holidays for the teachers if they can flog x amounts with emotional pressure they get so many free places

Id love to know where you are all buying the cheap shoes btw as where I live its clarks JD sports or nothing and as they both charge 50 quid im thinking school mind your own business here

i and many otherS have to wear filled in shoes at WORK FOR HEALTH AND SAFTEY REASONS and because i am from a time were we where brought up to do as we were told i dont have a problem with wearing granny shoes at work, and by the way my granny shoes were £5 in ethel austin

Well no matter what they wear, they are fecking useless, so best to just save the money and not have a national team imho. There is only two "ball" sports that England is good at, and Football certainly isnt one of them lol.

I think the point made about the teachers is very relevant here - surely they have to set the example... how about they wear uniform, with school badges etc...

Uniform serves a unique purpose.

This is not a recent thing. I can remember being sent home from Wirral Grammar twice - once for the wrong coloured shoes and once for the wrong coloured school bag.

The whole school shoes issue has been going on for donkey's years and will carry on for donkey's years no doubt.

i cant see what all the fuss is about, as a child at school you have to wear the correct attire and black shoes and thats it and a parent HAS to send the child to school in the correct attire and black shoes and thats it.
it stands you in good sted for later life when at WORK YOU STILL HAVE TO WEAR BLACK SHOES which i have to in my job

In the United Kingdom, technically a state school may not permanently exclude students for "breaching school uniform policy", under a policy promulgated by the Department for Children, Schools and Families but students not wearing the correct uniform are asked to go home and change. If the school took religious and cultural beliefs into account when designing the uniform and a student still refuses to wear it, legal proceedings may be brought against the parents for not bringing their child to school.

Wikipedia

my five years in school was mainly in trainers. it didnt affect me education

I got the joke, I'm only hoping i was supposed to get it.

Not bad for someone who only had 5 years' education, Bert.

When I joined TS Blackcap we were told to polish our shoes on the next visit.We all looked down at our feet."What a load of shite" wellies, pumps that looked like muppets and I guy (still around) had a brown and black shoe. This would be about 1960.These were our school shoes.

One poor lad had to polish his feet.

Poor sole