School skirts

I drive past Horizon School on a daily basis and note how smart the pupils look - what surprises me is that on the wettest of days they don't wear coats/anoraks - are their blazers waterproofed ?

When I was in school the standard check for the length of the girls skirts was if they knelt down the hem had to touch the floor.
Of course once they'd passed the 'test' they oiked their skirts up!

 

So you have been to my daughters school?

You have spoken to her when she comes home in tears because she hasn’t been allowed a basic human right?

Have you listened to her when she’s been told off by one teacher for not having a ruler in her lesson when the school doesn’t have any in stock to give them?

Do you know about how some kids are allowed to go to the toilet but some aren’t based on whether a teacher has a soft spot for them?

I don’t need your patronising tone thanks, when you have absolutely zero knowledge of what is happening to my child in an academy school that’s failing its duty of care and general practice.

This is a school that has been consistently under performing based on OFSTED ratings. This is becoming a systemic failure to influence children to act properly, and to learn. They tar every child with the same brush, and generally well behaved children like my own are treated like cattle.

 

There's nowhere to put coats. And carrying them around all day is a pain. Think my son has worn his for a grand total of 2 days so far this year.

 

I'm not saying that is nothing wrong with the school but it is nothing like a concentration camp.. And I agree, that wouldn't be the way I'd run a school either!

 

The reason why I chose Concentration Camp is thus. I could have chosen prison, however you are allowed to go to the toilet in a prison. Mainly because the toilet is in the cell but thats a side issue. Prisoners can use the toilet whenever they want. There would be uproar if prisoners weren't allowed to go to the toilet, both inside the nick and outside.

I can't think of another metaphor for not having the ability to go to the toilet for hours on end other than said concentration camp. I'm not for a second suggesting that schools are like the holocaust, however I am saying that it is comparable in the treatment of human beings around a basic human right (particularly for menstruating, teenage, females) to go to the toilet.

I'm absolutely furious at how a school can act in such a way, and with an upcoming parents evening around the corner, I will be airing my frustrations there as well.

 

I'm surprised that all new schools aren't built with essentially a single en suite toilet next to each classroom. Seems it would solve the big problem

 

I think there’s around 75+ classrooms in our school, maybe? That’s a lot of land required to build that many additional toilets.

We have a singular student and singular staff disabled toilet in each department. If a student asks to go during lesson time they are given the key to that and only one can go at a time as it’s only a singular toilet. No walking around school to go to the main toilet block is allowed during lesson time. I’m not sure what the exact rules are around who is allowed to go when as some students have toilet passes which means they have to be allowed to go instantly but I’m pretty certain others aren’t completely banned from going during lesson time.

 

School in Leeds banned kids going to all the the toilets bar one during lessons unless you have a medical note or are "desperate". They then put locks on the other toilets. Kids staged a mass protest.

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co...er-disgusting-behaviour-toilet-policy-4041179

 

I must admit, based purely on what the article says, I don’t see the issue. Students are asked to use a specific set of toilets during lesson time but they’re not being prevented from going. The only problem seems to be that using this one set causes queues. I do wonder how big a queue can possibly be at any given time during lesson time unless loads of pupils are going every lesson. If there is a bit of a queue then just queue? There’s a member of staff there so it should be orderly and fairly fast moving.

 

Sounds degrading and authoritarian for kids just needing toilet break. If there's kids not using the toilets properly just deal with it. They shouldn't be making it difficult for everyone else IMO.

"Hundreds of pupils are protesting outside The Farnley Academy where toilet doors are locked during lesson times. Only one set of toilets are open for use, where a member of staff stands on guard outside.

Pupils who need to use the toilet must get a written note from teachers in their planners, permitting them to use the facilities and then have to hand that note to the staff member outside the toilet. Once the pupil enters, the member of staff remains outside close to the door, according to parents."

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/ukne...t-rule-changes-all-we-know-so-far/ar-AA17UWm3

 

I don't get what's degrading about it? The note is just to say they have permission to be out of class. This IS them dealing with kids being out of lesson when they shouldn't be or taking 20 minutes to go to the toilet and vape, so long as no one is stopped from going then I don't see the problem. I'm sure 'close to the door' just means nearby and they're not pressing their ear up against the door. I think you're being a bit naive if you think students should just be let out of lessons with no-one checking up on where they are going, self-harm is a real problem at the moment and toilets are where they normally go to do it. I think it's helpful to have a member of staff nearby to check everything is alright if someone is in there for a long time and having only one set of toilets open during lesson time means they only need one member of staff.

 

Interesting that these are all happening at privately owned academies.

Kids treated like farm animals for money.

 

Ofsted is looking at kids not being on lessons , I think some of the toilet riues are due to trying to tackle this.

 

My missus went to Broadway late '60s when very short skirts were the fashion. They were checked on entry and the rule was hemline no more than three fingers above the knee (ooh matron!) but many of the girls used to roll them up round the waist afterwards which meant they ended up about 4 inches shorter still.