Ok I wasn't going to get involved in this debate at all, because it's really heated and out of control to be honest. Some of the parents involved in this debate really need to think twice before insulting 16 year olds on social media. It's really disappointed me. But I am going to get involved because I just realised that if Stanley doesn't have an EHCP sorted before secondary school he's probably not going to be allowed in. Why? Because some of the symptoms of his diagnoses, mean that he's very forgetful and doesn't have great executive functioning, he misplaces EVERYTHING and finds most uniform uncomfortable, because of his sensory differences. He also has an extreme lack of care and attention to how he dresses and how he looks. His appearance is not of importance to him. Being comfortable and secure IS. So where does this leave us in two years time when he HAS to go to school, and comply with these simply ridiculous uniform expectations for children who are not "normal" or have difficultly in understanding why this is so important? See Lola's socks in the photo for example, she was having a particularly bad morning and when she's anxious she likes to wear brightly coloured socks, (don't ask) considering she's mainly an anxious child she would be sent home every day) I put a note in her diary along with some white socks to change into. Hopefully they'll understand and I suspect it being a special school they almost definitely will. Will Stanley have that luxury? I think not. It's hard enough for parents and children who are neuro typical, and don't have these difficulties and I'm worried. Who makes up these rules, is it The headteacher? Do they use a set of guidelines? And If so who wrote them? Did they take into consideration that some of our children struggle to even dress themselves properly at age 9,10,11? Did they think that every single child would be able to comply 100% to these rules ? Are they setting children up to fail? What is the purpose of the strict uniform guide lines? To make everyone look the same? To better their learning and oppertunities? To make them concentrate more? Do the people who make these guidelines, and then the teachers who add into them their own policies, have children? Do they have children with special needs? Or memory problems? Executive dysfunction? Sensory difficulties? Do they have experience of a child who simply cannot manage to do buttons up after P.E due to hypermobility or low muscle tone in hands and fingers, or coordination difficulties, Or re- do a tie? Tuck their shirt in? Or tie their shoelaces? Or even remember where they put all of the above? Who will support these children? Is having such a strict uniform policy going to enrich their future? Make them more successful? Be the next Bill Gates or Richard Branson? I know that for a fact one of these has little education and one could possibly have aspergers, or as it's known now ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) Now I'm not expecting special treatment for these children nor am I expecting that everyone will agree, and that's simply because there is little tolerance or understanding. That's why I write about things I feel passionate about, to get a little understanding and to gain a little more tolerance and acceptance from people who don't understand. I feel that by creating a policy that's so stict with little movement, will further hinder children's education. Not least because they simply can't manage but because they aren't being helped to manage, and they aren't being given a choice but to comply to something that is simply out of their control. And this situation will be particularly hard for children who didn't meet criteria for an EHCP (education, health and care plan) before they went to secondary school. They will have no leeway! They WONT have a choice. They will have to comply or they will be excluded. Is this creating a merry go round of exclusions and school Refusals for our already vulnerable children? Will they settle down and just "get on with it" or will they rebel and fall at the first demanding hurdle? Wouldn't it better if everyone was comfortable? And wouldn't it enhance their concentration and attention if they didn't have to worry about what they looked like? I just wish that the people enforcing these polices could fully understand the true difficulties some children face when presented with an itchy, scratchy, fiddly, complicated and in their eyes unnessecary uniform policy! Sensible debate? I'd like to hear all of your opinions and how this situation has affected you and your families? Wether you have children with any extra/special needs or not. I agree that children should look smart and have the correct uniform, I agree that it prepares them for the wider world, and I agree that rules are rules, but are these rules going beyond Trying to teach children the way of life or are they justified. Not everyone is going to on to a job which requires them to dress so strictly, yes some will, but what about young men who wish to be a builder? A swimmer? Young ladies who wish to follow a carer in acting or dancing? What about the rest of them that will become carers for poorly family members? I don't get it, help me........ J. X
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