PUPILS at Haverfordwest’s new secondary school will be required to wear a standardised skirt, trousers or shorts next year which will only be available from the school.

A letter was sent out to parents of Haverfordwest High VC School pupils explaining changes were being made to the school uniform policy from September 2019 to make sure all pupils wear “a compulsory, regulation skirt, trousers and shorts.”

According to the letter, this decision was made to avoid confusion about what clothing was acceptable at the school, as pupils are currently being reprimanded for having the wrong sort of trousers or skirt.

In a statement to the Western Telegraph, a spokesman for the school said: “As a school we have tried to address the issue on a case by case basis with discussions with pupils/parents but, due to the large numbers in each year group (on average 300 plus), this has become operationally challenging.”

The spokesman said school uniform is worn to reduce bullying which would occur due to differences in appearance and also improved pupils’ behaviour.

“Too much time and attention is being given to pupils’ lack of adherence to this aspect of school regulations,” they said.

The new clothing comes from a supplier “with a proven track record,” with trousers at a cost of £15.35 and £19.50; and skirts at £15.35 and £16.85, depending on size, all of which can be bought from the school.

There will be staged payments available to parents on low incomes, as well as other financial help in the form of grants.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:

Concerns were expressed over the initial pricing of the school's uniform last year

Some parents raised concerns that asking parents to buy a second uniform item with the school’s logo on it was a breach of Welsh Government guidelines on uniform, which says schools should only ask pupils to wear one item bearing a logo.

The school currently requires pupils to wear a blazer with the school logo on it, but the spokesman said the trousers and skirts will bear the school initials instead of the logo.

“The items will not include the school logo but merely the initials of the school embroidered, at no extra cost, and placed discreetly on the item,” they said.

“We are therefore, as per the Welsh Government Guidelines, not asking parents to have more than one item with a school logo on it.”

The spokesman added: “Parents, quite rightly, comment that there is inconsistency in what pupils are wearing and question the school as to why their child is being challenged about their item of uniform, when they perceive others are ‘getting away with it’.”

However, other parents have expressed their concern about the additional cost of the new uniform items.

Christine Jenkins said: “We are a struggling working family that get no help with grants free school meals etc.

“I'm all for uniforms and looking smart but trousers with logos but how does trousers effect a child's learning? It doesn’t!

“The governors and teachers make these decisions and make it a rule with out a thought for families that struggle each week to put food on the table never mind pay stupid amounts for specific school trousers!”

Micheal Smith said: “The cost of the trousers and skirt will be high, my son does wear the uniform and we pay £12.99 for two pairs of black school trousers and the cost of the new proposed trousers will be higher than this.

“The head just needs to enforce wearing of the uniform to the pupils it concerns, and not penalise the pupils and parents that already do follow the uniform ruling.”

The full statement from Haverfordwest High VC School

Tivyside Advertiser:

Despite very explicit guidelines in the school uniform policy on, in particular, the type of material and style for the trousers/skirts and the length of the skirt, there remains an issue with a significant number of pupils who are not wearing the ‘traditional’ uniform items.

We have regularly reminded pupils and parents through assemblies, letters/newsletters, social media and the school website of the requirements (which exceeds the Welsh Government guidance of once per school year).

As a school we have tried to address the issue on a case by case basis with discussions with pupils/parents but, due to the large numbers in each year group (on average 300+), this has become operationally challenging.

Parents, quite rightly, comment that there is inconsistency in what pupils are wearing and question the school as to why their child is being challenged about their item of uniform, when they perceive others are ‘getting away with it’.

This has led to many parents, after discussion with the school, having to purchase alternative items that comply with the policy.

The whole reason for a school uniform is to aim to reduce any bullying that would occur due to differences in appearance and, as research shows, to improve the overall standards of behaviour and improve educational achievement.

With such inconsistency too much time and attention is being given to pupils lack of adherence to this aspect of school regulations which is why Governors were asked to visit both sites to fully understand the scale of the issue we are currently facing.

They noted that a significant number of pupils were not maintaining the expected standard of appropriate dress and decency.

We then investigated a number of suppliers, including local stockists, and chose a supplier with a proven track record for supplying items of school uniform, of a good quality but a reasonable price, to other schools in South Wales.

The supplier will supply trousers at a cost of £15.35 and £19.50 and skirts at £15.35 and £16.85 (depending on size) to the school, which will be the selling price to parents. The items will not include the school logo but merely the initials of the school embroidered, at no extra cost, and placed discreetly on the item. We are therefore, as per the Welsh Government Guidelines, not asking parents to have more than one item with a school logo on it.

For the blazer (which will continue to be supplied by local stockist) we do offer the possibility for the parents to have the logo embroidered on a blazer that they have purchased.

We will be offering assistance to any family who finds this financially difficult in the form of staged payments.

This will be in addition to any Welsh Government or Local Authority grants that may be available. The school will operate on a full cost recovery of any stock purchased and will not be making any profit or loss from the sale of these items.

As a school and Governing Body we have taken the decision to implement compulsory trousers/skirts/shorts from September 2019 after exhausting all other avenues open to us (without interrupting pupils’ attendance at lessons) due to the significant number of pupils who are not currently adhering to regulations.

The decision has been made after carefully considering the current and proposed Welsh Government guidance on school uniform.