My son, 12, had his winter coat CONFISCATED by school – they want him to wear a thin jacket even when outside in snow
A PUPIL’S winter coat was confiscated in freezing weather by teachers who wanted him to wear a “wafer thin jacket”, his dad said.
Levon Bayley, 12, even had his North Face jacket taken off him when he arrived at school as it was snowing.
He started wearing his bigger coat after a health scare but his school moaned that it went against uniform policy.
Dad Aaron, 47, said he was admitted to hospital with suspected Strep A in November and claims he was told that by those treating him that the school coat was unsuitable.
When Levon was later diagnosed with the flu, his parents let him wear a thick coat if temperatures fell but the school in Newcastle has repeatedly confiscated it.
Aaron told ChronicleLive: “Two medical experts, the doctor and the hospital, have said that the coat is just not warm enough and he should have a better coat on in this weather.”
“When the weather is mild I don’t mind sending him to school in the Jesmond Park Academy coat. But when it’s really cold I don’t want him to be susceptible to catching anything else.
“But the school don’t seem to grasp it. They have this sort of Dickensian attitude towards the kids, and the kids and the parents will do as they say”.
Aaron describes the coat as a “very thin fleece with a wafer thin liner jacket which the fleece zips into”.
After snow fell across the region on Monday and Thursday Aaron sent Levon to school in a warm padded winter coat, which the school then confiscated for the duration of the school day.
He said: “When he arrived at school wearing the coat there was three teachers waiting for him, each of them wearing a big winter coat, and they confiscated his.”
Aaron, who is also a teacher, added that the Canterbury jacket, which costs £56 for the jacket and fleece, is expensive and does not need to be part of the uniform.
He added: “If you’re a struggling family that has more that one kid in the school you’re looking at over £100 for a coat when you could go to a supermarket and probably buy them a coat for £20 which is a lot warmer.
“They really need to think about some of the policies they have because this is not the trousers, a jumper, or a blazer with the school emblem on, this is a coat.”
Information on the Jesmond Park Academy website states: “Any student arriving to school in what we consider incorrect uniform will work in isolation unless the issue can be corrected, for example, changing shoes or removing jewellery. This rule is not negotiable and applies to all students.
“The school does not accept notes or letters from parents/carers to excuse students from wearing full school uniform.
“Any student that is unable to wear full school uniform due to a medical condition will need to supply the school with a suitable letter from a medical professional explaining how wearing uniform would negatively affect their condition.
“For ongoing issues, such a letter would need to be renewed at the start of each academic year.”