This school has banned pencil cases

Who would have thought a pencil case could be so contentious - ok I know its about bigger issues . Just off to do some backward planning now.

It seems to me as one huge cop out. Banning pencil cases and little treats in lunch boxes instead of looking at the much bigger picture. At my DGC’s primary school there are children coming to school completely inappropriately dressed. Plimsolls and thin summer dresses in the height of winter etc. There’s a little girl in my DGS’s class (yr 3) that’s so dirty and unkempt I could cry for her. There are parents who are regularly told off by the caretaker for their use of bad language in the playground.

But let’s ban pencil cases eh? That will get to the bottom of it.

I agree gillbybob
Of course there will always be those who have more than others and perhaps parents should be advised not to send their children into school with expensive things such as extortionately priced pencil cases.

It's also sensible to keep an eye out for the lunch box that consistently contains an extremely poor lunch (who ever thought that a Mars Bar alone could be a nutritional and balanced lunch?). In cases like the one you mention, gilly, then warning bells should be ringing in case others need to be alerted and an assessment made.

Another example of political correctness gone mad.
It's utterly bonkers.

So what would you do gillybob? I have no doubt that staff are working hard to address the problems you highlight. Trying to help the little girl by teaching her personal hygiene and hoping that she will in time be able to develop good habits. I know that staff in schools spend time and effort on such children, but you can't change family circumstances. I have seen staff establish and build self esteem in children with very little in the way of family support. There are no rules you can make to change family circumstances. And it is far better that children come school, poorly dressed, dirty or badly prepared than not coming at all.
Banning pencil cases is part of a solution to the growing problem of the huge gap between the haves and have-nots. It isn't the whole solution. It is a step on the way and far better than doing nothing.
Perhaps getting behind such measures would be one way you could help the little girl in Year 3 and certainly better than just weeping.

Sadly all the banning of pencil cases in the world won’t do anything for the little girl I am talking about trisher . I am often in school helping with bits and pieces and have approached my grandsons teacher who is lovely and asked her if she could pass on various pieces of used but perfectly good clothes from my older granddaughters. She told me in confidence that the gesture (wherever it came from) would be met with hostility.
Sadly in life there are always those who have more than enough and those who don’t have enough. My grandchildren are somewhere in the middle, they get by and I really can’t see how denying my granddaughter the pleasure of her little pencil case and colouring pencils that she happily shares (as do her little friends theirs) with others, will make one iota of difference. As henetha said it’s just PC gone mad and a feeble attempt to make everything right when it just isn’t .

I wonder gillybob how you think the dirty little girl feels when she sees your GDG getting out her stationary collection?

Banning fancy pencil cases is just the BBC headline (chosen to be controversial and grab attention) about a serious attempt to tackle inequality in schools!

Pencil cases are just a minor part of the project.

Poverty Proofing the School Day is a project developed by Children North East. The project provides a toolkit to poverty proof the school day, to reduce stigma and remove barriers to learning and to assist schools in exploring the most effective way to spend pupil premium allocation.

The project has resulted in less bullying, less truancy, better behaviour and better results. It not just about pencil cases!

www.povertyproofing.co.uk/about/

They’re not in the same class trisher my DGD is yr 5 this little girl is in my grandsons class year 3 .

However If they were in the same class I think, knowing my DGD she would happily share with her and probably bring her some little bits in from home as she has done with others in the past.

Have read your post mostlyharmless and will read the link later when I have more time.

I stand by my thoughts that banning all sorts of things won’t change the lives of some children who are “dragged up” by awful parents . Not always to do with poverty either , often just sheer neglect .

And that is expected to make her feel better????!!!

Shall I ask her to give her her shoes, school jumper and school bag too ? Perhaps she should take her home and ask my DiL to adopt her ? You are being silly trisher

No I am pointing out that the rule you have so decried is there to make this little girl feel a bit more equal. It's not going to solve all her problems of course but it is something that is working towards making her feel more equal. And the little you might be asked to do, which is for your GD to keep her stationary at home seems to be too much to ask. And if you think about it your GD sharing her stationary might just be rubbing salt into the wound and reminding this little girl of how little she has.

Whatever you say trisher but you’re implying that my DGD would bragging about her little pencil case in order to deliberately hurt another child which is a very twisted way of looking at something .
But if it makes you feel that it will solve the problems of poverty and neglect in the North East then crack on .

No I'm not. I haven't criticised your GD at all just pointed out that charity isn't always welcomed. Sometimes the well intentioned do more harm than good.
I did ask you what you would to solve theose problems.

Sadly we will never have a level playing field, perhaps the school should provide boxes or tins with names on so no one needs a pencil case in school & those that have them or want them could keep them in their bags or at home.
Pretending or trying to hide inequality doesn’t help anyone, practical solutions need to be found , I guess that’s what this school tried to do , not sure it is the best way.

I am pretty sure I read recently that the gap between the haves and have nots in this country is actually decreasing not increasing.

We have a generous welfare state so there is no need whatsoever for any child to go to school hungry or in dirty clothes.

I am not trying to pretend that there aren't families who are struggling, but in my opinion a lot of 'poverty' is down to bad parenting, and bad financial management.

Also why do so many of these people have 4, 5, 6 children or more? What happened to the idea of only having the children you can afford?

We have a generous welfare state so there is no need whatsoever for any child to go to school hungry or in dirty clothes.
a bar of soap, a flannel, some own-brand cereal and milk is surely not beyond the reach of even those who are very hard up - even if expensive pencil cases are.

Exactly Jalima1108

I think everything, and I mean everything, a child wears or takes to school should be of a standard kind, made available to buy from the school. Judicious use by the school of selling secondhand gear helps poorer families. We were absolutely boracic ( boracic lint- skint) when I was a child and the blessed relief of looking like, and having the same stuff as others at school, was a real,welcome change from the rest of our time.

Our welfare state isn't 'generous'. We're stuck in a discussion where some of us believe that the pencil case issue is PC gone mad. The other group, the one I'm a member of, disagrees and believes the school that adapted the poverty proofing the NE approach is doing the right thing.
Anyone who has worked in schools or with children on the margins will realise just how deprived the lives of some children are.
Tessa Jowell died today. One of her achievements was the work she did on Sure Start. It's devastating for those of us involved in Family Centre work see the austerity approach closing down the places that did so much to assist children like the little girl gillybob talks about.

Quite agree Iam64.
On the Andrew Marr programme today someone said (can’t remember who) that Sure Start money saved (by closing down Sure Start centres) would be used to pay for more Health Visitors to target the neediest families.
I’m not so sure these families are “easy to reach”. Health visitors can be seen as busybody Social Workers by some families.

Laundry is not easily done when youre sofa surfing or housed in one room of a b&b and locked out from morning till evening, as is the case with a lot of "hidden homeless" children/families.

thats not poor parenting/management. Thats just straight up poverty!

When you have to live like that, no or limited access to a kitchen, evicted from b&b & made "willfully homeless" ie off the housing list if you store food in your room, your money will quickly be eaten up on "on the go food" and thrify ideas like bulk buying are not an option!!

mostly harmless, the last sure start centre I was involved with had various tried and tested programmes to work with 'hard to reach' families. The centre was welcoming, bright and child focussed. The health visitors and midwives serving the area ran their clinics there. Every young parent had a letter detailing the services at the family centre, followed up by a visit. The FC was in one of the most deprived areas in the north west and the work it did was inspirational. They ran groups for fathers as well as encouraging dad's to take part in all the activities. They supported women (and occasionally men) subjected to domestic abuse. Cookery classes, baby massage, lots of focus on stages of child development, parenting skills classes, etc. The centre lost its funding as a result of austerity cuts and the last I heard, is to be a centre for young offenders.

The town I live in has closed 12 family centres as a result of the cuts to the council budget. All the research confirms that good quality early years intervention is one of the foundations in avoiding young offenders as well as supporting families through tough times.

I recognise this is slightly off the OP but it's part of the same issue. It just isn't PC gone mad

I think everything, and I mean everything, a child wears or takes to school should be of a standard kind, made available to buy from the school

Firstly nanakate my DGC's school already sells uniform pieces complete with school logo etc. this includes coats, bags etc. BUT it is all very expensive. £20 for a sweatshirt, £30 for a fleece jacket etc. Asda sell jumpers and cardigans in the right colour for less than £5 a piece.

The families who don't/won't buy the cheap but acceptable uniform pieces from Asda, are hardly going to buy the more expensive things direct from school are they? Also are we talking everyone having the same shoes, coats, underwear? Shall we ask the government to provide it all? Then everyone can really feel and look the same.