Mini and the Shoes

By now, if you read this blog regularly, you'll have gathered I'm not the biggest fan of the Brat's school. Don't get me wrong, it's not a failing school, it's not falling apart, it's rated outstanding by those Ofsted lot.

No, I fear it's something that is becoming epidemic in schools who are proud of their outstanding status and who will do anything to protect it.

It's called "Head Up Own Arse" syndrome.



Now, when I was Mini's age, at my school we didn't wear uniform. Our original headmaster didn't bother with it. If you wanted to wear a school shirt and skirt, that was fine. It was also fine if you wore denim dresses with green pvc belts and skirts with spray paint affect badges too (what? what? It was 1987, we all wore that).

I do think a relaxed uniform is of course better than turning school into a fashion parade, after all it's not nice for the kids who are unable to keep up with trends. Tag Day at secondary when I used to wear my mad, out of school clothes was bad enough.

What I do not understand though is the conversation I had with Mini's teacher on Thursday.

Mini has been struggling to get along with this teacher for a while, and she's not alone-they have had her for 18 months and one minute she is your best mate and the next she's talking to you like you're 6 too. So, I'm not a great fan to be fair, and was hoping Littlest would get the other teacher next year, but sadly he's lumbered with her next.

Anyway, Mini is a menace to shoes, and she's on the 5th pair of black shoes or boots this year. With only a mere week to go until the holidays, when she mullered the fronts of pair 5, I thought, sod it, and let her wear some white and pink summer slip ons instead. The school says they can wear sandals or summer shoes as long as their toes are covered so thought that'd be fine.

Apparently not.

Now, Mini isn't the only one not wearing black shoes, I have to add, and one girl in her class wears only the correct sweater for school, but also wears stripey tights and the wrong colour skirt too, but she was still front and centre in the paper a few weeks back when they got given an Outstanding rating. In the grand scheme of that Mini's shoes are nowt.

Again, apparently not.

I got barked at by this bloody nutcase of a teacher that her shoes are unacceptable and she would not be permitted to attend class in them again.

Over shoes. I thought she was taking the pee, to be honest. So, I remarked with "they have a week left, it hardly matters". To be told yes it does, its the rules (now remember the utter lack of uniform on the child in the paper at this point). 

So, I had to sarcastically remark that I was unaware that wearing white shoes instead of black would significantly halt Mini's ability to learn anything or even read. Which was met by an almighty death stare.

It's not just Mini though- one of the boys Mum's was told off for the shocking and disgraceful crime of her child wearing white trainer socks instead of black ankle socks. The horror!

I wouldn't mind if they stuck to this bloody rules malarkey with every bloody child, but it would seem being a member of the PTA or Governors renders all rules null and void. 

So, what is Mini wearing? Her PE pumps. I am damned if I'm going to waste money on a new pair of shoes for a week, which wont fit her by September. Not a chance.

What annoys you with school?