Longwell Green Primary School

“Inspiring Learning”

Headteacher: Mr. Darren Brown

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Uniform

Uniform helps develop a sense of unity and teamwork, bringing together a widely diverse group of pupils into one harmonious and cohesive way.

We are not attempting to set up rules that can be pushed against to see “what we can get away with” instead this is simple direction that allows everyone to feel together as part of a team. Pupils often wish to test boundaries (especially as they get older) and dress sense is certainly a common way this is done.

We do wish all of our pupils to feel they are able to express themselves as individuals whilst understanding in a school set-ting they are part of a group where there are rules which are important to follow for a host of reasons, not least to help learn that we live in a society which has rules that help us all interact successfully.

As a school we aim to be understanding and work with families and children to achieve the balance of these two opposing aims and it is with pride we can say that all families over the many years that have 100% reinforced us in doing this with a healthy support of school unity and an understanding that we are all aiming for the same thing, which is the very best all round education for each and every child. Thank you everyone for supporting this.

Purchase of School Uniform

Longwell Green School Uniform can be purchased from Monkhouse in Bedminster
Tel No: 0161 476 7216.
Alternatively you can buy online at
www.monkhouse.com/Longwell-Green

Non-branded uniform can also be purchased at other retail stores including local supermarkets.

Our Uniform:

There is a basic uniform which consists of:

  • White or grey shirts / polo / blouse shirts.
  • Green top, pullover or cardigan
  • Black/Grey skirt, pinafore or trousers.
  • Summer option – green gingham or striped dress, black / grey shorts, but not patterned beach wear or cycling shorts.
  • Sensible black shoes. We do not allow high heels or raised shoes for safety reasons. Please see below regarding trainers.
  • Green school fleece.
  • Black daps / trainers to change into when outdoor shoes are wet or muddy (can also be the same as those in school PE kit).
  • Wellie boots: all children are asked to bring wellies into school, these can be left in school for the duration of the year.
  • At points throughout the year, your child will be asked to bring weather and activity appropriate clothes to learn in the forest. More details will be supplied in advance of this as it is year group and activity specific.

Shoes in detail

Flat, sensible, safe black shoes (trainers or shoes: no Crocs or similar), or plain black boots. If trainers are worn instead of traditional school shoes, they must be black.

You may choose flat sandals in a neutral colour (black / beige / brown / cream / very dark navy blue) with a heel strap during summer months.  Linked to above, please make them sensible school colours, it may be tempting to go crazy with summer colours, but this undermines the point of a uniform.  Please be aware in choosing sandals, toes could be exposed and this could increase the risk of a knocked toe.  By sending your child in these shoes, you have accepted this is a possibility. 

PE & Games:

At Longwell Green, we ask children to arrive in school on their PE day, wearing their PE kit.  This allows us to spend the maximum amount of time participating in PE, reduces loss of kit / uniform and reduces the overall cost of uniform for parents. 

Games and PE are compulsory for all children, except those excluded on health grounds. Those suffering from minor ailments will only be excused if supported by a brief note from the parents. Suitable clothing for PE is essential.

  • White, green, red or blue t-shirt. The school has a whole school team ongoing competition, the children will be told which team they are in and this will dictate the colour of their PE top, please speak to your class teacher if you are unsure.  T Shirts are available at a cost of £2 from the school office.
  • Black shorts/ jogging bottoms.
  • Black hoodies (non-branded) or school jumpers can be worn.
  • No football kit or branded sportswear is permitted.
  • Daps / plimsolls / trainers as appropriate.

With the same uniform being worn by all the children, please label all your child’s clothing and equipment!

Other Items

The school keeps a supply of certain items at the following prices:

  • Water bottles – £1.50
  • Book bags – bearing Longwell Green logo are available for purchase to protect books carried from school to home. These are very durable and cost £4 each.

Parents may wish to pass to the office any items of uniform that are unwanted or outgrown. These are sold to parents at low prices to raise additional income for school funds. We do not insist on items with the school logo on them, but we do insist on the colours and designs as described above.

Sun Safety

We ask that all children wear sun hats at playtime and lunchtimes during hot weather. We encourage children to wear sun cream also but please be aware that staff will not put sun cream on children. The most successful way has been for parents to put it on their child in the morning, for older children to re-apply throughout the day and in KS1 teachers stand at the front and instruct children on how to apply sun cream to themselves.

Jewellery /Fashion Items/Hair

The school discourages the wearing of jewellery, nail polish, designer sportswear, and inappropriate footwear.

The exception is earrings where appropriate studs are allowed but these must be removed for any PE activity to minimise the risks to them-selves and to others. Children whose ears are in the healing period following piercing will need to provide medical tape to cover the ear lobe during PE. No earrings are allowed for swimming so children need to be able to remove them for themselves. The school cannot accept responsibility for the loss of personal items such as watches, earrings etc.

Hair bands, ribbons/bows or scrunchies and other hair wear should be moderate in size and hair bands should not have large items attached. We ask that parents avoid allowing their child to sport “extreme” hair fashion (for example spikes, vivid colour etc.), and this can be identified as a look that will attract a large amount of attention from other pupils, this can have a negative effect on the harmonious nature of our school.

It is not possible to list all of the future fashion trends that will come and go, there will be times that the school may ask your child to remove something that is not listed in this policy (such as ‘Heelys’ when they were in fashion for example).

If it isn’t mentioned here the general rule of thumb is: does it create unity as a school? Does it show the school in the best light (imagine we had a Royal Visit, what would school uniform look like on that day)? Does it create a uniformed whole team approach? Is it likely to cause danger to the wearer or other people in any aspect of the school day (think break times, going on the field, walking home, carrying lunch, going into assembly, during a fire drill, during a PE lesson and so on)?

Mobile Phones, Smart Watches and other Smart Devices

For obvious reasons, children are not allowed mobile phones or smart devices in school. We do allow older pupils (usually Y6s only unless there is an express reason for a Y5 to do so) to bring them to school and insist that they are handed to the office or classroom before the start of the school day and collected at the end of the school day. Under no circumstances should a smart device including a mobile phone or smart watch be used by children to record still or video images, or to record audio whilst on the school premises.   We will confiscate phones and smart devices found on a pupil during the school day and return them at the end of the day. If pupils need to contact you during the day they will be allowed to use the school telephone.

Money and Valuables

Children should not bring valuable items or unnecessary money to school. Please send any money you wish to pay us in an envelope stating the amount, purpose, and the child’s name and class.

The Health and Safety Officer has explicitly advised all schools that –

  1. a) “The wearing of jewellery in PE, which includes the wearing of chains, watches, rings, earrings and necklaces is prohibited on grounds of safety”.
  2. b) “The only exception is in the case of recently pierced ears.  In this case a stud earring can be worn provided the earring is completely covered (A plaster or similar being acceptable). The ear should have healed within about six weeks and after this time the earring must be removed…  I trust that the above does clarify the position in this respect and would confirm that where pupils do not remove jewellery they are not allowed to take part in the activity.”

Parents can best support their children and school by keeping to these school guidelines.

1) “Studs are not worn on the days when children have PE, games, swimming or take part in a sporting extra-curricular activity.”

2) “Ensuring that children are able to insert and remove studs by themselves. School staff are not allowed to do this for the children.”

Names in Clothing

We would be very grateful if you could put your child’s full name, not just their initials, in each piece of clothing by using either sewn in labels, ironed in labels or written using indelible ink.  This will save us time and you money (named items are much easier to return to the correct owner). Thank you for this help!