boys hair is too long to attend school!!

sammy101 · 06-02-2010 12:22AM #1

my son has shoulder lenght hair.he is in 6th class.his teacher commented on his hair a couple of times infront of the whole class.i went to see the teacher and i was told that if i did not get his hair cut that he would not be allowed to continue in the school. does he have the right to enforce that? im not getting his hair cut,he likes it like that,its neat and tidy and i dont see a problem with it.does anyone know the rules or policies of the department of education on childrens hair cuts?

E.T. · 06-02-2010 06:04PM

Each school has their own policies, the Department doesn't issue policies on anything like this, the staff and board of management must come up with them. You can ask to see the school's policy on this - it may be under hygiene - our policy states that hair should be tied back to prevent the spread of nits. If there is such a policy you should have received it as part of your son's enrollment pack or it may have been sent home sometime during the last few years if it was only passed since he started - either way parents must sign and return.

deisemum · 09-02-2010 07:33PM

Are there girls in the school? if so do they have shoulder length or long hair. It's discrimination if they do and that's how the courts treat it.

TheColl · 09-02-2010 10:02PM

As said above, ask to see the school's policy on this. If there is one (could be part of a uniform policy, healthand safety policy, personal hygiene policy etc) and you have already agreed to it then you may have a problem on your hands.

I'm a teacher (all boys school) and we have a policy against long hair. Personally I think its ridiculous, but as it is a school policy and parents must agree to it before sending their child to our school, then it has to be enforced. So I sympathise with you, but I also sympathise with your son's teacher who is possibly just doing his part to implement a policy on behalf of the school.

dathai60 · 09-02-2010 11:26PM

If he is in sixth class you better check out policies in post-primary schools,as most have very stringent policies on hair ,styles,length ,etc. In reply to your question seek a meeting with the principle to discuss school policy on apperance etc as written in school enrolement document.

kboc · 27-02-2010 11:07AM

sammy101 wrote: »

my son has shoulder lenght hair.he is in 6th class.his teacher commented on his hair a couple of times infront of the whole class.i went to see the teacher and i was told that if i did not get his hair cut that he would not be allowed to continue in the school. does he have the right to enforce that? im not getting his hair cut,he likes it like that,its neat and tidy and i dont see a problem with it.does anyone know the rules or policies of the department of education on childrens hair cuts?

it might suit you better concentrating on your childs education than their hair.

dlofnep · 27-02-2010 11:42AM

kboc wrote: »

it might suit you better concentrating on your childs education than their hair.

So they should cut their child's hair, because some school is stuck back in the stone age, with outdated, sexist policies?

byhookorbycrook · 27-02-2010 09:22PM

Policies must be agreed with parents' reps,on behalf of the parent body. If you want to make your voice heard,talk to the parents' rep.

dambarude · 27-02-2010 10:03PM

You've might have heard of this case, but you should read this article: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/second-school-told-to-pay-over-longhair-ban-1643156.html.

Basically, it's seems that if it refers to hair length in the enrollment policy/uniform policy your child needs to comply with it. You will have accepted these policies on entering the school, and it's up to each individual school to outline their policies. The DES have nothing to do with it. It's the school's way or the high way, and to be honest I don't think it should be any other way.

deisemum · 28-02-2010 01:06AM

In mixed schools as long as schools discriminate on things such as hair length between boys and girls then the schools deserve to end up in court and pay compensation. With some principals they are so anal and get so bent out of shape over hair, it's either too short or too long. If hair length is their biggest worry then they have sod all to be complaining about.

As a parent that's been involved in the drawing up of policies in two different schools parents involvement is normally just lip service exercise. At least in my son's secondary school it updated it's policy on hair after the Dunmore school lost the case. Hair can be any length as long as it's clean, neat and not an unnatural colour which I think is fair.

When my children started primary school there wasn't any policies given to parents apart from a leaflet from the HSE giving examples of healthy lunches.

dambarude · 28-02-2010 01:33AM

There were other things going on in Dunmore as well- like the deputy principal asking the person in question if he "wanted to be a girl", and bringing in a barber to actually measure his hair. That was going way overboard. I don't think there's anything wrong with a school stipulating guidelines in relation to uniform, but obviously they should be within reason.

However, if a student and his/her parents have already accepted a uniform policy I think they should have to stick to it. If they suddenly decide they want pink hair in fifth year they should be aware of what they've entered in to.

deisemum · 28-02-2010 01:42AM

Knowing people that went to that school I know the reputation of the staff involved in the case so not surprised by the hair issue.

dambarude · 28-02-2010 01:47AM

deisemum wrote: »

Knowing people that went to that school I know the reputation of the staff involved in the case so not surprised by the hair issue.

Believe it or not, I was in the school myself!

ShamoBuc · 01-03-2010 09:14PM

There is normally a policy on hair in primary schools. Girls who have long hair in our school have to tie it up. If a boy in our school had long hair , then he would have to tie it up aswell. It can be an issue to some parents but to be honest there are far more important things in education to be worried about.

boys hair is too long to attend school!!

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