Making schoolgirls wear tights' under skirts

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 10:59AM #1

Not quite sure what to make of http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/parents-outraged-school-insists-girls-6803334

Parents outraged as school insists girls wear tights with skirts to 'keep them safe'

A headteacher has been slammed for forcing girls to wear tights with skirts - to keep them SAFE on the way to and from school.

Parents of pupils at St Hild's Church of England School in Hartlepool, County Durham were sent a letter last week revealing the 'concern' at the length of skirts worn by some pupils.

The letter stated students had to wear tights to cover their legs to "protect their modesty" - and to keep them safe.

It stated that "in the interest of modesty and to ensure your child is properly safeguarded on their way to and from school, we ask that black tights be worn with skirts at all times".

One pupil, Hannah McEnaney, 14, was handed a pair of tights after turning up wearing a skirt with socks.

She was told she would be put into isolation or sent home if she did not wear a pair of tights provided by the school.

Her mum Carol said: "My daughter prefers wearing socks, and just doesn't like wearing tights.

"The school said, though, that if she didn't wear tights, she would be put in isolation or sent home.

So I'm guessing we've got a duty to 'keep them safe' from all the bad men who just won't be able to help themselves.

Sending a schoolgirl home or into isolation as she's not wearing tights to 'keep her safe'.

What kind of a message does it give out?

And to the schoolboys in the school if it's a mixed gender school? That it's the girl's responsibility to 'keep herself safe' by covering up her legs?

Schoolsimprovement.net are running a poll asking

Is it reasonable to ask girls to wear tights under skirts as a safeguarding measure?

Results are shown after you vote. Currently 36% saying yes, and 64% saying no.

Edit: Have attached a copy of the letter the parents / carers were sent.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/st-hild-s-church-of-england-school-criticised-for-forcing-female-pupils-to-wear-tights-as-a-a6730151.html

SEPT 23 1989 · 11-11-2015 11:01AM

VisibleGorilla · 11-11-2015 11:05AM

Keep them safe from what exactly?

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:06AM

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

Keep them safe from what exactly?

Yes, unsurprisingly they don't specify, so one can only imagine.

biko · 11-11-2015 11:10AM

"Keep their modesty" eh? This hasn't been an issue before, why does it surface now?

AgileMyth · 11-11-2015 11:12AM

They didn't have to justify their uniform policy. Should have said nothing.

kleefarr · 11-11-2015 11:12AM

May be they are special chastity tights?

Tabnabs · 11-11-2015 11:12AM

It's like catholic Ireland from the 1950s. Next they'll be banning the girls from wearing shiny shoes...

Menas · 11-11-2015 11:12AM

This is nearly as bad as that 6 year old who got suspended for playing with a violent weapon in a school in the US last week.

The 'weapon' was an imaginary bow and arrow.

How do these nut jobs get employed in our education system?!!!

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:15AM

The decision has also been criticised by the Fawcett Society, a national charity which aims to advance women's rights and equality.

Its chief executive, Sam Smethers, said: 'Girls and young women are being asked to change their behaviour and modify the way they dress and here is yet another example. That's just not acceptable in 2015.

'Its fine for schools to have a uniform and a dress code, but let's see them apply it equally to boys and girls.

'Modesty and safeguarding don't come into it. What they should be focussing on is opening up a world of opportunity to their young
women, not controlling what they wear.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3311746/School-orders-girl-pupils-wear-tights-skirts-protect-modesty-SAFE.html

OldNotWIse · 11-11-2015 11:15AM

VisibleGorilla wrote: »

Keep them safe from what exactly?

The wind? I don't know.

When I was in secondary, girls up to 3rd year were allowed wear knee high socks and after that it was tights only. Presumably to protect you from the perverts. With a bit of forward thinking, they'd have realised that the rule would be better inversed

Badly Drunk Boy · 11-11-2015 11:16AM

So they are being sent home, out into the big bad world, because they're not wearing tights? How can they do that? These girls are not wearing tights! And they're now out there with the non-tight-loving perverts?!? Practically naked!

(Or something...)

OneOfThem · 11-11-2015 11:17AM

+ "But who will we get to run the schools that our children attend during puberty, when they are becoming sexually aware and forming life long psychosexual frameworks?"

- "How about these wack jobs that think homosexuality will result in you being burned by renegade angels for eternity after you die and that think sex outside of a marriage is dirty and shameful?"

+ "See that's why I like you Bob, always thinking outside the box. Sign the fvckers up."

ScumLord · 11-11-2015 11:19AM

It'll probably turn out the principle has some sort of tights fetish.

osarusan · 11-11-2015 11:20AM

Menas wrote: »

How do these nut jobs get employed in our education system?!!!

It's a CoE school in England.

Nothing to do with Ireland or our education system. (maybe you are in England?)

The line about ' protecting their modesty' seems to be the key point - some old fogeys thinking something along the lines of 'short skirts these days, what is it all coming to I wonder'.

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:25AM

osarusan wrote: »

It's a CoE school in England.

Nothing to do with Ireland or our education system. (maybe you are in England?)

The line about ' protecting their modesty' seems to be the key point - some old fogeys thinking something along the lines of 'short skirts these days, what is it all coming to I wonder'.

Apparently they ' have a particular concern at the moment regarding the length of skirts worn by some of our female students.'.

When I was in secondary school, the skirts were probably knee length or just above, and if you hadn't rolled your skirt up shorter you were in the minority. Some girls really took the piss and practically had a mini skirt with a bump on top of it, from all the material rolled up. A few even got their skirts altered to make them shorter.

There was quite a problem with it, and I know this school has since changed the uniform to ankle length skirts to solve this problem.

With their comment about particular concerns at the moment about the length of skirts worn by some female students, maybe this school is having some similar issues.

But I still don't think the 'isolate the girls or send them home if they're not wearing tights' to 'keep them safe' is the answer at all.

11-11-2015 11:25AM

Maybe they are going to be chainmail tights.

There might be vikings.

VisibleGorilla · 11-11-2015 11:29AM

Another case of coming up with a so called solution for a problem that simply does not exist.

newport2 · 11-11-2015 11:31AM

whatismyname wrote: »

Its chief executive, Sam Smethers, said: 'Girls and young women are being asked to change their behaviour and modify the way they dress and here is yet another example. That's just not acceptable in 2015.

'Its fine for schools to have a uniform and a dress code, but let's see them apply it equally to boys and girls.

In fairness, how do you apply it equally to boys and girls when they both wear different things? You could argue that virtually all boys school uniforms require boys to cover their legs anyway. Make the uniform identical for both and insist girls wear trousers I guess. (Note: I know the quote above is from the Fawcett Society and not you)

One eyed Jack · 11-11-2015 11:33AM

whatismyname wrote: »

Apparently they ' have a particular concern at the moment regarding the length of skirts worn by some of our female students.'.

When I was in secondary school, the skirts were probably knee length or just above, and if you hadn't rolled your skirt up shorter you were in the minority. Some girls really took the piss and practically had a mini skirt with a bump on top of it, from all the material rolled up. A few even got their skirts altered to make them shorter.

There was quite a problem with it, and I know this school has since changed the uniform to ankle length skirts to solve this problem.

With their comment about particular concerns at the moment about the length of skirts worn by some female students, maybe this school is having some similar issues.

But I still don't think the 'isolate the girls or send them home if they're not wearing tights' to 'keep them safe' is the answer at all.

I'd say it's because the school is responsible for the students, and the parents complaining about the school policy would likely be the first people to try and hold the school responsible if anything did happen to their daughters.

As you said though, that problem is easily solved by making ankle skirts part of the uniform. It's supposed to be a uniform really, not a fashion parade.

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:36AM

newport2 wrote: »

In fairness, how do you apply it equally to boys and girls when they both wear different things? You could argue that virtually all boys school uniforms require boys to cover their legs anyway. Make the uniform identical for both and insist girls wear trousers I guess. (Note: I know the quote above is from the Fawcett Society and not you)

Yep, I quoted it, but I definitely thought the same on that bit. The point they made above makes no sense.

This school does give the girls the option of wearing trousers. So it seems either trousers, tights under a skirt, be isolated or go home.

When I was at school I hated wearing a skirt, and would have been very happy to have the option to wear trousers (it was an all-girls convent school that I can't ever see letting the girls wear trousers, or at least not in my lifetime).

But I'd say that's a whole other debate in itself, and as long as skirts are an option for girls, and some girls are wearing a skirt, then their point of applying it equally to both boys and girls doesn't make much sense.

beyondbelief67 · 11-11-2015 11:37AM

I think they are very lucky, especially coming into winter!
When I was at school we weren't allowed to wear tights even in winter only socks and the uniform skirt was thin material, just below the knee so I'd of loved the chance to wear tights!

Junkyard Tom · 11-11-2015 11:40AM

Why not just have a length-of-skirt school rule?

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:42AM

One eyed Jack wrote: »

I'd say it's because the school is responsible for the students, and the parents complaining about the school policy would likely be the first people to try and hold the school responsible if anything did happen to their daughters.

Can see where you are coming from though, but keeping them responsible for what though?

For example, if the girls were sexually assaulted would it be because they were being provocative by having part of their legs on show? If something happened to the girls, would it be in any way related to not having their legs completely covered?

Clearly not, yet that seems to be what the kids are being taught.

If anything happened to the girls fro that which they need to be 'kept safe from', nobody - be it the girls themselves, the school, parents etc - is at fault because the girls had uncovered legs.

If there is an issue, then yes alternatives such as trousers or ankle length skirts are available, but doing it in any way that gives a message that there are things / people that girls need to be kept safe from, so we need to be responsible by covering up their flesh, as they'll be at risk otherwise, is giving out a very, very wrong message, particularly to the young people.

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:43AM

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Why not just have a length-of-skirt school rule?

Yes that would make sense.

I'm guessing there's a possibility that they have issues with skirts being shortened / rolled up like I had at school.

But either way if there's an issue with the lengths of skirts, it would surely make a lot more sense to focus on solving that issue of skirt lengths, than insisting they wear tights / go home / be isolated.

Junkyard Tom · 11-11-2015 11:47AM

whatismyname wrote: »

I'm guessing there's a possibility that they have issues with skirts being shortened / rolled up like I had at school.

I'd hazard a guess that's exactly the issue. There's probably a skirt-shortening 'cold war' (careful now) being waged between some of the girls.

whatismyname · 11-11-2015 11:47AM

beyondbelief67 wrote: »

I think they are very lucky, especially coming into winter!
When I was at school we weren't allowed to wear tights even in winter only socks and the uniform skirt was thin material, just below the knee so I'd of loved the chance to wear tights!

You clearly should have had the option, as they were, in my opinion, being ridiculous making you wear socks only, particularly in winter.

But I think the issue here is not that the girls have the option to wear tights, but that they are being forced to or excluded, so a bit different from having the option to wear them.

smash · 11-11-2015 11:47AM

What's the deal with suspenders?

Na I'm only messing, this whole idea is daft.

Trent Houseboat · 11-11-2015 11:51AM

I remember when I was in school, girls were getting given out to for having skirts that were too long and were tripping hazards.

Oh, the '90s.

ScumLord · 11-11-2015 11:54AM

newport2 wrote: »

In fairness, how do you apply it equally to boys and girls when they both wear different things?

What they used to worry about with boys when I was in school was the length of your hair. If it was too long you were obviously into that heavy metal devil music and would be sent home until it was cut.

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Why not just have a length-of-skirt school rule?

Then the girls will just start genetically modifying their legs to be longer.

Medusa22 · 11-11-2015 11:55AM

I was one of those girls who got my skirt taken up and then I rolled it up the rest of the way :pac: Ah, how I pitied the girls' schools in Dublin with the ankle length skirts, I would have been horrified. I was once suspended when they brought in a rule that you could only wear shoes with heels less than an inch and I came in to school in four inch heels

Fashion seemed to be important to me in those days.

I always wore tights though, isn't it a bit chilly to be wearing socks in this weather anyway? I don't think it is right to instruct girls to wear tights to ''protect'' their modesty, as this does indicate that the way you dress has some influence on whether you are assaulted or not, and I doubt a pair of flimsy tights are going to save you from a paedophile.

Making schoolgirls wear tights' under skirts

Comments