A mum has blasted a school after boys were banned from wearing Clark shoes under a new uniform policy. Parents have accused the headteacher at Moorside High School, in Cellarhead, Staffordshire, of turning it into a "military camp" with the strict crackdown on uniform and behaviour.
Isolation spaces and classrooms for rule-breaking students were said to be completely full last week, Birmingham Live reports. The stringent rules now police every part of the students' uniforms, with several types of footwear - including Hush Puppies and Nike Air Forces - now banned.
They also set out standards for clothing, with one female pupil allegedly told off because her skirt was the wrong material. One parent says her Year Eight son was told his Clarks shoes, that share a resemblance to Nike Air Forces, were suitable for the class room. But the footwear has now been banned and her son has been put in isolation.
The 36-year-old mum, from Werrington, said: "They are there for an education - they are not there to be treated like caged animals. They are putting them in isolation rooms and not letting them mix with their peers at lunch breaks or anything - they are eating their lunch in these rooms. My son has been checked four times.
"The head says once he has found my child with this footwear on, he will be going in isolation. I said 'over my dead body'. He wears Clarks school shoes. There's been a hall full of children in isolation and then the isolation classrooms have been full too. There’s quite a lot.
"If something is not broken, don't fix it. We've never looked at a Moorside pupil and thought they look really scruffy."
It comes after another mum of a child at the school said that Primark shoes had left her daughter 'in agony'. Moorside High School has repeated its earlier statement to StokeonTrentLive regarding the uniform crackdown.
Headteacher Darryn Robinson said: "Our uniform creates a sense of identity and community for our pupils. These changes represent a wider part in raising standards within the school as well as continuing to create a source of pride. The uniform policy has not changed.
"The school communicated clear guidance on all aspects of the uniform and worked with parents, guardians and pupils from June last year to prepare for this September. Changes were made in June following consultation with parents with final adjustments made this September to avoid additional cost implications for families.
"We have worked closely with families to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible. Students in school are provided with appropriate work, linked to their curriculum at all times. We continue to work closely with families to ensure the highest expectations and outcomes for our learners."
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