Dear Parent/Carer
Hope you are all having a lovely summer? School is full of activity getting ready to welcome all our students in September, and we are looking forward to the year ahead.
I wanted to write to you to acknowledge current concerns regarding the school uniform.
South Craven School is very aware of the current financial climate and its huge impact on all families.
We are considering how uniform requirements and costs to our parents might be contributing to the impact, and we would like to support our community with this the very best we can. We would like to acknowledge concerns raised via the parent Facebook group and reassure you that your concerns are being taken very seriously. However, we also need to consider safeguarding implications to ensure that students can be identified as South Craven students - and the uniform is a crucial part of this.
We would like to outline how we have already responded to government statutory guidance on uniform by ensuring that some items of the uniform can be bought from non-specialist suppliers and high street shops and not all from a local uniform retailer. The key changes we have made are as follows:
- White polo shirts no longer need the South Craven logo displayed on them.
- The red socks for PE no longer need the South Craven PE logo displayed on them.
- Girls can now wear plain black leggings for PE, and they can be any brand.
- We no longer specifically stipulate the white trainers needed for PE.
- We have relaxed our rulings on the styles/colours of coats that can be worn.
*A reminder that parents whose children are eligible for free school meals have been contacted by school for uniform vouchers for the Year 7 start.
We are currently looking very closely at alternatives for the school trousers/skirts/PE shorts and socks, and we will keep you informed on any changes that are made. However, I’m sure you will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to make any immediate changes to these uniform elements as the majority of families are likely to have purchased some or all of the uniform and also the uniform shops will be fully stocked for the current uniform as it stands.
Supporting our school community
You might already be aware that we currently ask for any outgrown or no longer needed uniform to be donated to the school, so we can pass this onto The Hive in Silsden who sell the uniform on at a very low cost.
Further to this, we would also like to propose that we rally around to help each other in the South Craven community by bringing into school next week (Tuesday 30th - Thursday 1st September between the hours of 8am and 5.30pm - to main reception) any unwanted/outgrown uniform. Then on Friday 2nd September (11.30 - 2pm) we will have all this donated uniform out on display in the Craven Hall right by reception for families to come and choose items that may be of benefit to them free of charge. It would be really appreciated if any items are washed in advance of donation.
We welcome all items of uniform apart from shoes or trainers, and tights (unless brand new and still in a packet).
We are here to support and would really like to help. If you have significant concerns/worries about buying the uniform then please contact us on the following email.
All requests will be considered on an individual case basis: uniformsupport@southcraven.org
Looking forward to seeing you all soon.
Best wishes,
Andrea Taylor
Deputy Headteacher
