MORE than 50 children have been sent home from a school after turning up in the ‘wrong’ shoes.

Children arriving for the first day of term at Swinton High School were given a uniform inspection yesterday.

Thirty six were not allowed to start their lessons. Most of the problems were with boys’ shoes, with pupils turned away for not having regulation footwear.

Today another 20 were sent home – again the vast majority did not have appropriate plain black shoes. The school says shoes should be black, without motifs or patches of colour and should be below the ankle.

Paul Faulkner’s nephew Matthew Povah, 12, was sent home because he was told his black shoes looked like trainers.

His mum, Carole, wasn’t at home and Matthew had to wait in the garden until she returned. Paul said the decision to send his nephew home ‘without warning’ raised concerns for his safety.

He said: “Matthew was sitting outside in the garden waiting for his mum.”

The parents of Year 10 pupil Daniel Prentice, 14, who had small silver lines on his shoes, were also angry. His father Paul Prentice, said: “The shoes are school shoes from Asda.”

Regulations

The school says they had a sent a note to parents about informing them of the changes in April, stressing that pupils would be sent home if regulations were not met.

Head teacher John Biddlestone said none of the pupils sent home had been on their first day after leaving primary school.
 
He said that of the 36 turned away yesterday, 24 returned in regulation footwear.

He said: “We High are committed to raising standards in all aspects of our work. Parents and carers have been consulted and informed of these changes with months of notice.

“There is a school hardship fund for parents and carers who are in need of financial support for new school uniforms.”

A school spokeswoman said: “Of the 20 sent home today, nearly all of them were wearing inappropriate shoes – it was mainly boys wearing boots with markings on. There was also a girl who did not have the right skirt.

“The response overall has been excellent. The vast majority of children have come to school in the correct uniform and look very smart. We have spoken to the parents of those sent home today and expect most to return in the afternoon with the right shoes on.”

Salford’s education spokesman John Warmisham last month said he did not believe in school uniforms, which ‘belonged to the 50s and 60s’.

Today he said: “If parents have been given adequate notice then they should have heeded it, but it does concern me that a day’s education has been lost.”

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