School Uniform

Writtle Infant School takes every step to ensure that the cost of school uniform is reasonable and to secure best value for money. This includes:

• We hold sales of second hand uniforms in school
• We do not insist on branded items
• We believe the costs are reasonable and keep in touch with our provider regularly to ensure this is the case
• We provide uniform for families on a case by case basis
• Although the wearing of uniform is not compulsory, we do encourage it, as we believe it helps children feel part of our school community.
• Uniform and accessories embroidered with our logo can be purchased from One Stop School Gear. However, non-branded uniform is also perfectly acceptable.

Generally, we expect:

• All clothing and footwear to be named.
• Children to bring a coat to school each day as the weather can be very changeable, especially on our exposed playing areas.
• Children to bring a book bag (not a school bag/back pack) to school every day
• Children to come to school in clothes and shoes which they can manage easily, to help their independence and the class teacher.  E.g. if they are unable to tie their own shoelaces, velcro fasteners on shoes would be appreciated.
• All long hair to be tied back because it looks smarter, helps prevent the spread of head lice and is much safer for PE.
• Sensible haircuts e.g. no razor cut designs, Mohicans or dyed hair.
• All PE kit to be kept in school checked for size at the end of each half term.
• No nail varnish, tattoos or make up.
• No open toed shoes (for the children’s safety).

Bags

Children should not bring a bag/ back pack to school as we do not have the space to store them. If a bag is essential, it must be small.

Jewellery

Jewellery should not be worn to school. We cannot tape over earrings for PE lessons so children must be able to remove their earrings and place them in an envelope. Ears should only be pierced in the summer holidays to allow time for them to heal, otherwise children are unable to do PE for 6 weeks.

We must stress that the school cannot be held responsible for any items that are lost or accidentally damaged. Therefore as a general rule please do not send the children to school with items of a precious or special nature.

Sun protection

In hot and sunny weather, we recommend:

• A hat to be kept in school. You can buy school baseball caps from the office.
• Loose fitting, long sleeved protection for those children who burn easily.
• Sunglasses (look for the CE (European Community Standard) and British Standard (BS EN 1836) marks when buying sunglasses.)
• An application, before school, of a high factor sunscreen suitable for your child’s skin type. Wherever possible please use one of the long-lasting sun creams which last all day.  If a child is at significant risk from sunburn and needs help with cream application, please speak to the office staff.

Footwear

Black velcro trainers, rather than formal school shoes, are advised for all year groups as the children are active all day and complete a daily run in Years 1 and 2. Flip-flops, mules, jellies, crocs and high heels are not deemed suitable footwear for school.
Trainers are worn for all PE. We do not advise wearing plimsolls for PE as they do not offer enough support for your children’s feet. If boots are worn to school, please can the children bring a pair of shoes to change into.

Foundation Stage: Waterproofs and change of clothes

All children in Foundation Stage should bring a “pack a mac”, waterproof over-trousers and wellies to be kept in school. They should also have a change of clothes in their PE bag (spare pants, socks, tops and bottoms – all labelled please) and a sun hat in summer.