Year 10 PE Uniform

Dear Parents/Carers,

Firstly, we would like to thank all parents and carers who have consistently supported the school with providing the correct uniform for their child to wear.  We are a large academy and out of 1300 students we have had minimal concerns raised with the vast majority of our students arriving daily in full uniform and wearing the correct PE kit when appropriate.

We would like to clarify expectations and also provide some solutions to the changing picture we find ourselves in.  This will hopefully provide a level of compromise to support our families whilst we adapt to the changing landscape.

Currently our expectation is that students should wear the Strood Academy PE kit and if they require leggings or tracksuit bottoms that they are plain black or navy. Unfortunately, we are not accepting any logos other than the Strood Academy logo.  Whilst we apologise that there has been some inconsistent application of this rule historically, we are clarifying this with staff, students and parents as we will expect no logos on their PE kit.  We understand the pressure to wear a certain branded kit and want to remove this pressure from families and ensure all students are wearing a kit that is consistent in cost and appearance.

We are proposing a basic version of the PE uniform for those students that are not in possession of the Strood Academy P.E. kit currently.  We will accept students wearing a plain white t-shirt, black shorts, black or navy-blue tracksuit bottoms and sweatshirt.  In order to give families sufficient notice to source either the PE kit or basic version, we are asking that this be sorted for the start of term after Easter.  We are aware that Year 10 students have had an additional isolation period and do not underestimate the impact this may have had on families.

With shops planning to reopen on 12 April, we assume that these kit expectations will be achievable. If, however this is not, we have some stock in school which we will be able to loan to students until a resolution can be found.  We are aware that this basic kit can be purchased in the following locations – Poundland (PEP&Co), Tesco, Primark, Matalan, Asda, Sainsburys, Marks and Spencer and Amazon.

For September, we are consulting with students, parents and governors on moving to a more affordable Strood Academy PE kit as we are aware that the current one may not be financially viable for some families.  We will write to you after Easter once the consultation has taken place to inform of any changes.

We appreciate your support in ensuring that your son/daughter is correctly prepared for the school day and presented in the appropriate kit as outlined.  Should families be experiencing financial hardship we politely ask that they contact info@stroodacademy.org, where we will do our best to support you.

Kind Regards,