Missing Uniform

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scoobydoo
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:35 pm
Location: Surrey

Missing Uniform

Post by scoobydoo »

My DS started GS last September. Since then he has lost a brand new coat, a PE vest, a school t-shirt (all named) and TWICE finished a games lesson to find only one school shoe. The first time I thought maybe someone had picked it up and put it in their bag by mistake and it would turn up (it didn't) but now after the second time I am beginning to wonder if it was done on purpose, so have I have now had to replace two pairs of school shoes. This just isn't funny, any ideas on how to approach the school? I should have told them the first time it happened but didn't and DS doesn't want me to make a fuss, he insists he's not being bullied.
Samlet
Posts: 306
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 10:18 am

Re: Missing Uniform

Post by Samlet »

Is he generally organised, or was he always a bit forgetful? If so, then he probably isn't being bullied as they seem to find it very hard to get from A to B and home again with all their things intact.

This year so far my son has lost:- a swimming towel, scientific calculator, two pairs of trainers, one pair of rugby boots, his pencil case, his shoes (we got those back), his blazer with phone and fountain pens in it (got back after about 4 weeks when another parent told us about the caretaker's cubby hole where things left in the changing room go, but don't get taken to Lost Property) and some other stuff that I have forgotten. Oh and his house keys :evil:

I complained to school about the caretaker not handing stuff in, which they didn't know about and I tried to persuade them to have more lockers so the DC don't have to share :roll: but they weren't very interested.

General attitude seems to be - that's boys for you

I have been stopping his pocket money to pay for replacements to try and get him to care more about hanging on to his stuff, but he has just got used to the stoppages.

So I just keep reinforcing the message (nagging) about checking he has everything before he leaves a place. But I have some sympathy - they have to carry everything around all day from place to place and it is all a big deal when you are 11/12.

Also, having been to the Lost Property cupboard I can see that he is definitely not the only one like this. It was PACKED - regular Aladdin's Cave of grubby teenage boy school stuff (and quite whiffy)!
doodles
Posts: 8300
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Re: Missing Uniform

Post by doodles »

Spot on Samlet, and also a "boy" look in the lost property is nothing like a "mum" look. My DS seems to think that if he opens the door and the item doesn't jump out and smack him round the face then it's not there!!
andyb
Posts: 645
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:27 am
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Missing Uniform

Post by andyb »

9 times out of 10 the "lost" property is exactly where it was dropped but boys seem incapable of retracing their steps once they notice something is missing :roll: or looking properly in lost property bins.

Since instigating the rule "you lost it - you replace it" DS1 has been much better at keeping track of his stuff. At one point he lost his keys - house, locker, memory stick - he was given a deadline to find them or replace them, which would include the cost of changing the locks at home as we didn't know where the keys had been lost and replacing the padlock that would have to be cut off his locker, they turned up within the day! The only permenantly lost items in 3 years have been a pair of pe shorts, one rugby sock that he had to replace using money he'd set aside for a cinema trip with his mates (a valuable lesson learned) and a calculator that he peeled the name sticker from (unnamed property is free game).

A gentle email to your DS's form tutor along the lines of 'could the tutor help him to locate his missing stuff' rather than an all-guns-blazing 'there's a thief in the school' may help. The tutor will probably give everyone the standard 'be responsible for your own belongings' talk but at least your DS will have heard it from a neutral source and not dismiss it as Mums nagging.
estelle
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2012 6:19 pm

Re: Missing Uniform

Post by estelle »

My DS lost loads of stuff in Year 7, uniform & equipment. I was constantly sending him to the Lost Property Office & did feel quite worried that this would go on right through his school career. He even left his violin on the train one evening but it was luckily retrieved by a kind friend of his. Year 8 was completely different. He seemed to have got to grips with moving classrooms & nothing went missing. It's a steep learning curve but I am sure you will find a huge improvement next year.
scoobydoo
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2010 4:35 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Missing Uniform

Post by scoobydoo »

Thanks for all the replies. We will have to have a serious chat over half term about responsibility! I will email his tutor as suggested too.
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