Students 'herded like cattle' into isolation after uniform checks at Milton Keynes school

Stantonbury Campus re-branded as Stantonbury International School in September, and with the change came a whole new set of uniform.

But ever since, staff have been carrying out rigid uniform checks at the school gates each morning, say parents.

And any violation - including too many eyelets on shoes, or the wrong shoelaces - results in the student being sent to the isolation room, it is claimed.

“Up to 60 children each day are missing quality education because they are sent straight to isolation from the gate where they are inspected in lines like cattle,” said one mum.

“It is humiliating for the students and, as parents, we don’t know if our children are in school or not as they miss registration. I believe this is a massive safeguarding issue.”

The new uniform, which includes tartan-style skirts for the girls, was supplied free by the school for students going in to years eight, nine and 10 .

When the school opened 40 years ago, founder Geoff Cooksey famously shunned uniform and let students call teachers by their first names in order to create “equality” for all.

Headteacher Michelle Newman said this week: “Stantonbury International School is delighted that the launch of its new uniform in September 2018 has been welcomed so enthusiastically by students, staff, parents and the community”.

She added: “The design was student-led and everyone was provided with a new uniform without charge.

“Uniform gives young people a sense of belonging to a community whose purpose is to help them to shape their futures and SIS really is a place where everyone feels a sense of togetherness. 1800 young people arrive each morning and are greeted by staff as one of the many ways in which we build good individual relationships in a fairly large community. “

A member of the Griffin Schools Trust, the school is building its future on ‘Proud Traditions, Wide Horizons and High Achievement’.

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