Dress Codes and Reasonable Adjustments

I am really sorry if that upset or angered you.  I know that will not be what you wanted to hear and I just read what other people wrote about how it's ridiculous.  I agree, but then this is the reality of what I have experienced.  I really do hope that there are schools out there that are different to mine!  Teaching is a really great profession and it is so rewarding.  99% of staff and students are lovely and will fill your days with smiles. 

I hope that you do really well in your course. 

Hi

I have taught in secondary schools for 15 years. The schools that I have worked at have been really strict on male staff wearing ties so I just wanted to warn you that you will be the only male teacher that the students will have ever seen not in a tie.  I am not writing this to make you feel bad in your request, if it bothers you definitely ask! I just want you to be prepared that the students will ask you questions about why you aren't wearing a tie so that you can have your answer ready.

Perhaps people on here can suggest a good reason to say to them.  I can only think of saying that you are too hot, but lots of male staff moan about that and have to wear ties so that one is out.  My head teachers have only let the men take their ties off once the temperature went above 28 degrees Celsius! Poor guys!

Maybe say that you have ezcema to students?  Or the real reason? 

Hi

I have taught in secondary schools for 15 years. The schools that I have worked at have been really strict on male staff wearing ties so I just wanted to warn you that you will be the only male teacher that the students will have ever seen not in a tie.  I am not writing this to make you feel bad in your request, if it bothers you definitely ask! I just want you to be prepared that the students will ask you questions about why you aren't wearing a tie so that you can have your answer ready.

Perhaps people on here can suggest a good reason to say to them.  I can only think of saying that you are too hot, but lots of male staff moan about that and have to wear ties so that one is out.  My head teachers have only let the men take their ties off once the temperature went above 28 degrees Celsius! Poor guys!

Maybe say that you have ezcema to students?  Or the real reason?

I have been worrying about whether to write this bit or not. But I figured that I would want to know if I was you...... I have to warn you that your mentor is trying to insist upon it because unfortunately some students will unconsciously judge you for not wearing a tie and you would have to work harder to earn their respect as they may see you as a 'safe' teacher. This would only take a few months for the first few years that you get new classes. 

You will also find it much more difficult to get a job if you don't wear a tie at an interview.   

I do not agree with this and I wish that this wasn't the case, but I have had middle management positions at 3 different schools so I know why the mentor is trying to strongly encourage you into wearing a tie.  But maybe there are progressive schools out there.  I like to hope so. 

Cold you wear a tie but have it loose and the top button undone so it doesn't feel like you are wearing one?

I sympathise - I can't have anything touching my collarbones or my throat, so I can't imagine what it must be like wearing a tie.

It is certainly a reasonable adjustment to ask for - goodness knows I've asked my school for things that were harder to accommodate and got them, so I don't see why being excused from wearing a tie would be an issue. If your mentor is still insisting upon it, I would either get the disability department at university to pop them an email, or possibly get the SENCO at your placement to have a word.

I hated wearing a tie! I always felt like a string of sausages... I got away with wearing a shirt blazer and jeans in the office at MOD. As it was at least smart casual. I tried this at first in private industry, but got called up for wearing jeans.

They weren't even blue! I wore black or beige... mainly as, as per sausage comment. I've always been a big guy and was getting through suit trousers every 6 mths... jeans wore much better! 

I'd hope they accept it as a reasonable adjustment for you. If not... you could always threaten:

love your username!

Yeah, I just find them horrible to wear. It's not just because they can be tight around my neck, but wearing them just makes me feel overwhelmingly miserable.

I tried wearing one at home for ten minutes the other day and I couldn't walk upright properly at all, because it just made me feel so weighed down (both literally and emotionally).

If I feel like this while I'm wearing one in school, heaven only knows how I'm going to find the energy to teach a group of Year 7s during the day.

Thank you!

I've just checked them out and you have inspired me to seek union support! <3 

Thank you for your support!

Unfortunately I don't have a clinical confirmation of my specific difficulty, however I do have a formal autism diagnosis. So I hope that the school is able to realise that autism is always going to present itself different and that they need to be prepared to make reasonable adjustments if (as you say) they want to present themselves as an inclusive school to prospective students.

I'm currently seeking legal advice from Unite the Union about reasonable adjustments, because the whole issue is so blatantly rude and quite possibly illegal.

Quite. They may end up tying themselves in knots over this issue.

These are examples from the ACAS site.  On the evidence of this, the school would appear to be at risk of embarrassing itself and damaging its reputation if it made an issue over a tie:

www.acas.org.uk/reasonable-adjustments

I have this issue but I think to a slightly lesser degree than you. My solution was to buy new shirts that were half to a full inch bigger in the collar, so that I did not feel the compression. Tie was fully up to the button, but no pressure. I have been able to manage like this ever since.

I think that a move on your part to some form of compromise might be useful. Wearing a shirt that a tie might be expected to be worn with might be rather a glaring breach, especially if pupils ere expected to wear ties and are disciplined for not doing so. Therefore, wearing a type of shirt which does not accommodate a tie might be a compromise. The sort of round-collared 'grandad shirt' for example, or polo-neck or turtle-neck jumpers

These sections of this website would seem to be appropriate, if you haven't reviewed them:

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/employment-adjustments-tips

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/disclosing-employment

www.autism.org.uk/.../education-professionals

In a supervisory position I simply wouldn't make an issue over this triviality, but from what you say, they are doing.  Not very smart of them.  I have never worked in education but I offer these thoughts from a general management perspective.  

If I worked in a place where I had to enforce this, irrespective of my own views, I'd have these issues.

1.  Do you have any kind of clinical back-up for your case?  A note from a doctor, psychiatrist, psychiatric or mental health nurse?  If you did, then ignoring your request for 'reasonable adjustment' would become exponentially more difficult. In fact, it would be a nightmare.  

2.  Are there any (known) autistic pupils, or other members of staff (academic or otherwise)?  If I was the parent of an autistic child, and thought that an autistic teacher was being unfairly treated in this way, I'd be pretty concerned ... for my child's welfare.  I'm not suggesting that you round-up 'supporters' (don't do that). But gently and diplomatically pointing out that a more enlightened approach to autism might be seen as a sign of a more progressive-thinking school could help your case.  

3.  Back to the scenario in which I was the one enforcing this: If an adjustment were made, then in discussion with you, I would feel obliged to find some way of letting other members of staff know why you, and only you, are excused from the dress code, because otherwise they'd be thinking if you are excused, why can't they be?  This might be a difficult issue for you and raises privacy concerns unless you have already told people you're autistic, so I'd be exploring it with you to see whether you regard your autism as a private and confidential matter; I'd be very careful not to pressurise you in that situation and would probably do it in writing or with witnesses (having said that, I'd also be back-channelling the view that this rule is a bit archaic and should be dropped, but I'd do that privately, without your knowledge).

It's a difficult situation based on fatuous rules but try to keep calm and professional about it.  I wish you all the very best.  

member in school they used to make us wear ties, and the collars on shirts top button had to be fastened and it was a bit tight to the neck, always choke in assembly and then get told off because they thought i was eating and choking on a sweet or something 

never liked neck nooses myself, make me feel chokey. i dunno whether its the anxiety that does that as obviously anxiety can cause you to choke, so that combined with anything touching or tight around your neck can make you feel that item is choking you instead of the anxiety, or perhaps make the anxiety worse to the point the thing around your neck does contribute to that choking feel.