Moate Community School principal defends new PE Day uniform

The principal of Moate Community School has acknowledged that its new PE Day uniform will mean an extra cost for parents, but has said the decision to bring it in was made in order to raise standards at the school.

While the addition of another school uniform has been criticised by some, principal Tom Lowry said parents had been surveyed about it earlier this year and were generally in favour of its introduction.

A parent who contacted the Westmeath Independent, Jonathon Murray, said he was very disappointed by the decision to bring in the PE Day uniform, which is being manufactured by O'Neill's and is only available for purchase through its online shop.

Mr Murray said the new uniform would present a financial burden for his family. "The PE uniform consists of a t-shirt for €30, skinny bottoms for €50, and a half-zip (top) for €57 - a total of €137 per student," he said.

He pointed out that this would mean a €411 cost for his three children, in addition to the costs of updated school jackets, the regular school uniform, and increased book rental costs.

"Moate Community School is making the cost of living these days even higher, and I can't sit idly by anymore," he stated.

"The parents were surveyed about the uniform; however, this survey was more focused on our preferences for different elements of the PE uniform, i.e., would you prefer a half-zip or a hoodie.

"The school has not shared the results of the survey, and the survey never indicated the high price tag that would be associated with the new uniform."

A discussion on the topic was also started on the 'Moate Is Open' Facebook page earlier this month, with a contributor describing the cost as "astronomical".

When contacted by the Westmeath Independent, Mr Lowry said the new uniform was not mandatory, but that he was encouraging it.

He said that, during the last two years of the pandemic, changing facilities for PE were not in use at the school and as a result students were allowed to wear their own PE clothing to school on days when they had PE.

Over time, he said, standards slipped and it became difficult to monitor who had PE on a given day and who didn't. "Emerging from Covid, we surveyed all of our parents to ask them what their views were on a uniform," he explained.

"I think a uniform is important in a school on a day-to-day basis; I think it's good for students. I think it's good for a school that a uniform is worn, and is worn with respect, and that everybody wears the same uniform."

He said that if students wanted to wear PE gear to school on a day when they had PE, it must now be the new PE uniform.

If they don't have the school's PE uniform, they could bring PE gear to school on the day, change into it before the PE class, and then change back into their regular uniform afterwards.

Mr Lowry pointed out that he had children in the school himself, and he was conscious that the new uniform was an additional expense for families.

"It is an extra cost, I absolutely get that," he said. He pointed out, however, that unlike many of the schools in Athlone, parents of children attending Moate CS were not being asked to pay a voluntary contribution to the school.

"Maybe parents might decide not to buy it this year. Maybe if their kids are in fifth year, they might say it's not worth it for fifth and sixth year.

"But if the student is in first year, O'Neill's uses good quality material, it's a good quality product, and it could last you two or three years."

On the O'Neill's website, it stipulates that the Moate CS PE uniform items "cannot be exchanged or refunded," and people are cautioned to make sure they enter the correct size when ordering the items online.

Mr Lowry said the school had samples of each of the items for inspection, and if parents were unsure of which size to order they were welcome to contact the school and examine the samples in order to see what fits best.