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A school in Blackpool has drawn some ire for changes to a school uniform that mean pupils who wish to wear a skirt will need to wear thick tights.
The minimum thickness is at 80 denier – which are considered to be thick as well as fully opaque.
The changes were rolled out at Unity Academy Blackpool to ensure ‘a safer school environment where every student is ready to learn’.
And one parent spoken to by The Blackpool Lead said they believe it is because there are concerns male staff may otherwise be distracted. You’d expect the school to deny that. They didn’t.
All of which comes at a time when the former school caretaker was in court last month on grooming charges.
🏠 A demolition crew has arrived on the site of boarded up terraced houses at the back of Blackpool FC’s stadium. Plans to demolish the houses on Henry Street as part of a major sports-themed regeneration project in Blackpool have taken a step forward after a three year delay. Back in February, an application seeking approval for demolition of existing dwellings at 2-28 Henry Street was granted by the planning officer at Blackpool Council. This week, Preston-based I&R Demolition were on the site to “soft strip” the interior of the buildings. However, the houses are unlikely to be bulldozed this month, as one last remaining home is owned by a private landlord and is still occupied by a family who are renting the home.
💪🏻 A gym user has blasted the ‘disgusting’ state of amenities at a council-run leisure centre in Bispham. William Eadie, 61, said the condition the equipment at Moor Park Health and Leisure Centre on Bristol Avenue was unacceptable and needed urgent action from Blackpool Council. Mr Eadie, who said his own professional job entailed ‘infection control’, said he was particularly concerned about the amenities from a hygiene perspective and called for basic but urgent repairs to the torn equipment. Blackpool Council said increased use of he gym had led to an increase in wear and tear and said that a refurbishment project was planned.
♻️ Blackpool Council is expecting to increase the amount of waste it recycles when new waste changes start from late April. This will include the rollout of weekly food waste collections and see changes introduced to bin collection days for many residents. From the week commencing April 20, households will begin receiving a new weekly food waste collection service. This forms part of national changes introduced by the government, aimed at reducing the amount of food waste and increasing recycling rates.
By Luke Beardsworth
An updated uniform policy at a top school in Blackpool mandates that pupils wearing skirts will have to wear thick black tights.
Unity Academy Blackpool, on Warbreck Hill Road, is part of the largest group managing schools in the area – the Fylde Coast Academy Trust.
It said that the changes to school uniform brought in earlier this year – which are not limited to pupils wearing tights of a minimum 80 denier – were designed to ensure a safer and more focused school environment.
Other changes to school uniform include the reintroduction of ties for Key Stage 3 students.
But one parent said her child was informed the change was brought in because otherwise it could prove distracting to male staff at school.
That messaging was not communicated to parents in an announcement of the uniform policy but the school declined to comment on the matter when challenged by the mother and when approached by The Blackpool Lead.
They said instead that policy is introduced based on feedback from parents and carers.
But the mother, from Blackpool, said that the policy indicates that pupils are being made to cover their skin so that teachers do not sexualise them.
