From Apple watches to Uber Eats: What’s banned in schools across Melbourne

Back in the day it used to be “keep your hands and feet to yourself” but these days, the rules rule the school. From Apple watches to egg cartons and Uber Eats, here’s our A to Z guide of restrictions you’ll find at schools across Melbourne.

Cream is off the fete menu with concerns about storage and handling. Picture: iStock/Renata Gortan

It’s hard to keep up. Barely a week passes without another activity making its way on to the school banned list.

The rules seem endless. Rules around what kids can do, say, wear and eat.

And rules extend to what parents can and cannot do while on the school ground.

The first response from observers often decries the crackdowns as a sign of a “snowflake” generation or calls for kids to be wrapped up in bubble wrap.

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There’s usually commentary that “back my day” it was open slather and kids were rough and tumble. “It didn’t hurt us.”

At the centre are principals and teachers, trying to navigate the middle ground between keeping everyone safe in a far more litigious world and letting people get on with it. There also has been the rise of the helicopter parent, very eager to communicate their concerns and demands for their child.

Protecting children’s feelings, their welfare, maintaining some sort of order, commonsense and some heightened political correctness come into play.

Uniforms and grooming are among the biggest sticking points as young people try to express themselves and rub against authority. Schools try to keep it vanilla, wanting to focus on schooling, rather than managing a whole group of individuals and what they are wearing. Image is particularly important to some schools as they see their students as roving ambassadors of the school.

Here’s our A to Z of some we’ve come across. We’re sure we have missed some.

APPLE Watches: Brighton Grammar requires boys to turn their watches off during the day. Failure to do so will result in confiscation.

Leave these off during class kids.

ARRIVAL/PICK UPS: Parents thinking they can drop the kids off early and get to work or arrive late for pick up have been put on notice by many schools. They are not unpaid babysitters. Parents cannot drop children off before certain times as the schoolyard is not supervised. In some instances children are sent to before and after care and parents billed for care.

AWARDS: Trying to balance the tightrope of encouraging students and the “everyone wins a prize” approach is a battle for schools. Many schools award students of the week, finding good in all students during the year. But, you can bet that if a child falls between the gaps and does not get an award, parents will be in to ask why. Sebastopol’s St James Primary School axed ribbons at its school sports, urging everyone to do their personal best.

BALLOONS: a childcare centre would not allow balloons to celebrate a birthday because some children may have latex allergies. These days balloons are getting a bad rap because they can end up in waterways. Brighton Grammar stipulates that “party balloons are not to be used if a student has an allergy to latex”.

BEYBLADES: The latest toy to make it on the banned list as schools try to manage squabbles over the spinning, fighting tops. In the past month or so a number of schools have told families they are no longer welcome.

Eggs and even egg cartons are banned at some school due to allergies.

BRITISH Bulldog and similar games: A perennial issue. Northcote High School, earlier this month, sent a note to parents seeking their assistance in regulating schoolyard play. “Any direct “physical impact” games such as British Bulldog and Scarecrow, where the aim of the game is to tackle someone (usually head on) are prohibited at all times” the school said. Schools are trying to minimise risk and have a duty of care for students.

CAKES: The rise of food intolerances has seen many schools either banning or strictly regulating if students can bring cakes and treats to school to celebrate a birthday. In some cases schools require cupcakes so the teacher does not have to cut up a cake. One child, to circumvent an issue, brought a cake and a knife to school and cut up the cake at lunchtime.

CHAIN LETTERS/MEMES: They’re not like the olden days where they were on paper. Now they are usually spread electronically. Schools try to stem these as some kids get upset about threats that they will come to harm if they don’t pass them on. The more electronically savvy older students are known to cut and paste teachers in memes that are not well received.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS: This is an annual reheated claim that some kinders and schools have steered away from the traditional Christmas songs to accommodate non-Christians.

COFFEE: Parents at St Kevin’s junior campus Glendalough have been asked not to carry hot drinks around the schoolyard and classrooms as active boys might knock them flying, causing burns. Generally, teachers at schools are told not to have hot drinks in cups during yard duty in case of accidents.

CREAM CAKES: Food regulations have seen the cream cake banned from school fetes. The cream might go off. All contributions now need to be named with all the ingredients, the baker and the date prepared.

DOGS: Some schools forbid dogs, even on a leash, to be within the school ground.

EGG CARTONS: Egg allergies have seen some kinders/schools telling families not to donate old egg cartons to be used in construction play.

FLOWERS and other gifts: Bacchus Marsh Grammar nipped young love in the bud this Valentine’s Day, telling students that any deliveries of flowers, cards and gifts would be turned away at the office. The rationale was not explained but managing unauthorised people on school grounds might have been a factor. Staff time dealing with the issue and disquiet among students who don’t get the tokens of love may also have been a consideration.

FOOTY and other ball games: Students cramped into small school yards have been told that they can’t play footy in confined areas as they risk hitting smaller children.

FOOTY CARDS: Back in the day you could have added swap cards and marbles into the mix. Today you might even add Coles’ Stickees. Some schools try to regulate children taking them to school as they may misplace them, they may get stolen or older kids might dud younger kids out of their good cards. It’s vexed.

GLASS DRINK BOTTLES: For teen students it wasn’t so much that the Voss water is bottled at an “artesian source in the pristine wilderness of Southern Norway” but the look and feel of the bottle. A number of schools have banned them, saying the risk of broken glass is not worth the aesthetic appeal.

GRAPES: Parents at Brighton Grammar early learning centre have been told they need to chop up grapes as whole grapes are a choking risk. Many schools try to enforce rules about eating while sitting down to avoid choking issues.

GRANDPARENTS’ DAY: Not so much a ban but a broadening of the event. Given that we are a more mobile society and families are not always close, many schools have morphed these days into special person’s day to try to be more inclusive.

HAIR: The Trinity Grammar hair saga put hair under microscope. While most schools don’t go to such extremes as cutting a student’s hair, they do try to regulate length and colour of hair. However, they vary from school to school. Carey Grammar does not allow “extremes” in colour or style.

Hair can be a sticking point at many schools. Picture: iStock

At Carey, the boys can’t wear ponytails, topknots and the minimum haircut is a number 3. Boys have to be clean shaven without “excessive” sideburns. A suburban school ended up having to back down when it refused to allow girls to wear braids which they argued was part of their culture.

HEAD LICE: It’s the note that sends a chill through parents. Children have to be excluded from school until they have been treated. The etiquette is to tell the school that your child has an outbreak but many parents, fearing a stigma, don’t tell the school so the head lice just go around and around.

HELICOPTER PARENTS: They like to whirr around, landing in classrooms, directing the traffic. But some schools, wanting kids to become more self sufficient, organised and resilient, ban mums and dads from coming into the classroom any time they like.

HELMETS: Many students riding scooters to schools have been told they must wear helmets.

IDLING: Woodleigh College, on the Mornington Peninsula, has encouraged harried parents who arrive at school early and sit in their cars with the engine running to turn them off. It says it is in not consistent with its environmental policy. Some countries have hefty anti-idling laws.

ILLNESS: Slapped cheek, chickenpox, gastro. They are all illnesses that require children to stay at home. Often kids go to school spreading their germs.

JEWELLERY: Dress codes vary from school to school. For instance, Carey Grammar allows one thin, plain metal necklace. “There are to be no adornments other than for religious significance”.

LATENESS: Paired with absenteeism, this is an ongoing battle for schools. Some schools and students are bigger offenders.

LUNCHES: Schools try to regulate lunches, to varying degrees. This often gets people off-side but some families do send kids to school with packets of junk food instead of fresh food. Striking the right balance is an issue for all.

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MAKE UP: Policies vary wildly and there appears to be a gulf between policies and what is policed. Carey Grammar does not allow “excessive make up”. It does allow clear nail polish.

MARY JANE SHOES: One school banned girls from wearing the shoes because the students did not do up the buckles and left the straps flapping around.

MOBILE PHONES: Schools, worried about the distractions and risk of anti-social behaviour have been grappling with cutting down phone use. While some schools have stipulated mobile free days, or banned students from having phones in classes, others have taken a harder line. McKinnon Secondary College appears to have been a trailblazer in banning phones and said the benefits were immediate. Camberwell Girls Grammar and Trinity Grammar are among recent converts and say there are huge upsides with students interacting better and less distracted. Gisborne Secondary College, at the centre of a viral video drama when students uploaded footage of a brawl, is trialling a ban in Term 2.

NO JAB, NO PLAY: Parents have to provide evidence of immunisation showing they are vaccinated or are on a catch up program. Ballarat Clarendon College will not accept children to its early learning centre under the “conscientious objection” criteria.

NUTS and similar foods that cause allergies: With the rise and rise of conditions such as anaphylaxis some schools deal with protecting affected children differently. There are some with blanket bans of nuts and foods with traces of nuts.

Lots of schools ban a variety of nuts.

PARKING: A constant bugbear for schools trying to manage parents dropping off and picking up kids. Too many to mention have cautioned parents not to stop in the middle of the road to let off their kids, park in the teachers’ car park and double park. Local councils are vigilant, issuing parking tickets for illegal deeds.

PARTY INVITATIONS: Schools are trying to weigh up etiquette with protecting students from hurt when everyone in the class but them is invited to a birthday party. Opponents say seeing everyone invited to the party but you builds resilience. But many schools have taken the view that if everyone is invited to the party, the invitations can be handed out at school. Otherwise parents can do it discretely. Brighton Grammar does not allow invitations to be handed out at school unless all class members are invited.

PIERCINGS: A vexed issue for many schools. Some dictate that only plain studs and sleepers can be worn. Some schools are more lenient. Other schools have more lenient policies for senior schools in VCE level.

Carey Grammar allows middle and senior girls “one small, plain metal sleeper or stud per earlobe” Boys in the junior and middle school are not allowed any piercings. Boys in the Carey senior school are allowed a small sleeper or stud per earlobe.Carey does not allow any eyebrow, nose, lip or chin rings or studs.

SCHOOL BANKING: Coburn Primary School Council, in Melton, decided to park its school banking pending the outcome of ASIC investigations in the financial sector.

SHARING FOOD: Another no, no in an effort to manage food intolerances. But trading a piece of homemade hedgehog for a mini packet of Tiny Teddies never gets old.

SMOKING: Since 2015 smoking has been banned within four metres of any entrance to a Victorian school. That includes teachers and staff.

SOCIAL MEDIA: A minefield for schools and when students upload material that is detrimental to them and the school, when the school finds out about it, they can be in all sorts of trouble. Very hard to regulate but huge potential for reputational damage. Most schools are really clear about the requirements and most students have to sign agreements. Cases include students creating memes using photographs of teachers in an unflattering way.

SUNSMART: Many schools have a ‘no hat, no play” type policy where children who don’t have a hat can’t play outside. Once this happens enough times the children usually learn to have a hat or keep a spare at school. But sharing hats is a no go zone as that might spread head lice.

SUSTAINABILITY: The conversation around the environment has spread to the classroom where the issues are covered in the subjects. Individual schools are championing ways to cut waste. Many of these are student led. Melbourne Girls’ College is one of a number of schools working hard to cut single use waste. Students are encouraged to employ reusable cutlery and single use cutlery is not available at the canteen. Some schools also have drop off points for old phones, text books and the like so they can be recycled and reused. Many schools have “nude” lunch days where they encourage less packaging.

SWEARING: We might be more relaxed but bad language is still not allowed. Policing it is another issue.

TATTOOS: Carey Grammar mentions tattoos in its uniform policy, saying no visible tattoos are permitted.

THERMOS FLASKS: At least one school banned thermos flasks because the school was concerned about a burns risk if the soup was too hot.

TOYS: See also Beyblades and Footy cards. Many schools have policies discouraging children from bringing loved toys to school in case they are broken, stolen or misplaced. Water pistols and Nerf guns might also be in the firing line.

TERM HOLIDAYS: As students approach the pointy end of their education schools look down on absences from school during term. Cheapskate parents wanting to snare cheap shoulder season holiday deals are often the worst offenders. Schools all press the point but Melbourne High School principal Jeremy Ludowyke took a more direct path, telling families that students were expected to be at end of year assemblies or they may risk missing out on their chosen subjects for the following year.

Many schools have banned their students ordering takeaway from delivery services like Uber Eats.

UBER EATS: The delivery services and other similar business have been ordered out of schools. Hungry students looking for something to eat try to get around the rules, having food passed through fences. But a number of schools have put their foot down, saying they don’t want unauthorised people on campus. Among school taking a stand are Melbourne Girls College, Canterbury Girls High School and St Catherine’s.

UNIFORMS: Possibly the source of the most disquiet. While some schools do not have a uniform, many prefer to have a uniform as it means everyone dresses the same. The level of policing varies considerably and, arguably, image conscious private schools are more strict. Rules around wearing blazers are often the most vexxed. Lengths of dresses and skirts for girls is a common cause if dispute.

Fitzroy High School, which does not have a uniform, has a dress code in which it asks students not to wear clothes that are “offensive, too short, too brief, exposes too much skin. including midriff and shoulders”. This is informed by SunSmart principles and that certain clothing may interfere with students doing their work.

WORKING WITH CHILDREN: Parents, carers and others are not allowed to do volunteer jobs around schools unless they have a Working With Children clearance. They are free for volunteers but another thing to add to the admin load.

Any others? Comment below.

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