‘It’s unfair to children’ – Outrage as Aldi denies ‘ban’ on pupils in school uniform

Budget supermarket Aldi says it has enforced temporary restrictions at its Archway store in Holloway Road following a rise of alleged anti-social behaviour including shoplifting, abusive language and aggressive behaviour towards staff.

Between 3pm and 6pm, one child in uniform is allowed in at a time, unless they are accompanied by an adult.

A sign was previously up on the shopfront, but it has since been removed even though the restriction remains.

A sign that was in place at the Aldi store (Image: UGC)

An Aldi spokesperson emphasised to the Ham&High that this is not a ban, but just a “temporary measure” and only in place at the Archway store.

Maria Santos, who has a 10-year-old daughter attending a school near the area, argues that it is a ban.

She said: “It’s unfair to children, it’s not a temporary measure – it’s been ongoing for some time, at least over a month!

“The only exception to that rule is if that child is with a parent, which let’s face it – most secondary school kids will not be in there with a parent.”

The mother believes the majority of thefts at the shop are probably carried out by men, and says children should not be targeted and prevented access.

Her daughter, who was nine at the time, was not allowed in on the eve of her tenth birthday to buy some treats.

“She goes into the Tesco store then and she’s fine,” her mother pointed out.

“The only reason stopping her is school uninform. The store told me if she was wearing her own clothes or if she put a T-shirt on top of her uniform that is fine. Do you realise how ridiculous that is?”

A spokesperson from Aldi said: “It’s been put in place to protect store colleagues at times of the day when they have seen a rise in incidents of anti-social behaviour including shoplifting, abusive language and aggressive behaviour towards staff.

 “Aldi’s working with the local school and will keep this under review.”