WE don’t believe that headteacher Kate Chisholm anticipated the national frenzy she was about to stir up when she gave parents her now notorious dressing down over dressing gowns at the school gates.

But, even if she did appreciate the full impact her letter would have, is it such a bad thing for a headteacher to want to spark a national debate about whether it is right for mums to embark on the school run in their pyjamas and slippers?

Of course, the head of Darlington’s Skerne Park Academy could have adopted the more discreet approach advocated by some of her fellow heads.

She could have had a quiet word in the ears of the “offenders” and hoped it would do the trick.

But we are talking about a group of 50 who persistently turn up in their jim-jams and we don’t see anything wrong in sending a letter asking them not to.

This was not the “pyjama ban” that some have suggested. Headteachers don’t have powers to give slovenly parents detention. It was merely a polite but firm request.

And, while we fully appreciate that many parents have hectic lives, is it really too much to ask to get up a few minutes earlier and throw on some clothes before venturing outside?

We are among those who have applauded Kate Chisholm for taking her stand and sending out an important message.

We hope that, once the media frenzy has died away, parents take the dressing down in the right spirit and avoid the slippery slope.

Education is not just about academic achievement. It is about teaching life skills which prepare young people for adult life and the world of work, where they will be expected to be organised, disciplined and well presented.

And, however good teachers may be, education begins at home.