Parents have been advised not to dress their schoolchildren in short skirts and tight trousers amid fears they could be targeted by paedophiles. 
 
 The advice to families of children at King's Park Secondary School in Glasgow was sent out as part of new guidelines on dress codes. 
 
 Glasgow City Council confirmed the warning was linked to the recent conviction of a local paedophile. 
 
 The Scottish Parent Teacher Council said "shock tactics" were not needed. 
 
 In the letter to parents, the school states: "We believe that an appropriate school uniform (eg school trousers, knee-length school skirt etc) protects children from being targeted by sexual predators. 
 
 "There is recent evidence in the south of Glasgow of adults photographing school girls in short skirts and school girls/boys in tight trousers, then grooming them through the internet. 
 
 "We must do all we can to keep our children safe. A modest school uniform is more appropriate than fashion skirts, trousers or tops." 
 
 The letter advised parents to buy "appropriate" school uniforms from a list of approved items at Marks and Spencer. 
 
 Creating a link between school uniform and paedophilia seems to be a dangerous and unhelpful Eileen Prior, Scottish Parent Teacher Council 
 
 A council spokeswoman said the choice of store was an advisory only, and was not intended as an advertisement for M&S. 
 
 The letter was sent to parents following the case of Barry McCluskey, 39, from King's Park. 
 
 The former nurse posed as a 14-year-old girl to entice children to perform sex acts in front of web cameras. 
 
 McCluskey pleaded guilty to 49 charges stretching back to 2003, including lewd and libidinous practices and behaviour, at the High Court in Glasgow in February. 
 
 The Scottish Parent Teacher Council said the letter to parents was not needed and unwise. 
 
 Chief executive Eileen Prior said: "Creating a link between school uniform and paedophilia seems to be a dangerous and unhelpful one for everyone involved. 
 
 "It implies that young people are in some way responsible for the activities of paedophiles, which is an extremely dangerous argument and one which has echoes of the comments sometimes made around rapists and women's dress. 
 
 "If there is evidence of activity by a paedophile in the area, then police and parents should be informed and involved." 
 
 She added: "Many parents - and indeed young people themselves - are keen to have a dress code in school which requires everyone in the school community to dress in a way which is appropriate for a working environment." 

 Great news: One school has finally figured out how to stop pedophilia. We always thought adults were the problem, but apparently boys and girls are inviting predators to target them by wearing short skirts and tight pants. 
 
 Barry McCluskey of King's Park, Scotland recently pleaded guilty to posing as a 14-year-old girl online and convincing dozens of children to perform sex acts via webcam. The BBC reports that in response to this troubling case, King's Park Secondary School sent a letter to parents about a new dress code. It read: 
 
 We believe that an appropriate school uniform (eg school trousers, knee-length school skirt etc) protects children from being targeted by sexual predators. There is recent evidence in the south of Glasgow of adults photographing school girls in short skirts and school girls/boys in tight trousers, then grooming them through the internet. We must do all we can to keep our children safe. A modest school uniform is more appropriate than fashion skirts, trousers or tops. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Parents were advised that they could purchase "appropriate" clothing at the department store Marks and Spencer. 
 
 Many parents were rightly outraged by the school implying that when a child is singled out by a pedophile, it's their fault for dressing too seductively. As Eileen Prior, chief executive of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, points out, that horrible argument sounds all too familiar: 
 
 Creating a link between school uniform and paedophilia seems to be a dangerous and unhelpful one for everyone involved. It implies that young people are in some way responsible for the activities of paedophiles, which is an extremely dangerous argument and one which has echoes of the comments sometimes made around rapists and women's dress. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 There are legitimate reasons to make children wear school uniforms, such as lessening distractions or providing the school with a preppy panache, but warding off predators is not one of them. Children need more education on online safety and what sorts of activities they need to report to adults, but changes to their clothing accomplish nothing. Pedophiles don't lose interest in children when they put on a looser pair of pants. Sending this message to kids only primes them for believing that victims are somehow at fault when they're sexually assaulted. 
 
 Paedophilia Warning Over King's Park Pupil Dress Sense [BBC]
– Parents in King’s Park, Scotland, are outraged over a local school’s suggestion that the way their children dress might attract sexual predators. In the wake of the arrest of an alleged local predator, the school has sent out a letter telling parents that “an appropriate school uniform (eg school trousers, knee-length school skirt etc) protects children from being targeted by sexual predator,” according to the BBC. “We must do all we can to keep our children safe,” the letter continues. “A modest school uniform is more appropriate than fashion skirts, trousers or tops.” It then names a department store where approved items can be purchased. The Scottish Parent Teacher Council has objected to the letter, saying it “implies that young people are in some way responsible for the activities of pedophiles.” Or, as Jezebel puts it: “Pedophiles don’t lose interest in children when they put on a looser pair of pants.”