When your child first starts school, you end up being confronted with a whole new world of things that may or may not be necessary for your child. Everything from learning aids through to specialty pencil cases through to toys...hopefully this list will whittle it down a little.
Primary School:
"Practice NAPLAN" tests: Unless your child has special needs and would benefit from knowing how the tests work before they take them, all these really end up doing is increasing further anxiety in your child and basically render the point of NAPLAN moot (which is meant to be comparing how your child is doing against a "typical" child their age, not as a pissing contest)
Art Smocks: Your child will outgrow these very quickly. A very large adult t-shirt or flannelette shirt will suffice in most cases and will last much longer, plus requires almost no to minimal work to be rendered usable (elastic at the cuffs). Most school paints at this level are designed to wash out easily, although you may come across those rare cases where it won't.
Math Sets: Until around year 5 or 6, the only things your child will need are a ruler and a compass. Protractors (when used) tend to be provided as a class set and set squares are almost never used in primary school.
"Brain Development" Supplements: Unless you have been advised by the doctor that your child needs a particular supplement in their diet, there has been no independent evidence showing that these will make your child smarter or score better in classroom tests.
Licensed Book Coverings: It's much cheaper and easier to make your own, as kids will outgrow these fads and trends very quickly. That Shopkins covering in Term 1 will largely end up being outclassed by a Monster High one in Term 4. Let your kid decorate their own front covers! Give them some blank paper (A4 is best), leave a section to fill in the class and year, then simply let the kid go to town.
Gel Pens: I would actually avoid these until at least Year 5 or 6. They are not designed for class work and wind up generally being used for vandalism at the end of the day. Prior to the year levels I've mentioned above, your child is also still learning how to use a pen or pencil - don't confuse them further.
Novelty Erasers: Simply put, they don't work. If your child insists on a novelty eraser, settle for one where the actual rubber part of the eraser is white as those are generally more effective.
White-Out/Liquid Paper: Aside from a number of schools having banned this, for children up until high school, it is generally better for them to learn ways of correcting mistakes that do not entail the use of liquid paper or white-out.
Battery-Operated or Crank Sharpeners: The former tend to take up space on desks and also run the risk of being stolen. The latter put unnecessary strain on the core of a pencil and tend to result in it breaking easier.
Spray-on hair colour: While these have been a mainstay of school Sports Days, swimming carnivals and fundraising events (not to mention the occasional concert), these are typically banned due to OHS concerns (Similar to deodorant). If your child does wish to colour their hair for these events, pony up for some hair chalk - while it takes a little longer to apply, it's not nearly as messy to remove and you can do so much more with the hair than just a quick spray job! Alternately, opt for a pump spray-on colour - they do exist, albeit are extremely rare.
School "Ribbons": Unless your child's school dictates the use of certain ribbons in your girl's hair, it's just as cheaper (and easier) to get some craft ribbon from the local cheap shop and use it in their hair.
Sharpies/Permanent Markers: Hold off until high school and even then, only in limited circumstances.
Left-handed Scissors: Try to find a pair that is ambidextrous (most are these days) as they're generally easier to obtain and will last a lot longer.
Plastic "Safety" scissors: These are generally ineffective and school scissors these days are generally only sharp enough to cut through paper and certain other materials - not flesh.
Novelty Scissors: See above re Safety Scissors. This also extends to any scissors with "covers" - these will fall off or get lost very quickly.
Robi "Nit" combs: These are combs which will give a small "zap" and kill headlice upon contact (they don't zap the child). While headlice is basically the scourge of every parent in primary and high school, I actually would suggest avoiding these combs for one simple reason: they make a very high-pitched noise while you're combing through your child's hair, which stops when they either detect or kill headlice. Stick with something that's less inclined to cause distress to animals or to any child with sensory issues.
Wide-brimmed hats WITHOUT a breakaway cord: These are a safety hazard and ideally these sort of hats should be avoided altogether, breakaway cord or not. Stick to either a bucket hat (if the school allows it) or a legionnaire's hat.
"School Canteen Approved" snacks: These are generally marketed as such based on arbitrary guidelines and are not consistent with any sort of state or federal government plan on what can and cannot be sold in school canteens. Check to see what your child's school canteen does sell for an idea of what are genuinely "Green Light" or "Amber Light" products. Better still, cut up some carrot sticks or apple slices and pop them in with something cold!
Fruit Boxes/Juice Boxes/Mini "Moo": These tend to contain a LOT of sugar and not much else. Stick to water as it'll last longer. It also has the added benefit in that it can be "frozen" in the morning and then will gradually thaw out during the day. End result? Cold water all day and your child's lunch won't go off.
Special "Sports" practice gear: Unless otherwise advised by the school, your child's school uniform will generally suffice for afternoon practice.
Mobile Phones: I know this is a hot-button topic for many, many parents and I can understand the reason behind parents wanting to give their child one, especially if said child does not attend before or after school care. That said though, many schools bar mobile phones for primary school aged children and for good reason! If you must give your child a mobile phone, avoid any sort of smartphone (classroom teachers will generally dictate iPads or tablets if the apps are needed for the classroom) and stick with either a simple prepaid "brick" phone (usually around $20-$30 at OFficeworks) or look at the possibility of providing a "Kisaphone" for your child. The latter is a phone that can be programmed with certain numbers (meaning that your child cannot have random strangers contacting them) and nothing else. This ensures that your kid is not racking up hundreds of dollars in debt before they're old enough to understand the consequences and also means that your kid is not likely to find themselves the victim of a random pedophile. (For those parents with court orders, these phones are also ideal if you have an order preventing the other parent from contacting your child)
High School:
Spray Deodorant and Hair Colour: Same reasons as the primary school scenario, these can cause issues for children with respiratory problems and also irritate others. Stick to hair chalk, roll-on deodorant or pump deodorant.
Portable Hard Drives: These are best kept at home. At best, your child may not even need a USB stick at school and worst-case scenario is that your child will likely not need anything larger than a 32GB stick.
Bus pass holders: Just have your kid keep their card in their purse/wallet.
ID card holders: Same as above.
Graphics Calculator: Unless your child is going into "Pure Maths" or variants of in Year 11/12, a scientific calculator will cover most functions until then and is relatively inexpensive. Please do not encourage the use of calculator apps on your child's device - these tend to be very simplistic at best.
Padlocks with a key: Unless your child's school provides these for your child, it is generally much easier on the school and your child to purchase a combination lock and hand the combination over to front office staff as well. This way, if your child does forget their locker combination, staff are able to assist without needing to necessarily cut the padlock. This also saves lost keys!
Expensive Dance Gear: Unless your child is undertaking Dance classes outside of school hours on a regular basis, unless otherwise advised by your child's teacher, generally what your child wears for PE should suffice.
