School uniforms

Parents like their child's school to have a uniform, and look down on schools with the sweatshirts of the 90s. OFSTED judges everything, and asks parents their perceptions of the school.
One pupil of mine years ago said she was pleased to have moved to a school with uniform, it meant she didn't have to think about what she wore to school (extra 20 minutes in bed she said), and when she went out with mates, they hadn't seen all her clothes before.
Academies are all about branding (and making money? it's a business), but if anyone rings the school and asks a deputy head to think about a 2nd hand shop (use the word 'recycled'), and says they will ring again next May when Y11s throw out their uniforms, then hooefully something might change.

My granddaughter's primary school has a second hand uniform shop. Basically you contact the school secretary if you need anything and she will look for the item. My daughter bought some spare sweaters as her five year old was spilling dinner down them every day. The school is very middle class and there is no stigma to using this service.

My daughter in law is a primary school teacher and she mentioned the huge amount of uniforms that end up in lost property. They send them to a school in Africa. I think they'd be better giving them to their own pupils. The school is in a poor area.

The part I find saddest is the move from 1990s, early 2000s girl pupils in trousers - much more sensible - to academies pushing skirts, which eventually end up very short.

My church-and others locally-have had uniform days when all sorts of items of uniforms are available free of charge. Absolutely wonderful!
The primary two of our GC attend recently had a new head who promptly changed the uniform to an expensive plaid outfit. It should all be generic items available at supermarkets IMHO esp sports gear.
And don't get me started on why girls wear ties!

With uniforms there is no argument every morning on what to wear and no competition on who has the most expensive/fashionable gear. My mother was a widow who had to dress four of us and loved us having to have fixed uniforms. She only needed to buy us a couple of outfits each for the weekend. Our coats were our gaberdine Macs or blazers and we only had our school shoes. We survived!! This was in the 60s.

Two of my C went to private school, their suits and blazers had to be dry cleaned. Every Friday evening it was a dash to the dry cleaners, and I couldn't relax on Saturday till uniform was collected.

My GS has to have a logo'd t-shirt and fleece for nursery which can be worn with joggers/jeans or shorts in summer. They are the same colour as the primary school it is attached to.

I also went to an inner London Grammar (Clapton) and remember the awful brown uniform knickers and green gym leotard ugh!!!

I was shocked to see one poster mentioning paying for stationery; this should be provided by the school.
I don't approve of the academy ethos; once business people get involved they attempt to make a profit, naturally, but this should be used for the benefit of the school, not ending up in 'expenses.' In previous years Governors gave their time and expertise for free, and for many years.
Academies: one of the worst educational decisions ever, Blair and Gove.

It's completely ridiculous the price of school uniforms. Why can"t schools allow their logos to be bought individually and sewn on, so that they can be reused when an item of clothing needs replacing. Not all parents can afford duplicate items and some will struggle to get them washed again quickly for the next time it's needed, In one town in the north west, two of the local primary schools actually have washing machines installed for families who are really struggling ( run out of electricity and money )to enable their children's uniforms to be washed. What a sorry state of events for this to be in this day and age.

In the comps where I have taught (Midlands, the non-uniform days always had the lowest attendance as the 'poorer' students had nothing 'suitable' to wear and took the day off.

Don't knock uniform. All the schools I knew 'arranged' to 'help' the students who could not afford it and kept unclaimed lost property items for this purpose.

At a school here the school badge on Blazers etc has to be changed depending what year you are in, so effectively a costly change every year.

Excellent reasons for dumping school uniform and not succumbing to the Academies' rip-offs!

As regards the morning hassle of what to wear - lay it out the night before. Saves lots of time. I’ve always done it myself because I'm not a morning person. When in work I could bath, wash my hair and get dressed and be out the door in 20 minutes! True I have fine hair and it dries quickly!

I was so pleased to read the small child's “back chat”. Why shouldn't she speak her mind? Or should she always kowtow to the “grownups”?

To return to the topic. I was a teacher before I retired I asked the member of the senior staff who was responsible for checking school uniform how much time he spent on this each week. He thought a bit and then replied that he thought it was around 40% of his time. Do the Math – 40% of a senior teacher's salary equals a whole junior teacher. Now how many people still think school uniform is a good idea??

I completely agree with easybee about Academies. I mentioned stationery. My grandchildren go to an ordinary state comprehensive and have to provide everything except paper.The pencils have to be HB as well.

Granny23 that made me laugh. My grandson has just moved on to school from a wonderful Nursery and quickly observed that jokey conversations with the staff are not for school, nor are funny tee-shirts or the bead necklaces he likes to wear. From 3 to 4 children are finding their feet in the world and being outspoken and outrageous is all part of the fun of growing up. We have spent the last month reminding my GS that he will have to curb the silliness and some of the language (I don’t mean swearing?, leave his necklaces at home and not look for excuses to delay reacting to instructions. He nods wisely and reminds us that we have already told him that countless times.

As for the uniform policy that really is outrageous to need to buy uniform socks and have school logo on everything. My daughter bought one of each item that needed to display the school logo to use on first day of term and assembly day, school trips etc. and two more generic items from the supermarket. Trousers could be dark grey or black so supermarket again.

My parents had to buy my school uniform from Harrods with much grumbling but it was their choice to send me to a snooty convent school which I hated so they deserved it,

Things weren't so bad 10+ years ago - most schools only requiring a few specific school items, eg tie, blazer, sweatshirt, etc but since the rise of the academy system - with its focus on raising money for their Trusts - uniform supply has provided them with a splendid income!

Nothing new here. I went to a grammar school in the 1950's, the uniform could only be purchased at George Henry Lee (now John Lewis). My parents bought me a blazer that was too big but it lasted until the 5th form!! Had to have a new one for Upper and Lower 6th though. We were in gymslips and white blouses, school tie, lace up shoes, Clark's sandals were essential and gabardine macintosh. In the 6th form we were allowed to wear a skirt instead of a gymslip.

Had ment to thank and agree with easybee and Greenfinch

Schools in the UK have become very corporate and uniforms have become a big cash cow. Many of the privatised academies don't allow supermarket uniform items and everything has to be branded with the academy logo - even PE socks.

I don't think strict uniforms actually prevent fashion bullying as the kids look to different subjects such as makes of shoes, brands of school bags, hairstyling and make of mobile phone etc.

My children attended non- uniform schools in Sweden and to be honest I don't think it made any difference to behaviour. If anything clothing was simpler, inexpensive and more practical.

I went to a private school in Scotland and the uniform could only be purchased from Forsyth's in Edinburgh. My uniform was so large that it drowned me but 5 years later it was still being worn although a tad tight! Even the grey knickers were uniform! We wore a kilt, white blouse, tie and a tweed jacket on a Sunday.It cost my parents a fortune.

Schools in the UK have become very corporate
There are no academies in Wales but some schools are introducing a strict uniform policy.
At the same time, the Assembly has cut the funding to help poorer families with purchase of uniforms.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-43647152

One good point about children having to wear school uniform is that they need fewer items of other clothing - so it is swings and roundabouts.

To digress a bit: my children's uniform had to be purchased at Jackson's in Reading and the boys had to wear suits.I used to save up my family allowance for this and every August the whole lot used to be spent on uniform.When they were 15,13 and 11 I decided to give them the allowance to spend on uniform or any other clothes they wanted/needed.Thus they each got the allowance which was about £20 ,once every three weeks.It was amazing how they economised on uniform by not scuffing their shoes and getting another year out of their suits so that they could buy the latest trainers or football kit.

I was a boarder at a Scottish private school and we not only had school uniform but a boarding house uniform as well. This included a Harris tweed overcoat (25 guineas in the 1950's!), and have you any idea what a kilt cost? Parents had to provide bedding, cutlery, coat hangers, table napkins and ring, shoe cleaning kit etc., all named, so stop moaning!

Good idea, Greenfinch. I gave my lot a clothing allowance when they were around the ages of yours, but didn't include the school uniform. I missed a trick there!

Though to be fair, their high school uniforms were reasonably priced. The white shirts and black skirts, trousers, jumpers and cardigans could be bought anywhere and the blazers, ties and sports kits were sold by the school on what must have been a non-profit basis. It's so sad to hear that the days of rip-off, overpriced uniforms are back. During the last Labour government all state schools were sent guidelines on keeping down the costs of uniform and not making them too prescriptive.

I'm a fan of the uniform system though, having worked in a school in a very deprived area. Non-uniform day and end of term discos used to be a challenge for many families. We used to kit out a lot of children for free from our second-hand store, and in uniform they were no different to everyone else. If any teacher, let alone one in a senior position, is spending 40% of his time checking uniform, that school's leadership needs looking at!

I volunteer with a local charity which helps people in need in our area. A huge proportion of the calls we get during July and August are for help with school uniform - the three local secondary schools all require uniform to be bought from a local school outfitters, and most items come with logos. The PE kit alone for one school was over £150, and you can imagine how quickly some of those items will be lost, others will remain unworn in the bottom of the kit bag. The schools do have second hand uniform sales, but you have to be lucky to get the right item in the right size. At one school the girls wear kilts and the stripes are different colours depending on which house the child is in! And don’t get me started on the cost of shoes, which may only last a term. Parents on benefits or low incomes can not possibly afford to provide all these items, but of course they still want to do their best for their children. Surely skirts or trousers with shirts or polo shirts and sweatshirts with a school logo is sufficient and affordable? Even well off parents would welcome saving their hard earned money in this way. When visiting my DD in Australia I saw a charity scheme advertised to sponsor a child from a poor home, sponsorship would provide uniform and support for homework clubs etc. Maybe we should try this in the U.K.?

All the schools I've taught at (state comprehensives) have had a uniform but many items such as trousers, socks, shirts etc could be bought at lowish cost from supermarkets, m&s etc and only items with the school logo (jumpers, blazers, ties and sports shirts ) had to be bought from the school. There was always a well attended second hand shop for those too. The school did not make any money out of this, items were sold at cost price. Of course that may have changed now so many are privately run academies.
By the way, 3 year olds can be very stubborn about what they will or will nof wear. This is not unusual. I think having uniforms at nursery school is ridiculous. And don't get me started on 'graduation ' outfits from nursery , primary school etc!

During the last Labour government all state schools were sent guidelines on keeping down the costs of uniform and not making them too prescriptive.

That is why I find it odd that some Welsh schools are becoming more prescriptive about expensive uniform - at the same time the Labour Welsh Assembly is cutting the amount of money available to help poorer families with the costs.