Schools insistence on uniform rules are behind the times

I think uniform is OK as it takes away the sorting clothes etc but bloody blazers and ties no! My husband has a professional job that requires smart clothes but it's literally shirt and trousers. Kids are more "dressed up" than they ever will be in adult life. The uniform needs to be comfortable, maybe a tshirt with a collar and pants/skirt and a sweatshirt not blazer, tie, shirt, trousers/skirt. My lo school police the fact that even coats are all black with no logo other than school crest. It's all so expensive as well

@GordonBlue I'm currently in the process of equipping my DS for private school. £422 is probably what we'll pay in total for all his uniform including sports wear. Some M&S for the basics, some thrift shop, some new. Includes a school blazer which is £120 new which I bought second hand for £40. But that's private and my choice.

On the other hand, for him when he was at state (and DD who is still there), it's cost peanuts. Yes I buy the school sweatshirts and t-shirts. £10 each but they get handed down and I could buy for £2 from thrift. Everything else supermarket, grey and navy theme. I just bought a bundle of gingham dresses from Vinted for DD for £4.

I have no idea where this notion that school inform is more expensive than 'normal' clothes comes from. Even the private uniform I'm buying, comparing new with new, is cheaper.

The student body at a school that doesn’t have uniform looks nothing like one at a uniformed school on a non-uniform day.

School uniforms are petty and generally less comfortable and suitable for learning in than the jeans/hoodies that would otherwise be worn.

School uniform is a godsend.

All the same, no bullying.
Shirts cost £12 for a pack of 5
No time wasting in the morning, worrying about what to wear
Most school uniform is built to last

Also it teaches dcs that they can't always have their own way. That rules apply to everyone and sometimes you just have to put up with them.

Ds goes into 6th form in September, where they are required to wear classic jeans or chinos, a collared shirt and a jacket. It'll be interesting t see how he deals with that.

School uniform isn't enforceable in Scotland, although this isn't widely understood

So, schools do have a uniform / dress code, but it tends to be eg white shirt, black trousers, black jumper. Blazers available and encouraged, but not compulsory and usually just worn by S1 and prefects

My DC wear dark waterproof jackets, black jeans / leggings. Not super smart, but I think it's ok

Headteacher encourages uniform, but I've heard that he is actually quite relaxed about it, recognising that many children want to express a bit of individually. So, he's very strict about school work, behaviour and bullying, but ignores minor uniform infringements (really, he has to, as he can't enforce it)

@lemonmeringueno3
What a ridiculous, sweeping statement to say 'only kids who have never been taught the word no' have a problem. There is testimony from parents up and down the land regarding absurdly strict uniform rules, with punitive consequences being meted out for minor infringements and your comments dismiss them all in a really obnoxious way.

We don't have any dress down days in our large high school in a seriously deprived area.
The kids hate it because the 'haves' and 'have nots' are glaringly obvious.
Uniform goes most of the way in preventing the poorer students standing out like sore thumbs.

In my school he'd get a pass to leave class early and go the 'wrong way' if it was quicker and easier. I wonder if parents have asked.

You've only got to walk past a secondary school on a non-uniform day to know why we need uniform.

At our school - girls in shorts so short you can see their arse cheeks, bodycon dresses like they're going clubbing, t shirts with offensive slogans, shoes with heels that result in twisted ankles. We've even had onesies and pyjamas. Maybe they'd calm down if they could wear what they wanted every day but it just distracts them and, often, looks ridiculous too.

So I guess you'd need a long list of rules about what wasn't appropriate and then you'd still get kids and idiot parents arguing against them.

Let's just stick with uniform, it's easier. Only the kids and parents who have never been taught the word 'no' who struggle with it really (assuming adjustments for SEN and temporary issues, as at my school).

@Treesinmygarden I agree that not meeting a child's health needs is neglect, but I'd imagine parents were struggling due to poverty, not that they didn't care

A bit of compassion wouldn't go amiss here

Schools are more focused on school rules than wellbeing of the pupils.

My friend’s DS attends a school with a one way system going around the school (which my school did) and he broke his foot. Twice a week he is expected to hobble on crutches around 95% of the school perimeter to go to his next lesson. He’s late for class and gets told off.

@Treesinmygarden it wasn't our sole criterion. It was just something we didn't like about it. And I don't think it's that strange - uniform policy says a lot about the culture of a school. Reception children in ties, and requiring different coloured hair ties for general uniform vs PE kit implies a level of rigidity that some parents will like more than others.

No uniform at DSs school.
There is a 'dress code' (essentially equates to 'not too revealing').

@MsAwesomeDragon I can see how some kids would struggle with the fashion parade - not all and it’s not entirely clear how many. My dcs never made a fuss over what they wore on non uniform day - they don’t make a fuss over designer brands either, but the strict uniform rules did cause lots of anxiety due to teachers over zealously applying them.

Dental decay is considerably higher in children from more deprived backgrounds. Yes not going to the dentist is poor parenting but the bar for social care involvement for neglect is ridiculously high (or low, I suppose).

Completely agree. The fact other countries manage fine (and children in non-uniform schools here) really hasn't properly been addressed by anyone apart from one poster who said uniform works well for UK teens, as though they are so inherently different to European teens. Most people who are so in favour of uniforms haven't experienced a school without uniform because they're rare in the UK, particularly England.

It shouldn't have to cost that. I've already said on here that parents from my last permanent school mainly bought their school clothes from Asda's: white shirt or polo-shirt, black trousers or skirt, black jumper. About 30 quid for the larger sizes. The most expensive item would be footwear. Many parents opted to buy black trainers.

I liked the fairly strict school uniform we had when I was at school as I grew up less well off than most of my friends and it was good for my MH not to be comparing what we had or had not got, not that there was much of that going on anyway in the North of England in the ‘80’s!

Fast forward to now and my local academy/secondary (also my workplace) doesn’t have a uniform and I find it interesting that the teens seem to have created their own, all (boys and girls) wearing cheap shiny leggings, t shirts and bomber jackets all in black with enormous white trainers. I don’t see any labels and I don’t see them picking on each other about being poorer dressed than someone else or stealing anyone else’s stuff. For reference its a very working class town In rural NE Scotland.

The sign of the terminally nasty. I am pretty sure I am more highly educated than you are.

My son’s secondary is good for uniform, it’s exactly the same for male and female students - black trousers, anything not skin tight/leggings and a white shirt. Jumper is optional and black knitted cotton, they have a clip on house tie and they can wear a fleece instead of the jumper if they want. Jumper/tie/fleece come from a local supplier but aren’t expensive (jumper = £15) and there are frequent uniform sales so second hand is easy to get. They’ve also brought in a sew on badge that you can apply to any black jumper or fleece (£2) so really easy but still smart.

I'm in favour of uniform, with adjustments for SEN.

I wish they would bring trousers in for everyone though. Some of the skirts were so short at our school you could see thongs. So after a million warnings they introduced a thick black tights rule even in the height of Summer. Now all the girls suffer for a selfish few.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8386814/

The identifiable part is another reason they aren’t a good idea. As parents we are told not to make our children trackable or provide clues for would be kidnappers. No names on the outside of bags. No identifying clothing. Yet here is a school uniform telling everyone exactly what path this child will be traveling.