Schools insistence on uniform rules are behind the times

In one call centre i worked in it was casual wear.
We couldn’t wear:
. Flip flops, sandals
. football, rugby and other sports teams shirts. Fine to wear hoodies and t-shirts of the clubs
. ripped jeans
. clothes showing midriff
. clothes that have offensive words or images . spaghetti strappy tops and dresses
. headwear unless it’s religious

I'm so glad I went to a uniformed school. We had very very little money growing up and I only rarely got new clothes. I'd have been bullied even more than I already was if I'd had to wear my own clothes.

I think my dses’ school had a sensible middle ground option. There was a uniform, but it was basic - black skirts or trousers, white shirts, a tie and a black jumper, fleece or sweatshirt. All stuff you could buy easily at ASDA and which was easy to wash too.

And no daft rules about not being allowed to take off your blazer or jumper in hot weather unless the teacher gave permission.

Much better than the High school ds1 went to before we moved, where the uniform could only be bought in the school, and cost an arm and a leg - and included blazer, indoor, outdoor PE kit and rugby kit, craft apron, lab coat, school sports bag, expensive rugby socks - the list went on and on. When ds1’s sports kit bag got lost (picked up by accident because it was identical to every other single sports bag in the school, and then dumped randomly when the other boy found they’d got the wrong one) and wasn’t found for months, I had to spend £150+ just to replace his sports kit - I was unimpressed, to say the least.

My school building is the opposite of modern and needs demolishing! Boiling in the summer and freezing in the winter. Absolutely useless for learning in.

I know, it's bloody stupid, I'm just glad my school was more sensible!

I totally agree with you, OP.

I used to be a big supporter of school uniform but the ridiculous expense of it plus the draconian rules that enforce it to ridiculous levels finally turned me against it.

I now think it should be abolished.

Nope, all the schools I’ve ever known with blazers wear them all the time unless the school announces “shirt sleeve rule” for summer. It was like it when I was at school and still is now my dc are - totally different schools/regions.

I’m happy for dc to have smart uniforms but I’ve never understood ties, especially for girls. Any woman turning up to work in a tie would be making some kind of statement. My office is smart and shared with execs but even they don’t wear ties. However, secondary school dc in polo shirts feels too far the other way (primacy fine but not for secondary).

"A sensible summer uniform would help"

I went to an all girls private school in the 80s. Blazers were, and I believe still are, outdoor wear only. Summer uniform in my time was school skirt, white open neck blouse, no tie, and white knee high or ankle socks. Sweater, cardigan or tank top could be worn, but wasn't expected all the time in warm weather. I don't recall ever being too warm in class, although it helped that our school buildings were 150 years old at the time, so cooler than a lot of modern buildings, I think.

And why no ankle boots?

Clearly in the minority here as I love uniform. Think it looks exceptionally smart and I do feel sad how casually people dress these days/everyone out and about in tracksuits or going to work in flip flops. I think it’s to have high personal standards and it’s important to teach children to follow rules. Can’t stand parents who need little jemima to break the rules and wear a sparkly hairband.

I also think polos/jogging bottoms look
exceptionally unsmart and support blazers and ties, shirts etc. but again appreciate this is the minority view 😀

https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/44393-most-britons-say-schools-should-provide-school-uni?redirect_from=%2Ftopics%2Fpolitics%2Farticles-reports%2F2022%2F11%2F14%2Fmost-britons-say-schools-should-provide-school-uni

Polling here.

I think there's also a perception among parents that schools with blazer type uniforms are 'better' than ones with more relaxed ones, probably because that's what private schools go for.

I'm absolutely of the opinion that uniforms shouldn't hinder kids from working and summer uniforms should allow shorts. It drives me mad that my school doesn't allow them. Also insisting on blazers in hot weather is batshit. My classroom is a greenhouse and so many hours are lost to the kids being too hot in the summer. A sensible summer uniform would help.

They seem to have gotten stricter with uniform. When I was at high school in the 00s there were no blazers. We didn't even have to wear the school logo. It was black skirts or trousers, white shirt or blouse, black sweatshirt with or without school logo and any black shoes as long as they weren't trainers or high heels. DS has to wear a blazer and tie.

I don't disagree with this but why ties and blazers? Why make girls wear skirts when they could be wearing trousers or leggings?

And why are studs a H&S issue when they aren't overseas (PE classes excepted)?

Can't really see the issue with make-up either. You can stop them putting it on AT school but is it any business of a teacher if they put it on BEFORE school? I wouldn't encourage it but I'd rather deal with bad behaviour rather than silly uniform rule infractions.

It wouldn't be suitable in a work environment so it doesn't work in a learning environment either. Not a fan of draconian uniform rules, but not a fan of people letting it all hang out, either. Keep it for the beach and the nightclub, please.

A friend of mine is a teacher overseas where there are no uniforms, and she said they do sometimes have a word with the kids about what they are wearing. No uniform doesn't mean a complete free for all.

Do they? I am not against a uniform per se, but I do think the strict uniform rules are really stupid and give teachers something else to do which detracts from actual teaching and learning.

Primary school uniforms are ok when it's just a polo shirt and shorts/trousers/skirt in a particular colour, but the secondary school uniforms with blazers and ties etc are just ludicrous and expensive.

Sometimes I see our local secondary school kids walking home in their PE uniforms and think they'd be fine all the time (with trousers rather than shorts when it's cold!)

My son's school used to insist on shoes that were suitable for a wedding. Why on earth? What's wrong with black trainers?

Not sure where you get the idea that it's only the UK that has school uniform. Lots of other countries have it too. There's a whole world beyond Europe. 🤷‍♀️

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_uniforms_by_country

I'd have been so disappointed in that and if our vote hadn't gone to keep the blazer.

All the secondaries round here seem to have blazers. Primaries don't and they just have the polo shirt and jumper option. I'd rather DC had full uniform now but I can wait till secondary!

All our local schools just have sweaters, not a single one has a blazer.
My niece attends the same secondary school me and my siblings went to. Blazer is compulsory until the end of Y10. In Year 11 they can wear the sweaters. I don't know a single person from that school who didn't rejoice on the last day of Y10, as they no longer had to wear the blazer.
Most students burned them (honestly, they had burn the blazer bonfires in the summer).

I remember having none uniform day at high school it lasted 2 weeks.
My mother loved it she said it should have stayed that way it was so much easier.
And the kids were more relaxed.

🙄 Sounds pretty dramatic. My dcs didn't have uniform in primary and had none of this. They have uniform in secondary, and guess what - more bullying. If teachers spent more time on tackling bullying and less on measuring skirt lengths or policing shoe types it would be a good thing all around.

It's such a lazy if time consuming way out - the idea that conformity to a dress code in itself means good behaviour follows or is legible.

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A kid at our school got assaulted over school league football - should we ban that too? What kind of example is that showing - violence and assault and let's blame the victim for wearing fancy trainers. How about we deal with the behaviour? That might produce better long-term results.

This country has an absolute bee in its bonnet about school uniform.

I've always been very anti. The continent and the vast majority of the US does very well without it (and for some time those areas have been outstripping the UK academically).

A dress code, ie no. inappropriate stuff (ie. fetish gear; yes, it does happen, in unviersities for one), no over-short skirts and no 'extreme' looks (ie dressing in steampunk kit) is easy enough to impose without needing a fullscale uniform with blazer and tie. (Ties are the most useless and unnecessary item of clothing ever).

There needs to be more attention paid to treating issues like bullying with the seriousness it merits, and to driving up educational standards. A disproportionate degree of energy is being expended in a direction which simply doesn't justify it.

NB. I'm an educator.

Honestly you've very naive if you think that there wouldn't be pressure on kids to wear the latest gear or have lots of changes of clothes.
We had no uniform in our national school and it absolutely was a thing even back then.
My kids go to a tracksuit only national school and it's fab. They can 'express' themselves later!

Very patronising but anyway. They are 18-21 when at University and adults. A university setting is completely different to a mixed comprehensive (11-16 year olds) where we are battling with behaviour issues on a daily basis.