School changing to an Academy - Uniform costs!!

Nearly all the schools in our area have those kilts. They have been the uniform for as long as i have lived in the area which is nearly 20 years and from what I can gather they last the whole of the school life, so value for money in the long run. Our area is not very affluent either, so nothing to do with pricing out poorer element.

Are you saying they are banning trousers for girls? Wow. That is an extremely outdated attitude and I'll be amazed if they don't have to back down on it. I'd be interested to see how they manage if they have any strict muslim girls, as they won't wear that skirt.

I'm not sure you are right about them deliberately trying to 'price out' the poorer elements though OP. I mean if it's their catchment school and it's the one they've been allocated, irrespective of what they chose as first choice then it's the one they'll go to - expensive skirt or not.

Expensive skirts don't help, a lot of teen girls only grow upwards. They soon become too short.

Surely it can't be a white skirt? You say white with a balck plaid pattern. Do you just been black and white tartan type thing? Are you sure white is the dominant colour?

Alternatively Claire, why should tax payers fund fiefdoms schools that are only open to those families able to afford the idiosyncratic uniform?

prh offers some useful ways to proceed. Cost of secondary uniform is an issue for many, many families (either for cost and/or principle reasons) and the more parents who hold schools to account the better.

But it's wearing and avoidable, if only schools used a bit of common sense and mindfulness about their intake.

Actually you are fortunate to be provided with one free set of uniform. Think that the girls should be given the option of either skirts or trousers though. Just offering skirts really is sexist!
When dds school changed uniform (not academy school) last year there was no such thing as a free set of uniform. Parents could apply to the school fund for help with costs if required.
However the situation was really chaotic as the sole-supplier they had chosen couldn't cope with the demand and in September many pupils still hadn't received items ordered in June! The new PE kit is being phased in so that only pupils in Y7 needed the new kit in September and other year groups could replace it when needed.
Another cheaper option would be for the school to provide sew-on logo badges so that current pupils could update their current polo-shirts and blazers until items need replacing

Hunty I imagine they will agree to phase in the new uniform for existing pupils, and by giving you one free set you will be able to continue to wear the old stuff until it needs replacing anyway, but you will at least some new stuff to wear. I'm sure that in a school like the one you are talking about the majority of parents of existing pupils will have the same issues. I doubt very much the school will object to the wearing of non logo blouses and trousers, for example, providing they are the same colour, but they will expect you to replace them with the correct type when the time comes.

I think schools do this as a way of keeping some control over the increasingly lax styles/cuts that pass for school uniform. If they insist on their own very specific skirt for example, then they will not be faced with fifty different skirt styles, of varying inappropriate lengths/cuts.

Tart wear?

I hardly think supermarket clothes are 'tart wear'...maybe its just that schools with lax uniform regs allow skirts to be rolled up to tarty lengths, blouses unbuttoned part of the way etc.

Do you not see that that is a vile comment?

Items of children's school uniform are 'tart ware' because they come from a cheaper shop than you have to shop in?

Words fail me a bit, here.

Of course it can be uniform if it's from Tesco - as long as it's a specified SKU.

I am not ashamed of referring to some uniform items as tart-ware because that is exactly what they are. Thankfully, I don't get to buy these for my DDs.

except by doing that they ARE going against government guidlines and the office of fair trading rules.

i went to a grammar school, blazer etc but even we were allowed to wear trousers, and only the blazer and tie was from a specific supplier, the shirts, skirts, tourser and jumpers could be bought from anywhere, they had to be navy blue, and jumpers had to be v necked, proper button up and collar shirts but they could still be bought from any supplier and most were bought from m&s etc.

the school wear shop or school uniform outlet is crap anyway our school has had huge issues with the logo jumpers from them being of very poor quality andhugely overpriced ie 3 times the cost of the same sweatshirt without the logo! parents are voting with their feet and buying supermarket own brand ones instead, in this case sainsburys as the colour is burgandy and not available in all other supermarkets.

I beg to differ, 5madthings and Boffin.

My school was one of the first academies and still currently insists that items are bought from the school approved supplier and that girls wear a skirt. There are no negotiations. Thems the rules.

I think referring to children's school uniform as a 'tart skirt' is pretty disgusting, clairall. As is the snobby insistence that it can't be uniform if it's from tesco, really.

OP - can you petition for children who choose to, to continue to wear the old uniform and have a period when both can be bought? I've seen this done and though it looks messy (if you are incredibly anal), it's a good solution as you insist all new purchases must be the new uniform, but children who've already been kitted out don't need to buy more.

Doesn't solve the problem of the cost of the new uniform, I know.

What 5madthings said.

Basically what parents in this position normally do is explain the situation to the school and they should be supplied with their minimum requirements either free or at reduced cost. In your case, as you have already invested heavily in uniform, it would be reasonable for the school to replace what you have already bought, I think, and they would be expected to do so under various pieces of inclusion and equality legislation.

Schools are no longer able to insist girls wear skirts and this has been the case for years.

god missed that the skirt is WHITE!! how totally impractical is that, it will get filthy! and may well stain easily meaning expensive replacements!! riddiculous!

*Amongst other things I would be reminding the governors that it is a breach of the Admissions Code to have a uniform so expensive that it puts some people off applying. I would also remind them that having a single supplier is an anti-competitive practise, particularly when the single supplier is the school.

I would also remind them that the guidance to schools from the DfE says that they should ensure that the uniform chosen is widely available from high street shops and that, although it is legitimate for the school to use its purchasing power to reduce costs for parents, they should not be trying to act as sole suppliers in order to raise funds for the school.*

exactly this, what they are doing is NOT ok, logo socks at almost £10 a pair! they are having a laugh.

my ds1s high school has a logo t-shirt, jumper, fleece, also rugby shirt and pe t-shirt but trousers can be bought anywhere as long as they match the regulation colour etc, so i go to m&s

and they should either provide the girls with trousers and a skirt OR give them the option of whichever they would like, that is fair.

its against the department of trade or something to insist that uniform is bought from one supplier, the government guildlines on school uniform recomdend against it and its to do with trading laws/fair price and markets etc

White skirts? Seriously? Oh my god, am thinking back to the early days of my first periods and the mess I could make of my old, dark grey skirts. White? White!

Hmmm...I suppose I didnt see it from that point of view....just that the money the schoo would save not kitting out the y10s and y11s could be spent further kitting out the younger students who the uniform will last longer for.

At my ver posh junior school (threads on here talk about putting DDs name down at date of conception) there was a new summer dress design (Peter Jones / Harrods suppliers) every couple of years, but the old ones stayed valid. And the kudos was to wear as OLD a design as you could to prove that you were not nouveau

NB : NO STATE SCHOOL could ever specify a supermarket supplier for trousers / skirts / shirts : imagine the ruckus from the others in the Daily Fail.

Why should taxpayers have to pay for two sets of clothing?

I agree with ClaireAll in that in order to have a uniform the items should all match. In secondary school, which this is. And by matching, I mean from one supplier. This doesnt have to be a bespoke tailor, but could be from a set store.

What I would have thought, however, is that they should assign the new uniform to every due to start next year, give two free sets to all students currently in y7,8 and 9 and let year 10s and 11s stay in the old uniform as it is very unlikely that these items would need updated or be outgrown before ht student leaves.