School uniform

[PinkDaydreams]

Hello all!
Ds due to start reception in September. He has a one week transition in a couple of weeks where he "has to wear uniform", so I'm sorting his uniform this week.
I'm thinking rather than the embroidered logo polo t shirt I'm going to get him plain polo tops as he will have a logo jumper on anyway. Ill buy a couple of logo ones for school pics etc. Pe kit is plain so also need to get that.
I've also noticed that for the price of one logo t shirt, I can buy five plain ones. Do I sound like I'm being a cheap skate though?!
Can anyone recommend where to buy from please, are a y better quality than others? I was thinking asda or sainsburys, but then forgot about next and m&s.

Thanks all!

Marks are good quality and normally have a 20% off deal or similar at some point this month.

We only ever did one official embroidered sweatshirt and the rest were from Asda as they were a couple of pounds each compared to £7 for the school one. When you see how they come back you will be glad you didn't spend big.

I did a mix of M&S trousers as they did the 3 for 2 so we made sure we went through the till with all the expensive stuff together ie I wasn't going to get my free pair of plimsols rather than the trousers. Over the years we have had Asda, Tesco, M&S, and Sainsburys. Depended on fit and who had deals on for trousers, polo shirts and sweatshirts.

And no not a cheapskate but sensible and conscious of the fact you will be paying for uniform for over a decade.

At my DC's infant school everyone wore plain polo shirts so don't worry about that. It's good sense, not being a cheapskate.

M&S or Sainsbury's uniform has worked well for us.

Many children are pretty messy in infants. I’d go for volume every time.

It depends whether the logo t-shirt is essential uniform, as you usually can’t just decide not to provide it. Classrooms can be stuffy so you can’t rely on a child simply
not removing his jumper all day to cover up a plain polo.

Most schools run second-hand uniform sales so you could check that out.

We've found Sainsburys and M&S have been the best; Asda trousers were shocking quality and worn out in two weeks. Tesco trousers are ok, quite soft, but show pilling easily.

Never bought a logo poloshirt. And one max logo jumper/cardigan, rest plain.

Schools are "supposed" to keep uniform costs minimal....

My DS who is in year 3 has always had plain polo T-shirts, they get wrecked at school so I never saw the point in expensive T-shirts. He also wears plain jumpers because they end up losing them.

Mine never had logos on polo shirts and chose to switch to blouses by 7 anyway. They did have the official cardigan with the logo on and the fleece. I bought them large and handed them down (2 year apart) I only bought 3 in total (changed school at 10)

I buy 1 logo cardigan/jumper then a few plain ones. Any supermarket polo tops are fine. I usually buy Sainsbury or Asda uniform and it lasts well. I get at least 4 sets so they can have a clean one every day if needed and I don’t need to worry about washing it, there’s always a couple of clean sets.

Just buy plain ones, all the uniform gets ruined. I but 10 cardigans / tshirts. That way if I don't do a reds or whites wash over a particular weekend it doesn't matter.
They get lost of covered in permanent marker before they get outgrown, anything that does survive gets passed on to friends, it's actually much cheaper than buying normal clothes so I prefer then to have stacks of uniform.

On the uniform list it says that plain uniform is accepted.
He's going to a special needs school so he will be wearing joggers. No smart trousers and shirt, tie etc until quite a few years yet.
I'm glad I've had the mumsnet seal of approval, thank you!! The school is in quite a posh area so that's another reason why I'm worrying what others will think. But to be honest, most of the children will get transport so i won't see other parents anyway 😂

Asda quality is fine!

We've got asda uniform here, it's been fine so far and it has been hammered.

One tip if you do get asda stuff is get their school saver gift card. www.asdagiftcards.com/school-shop-savings

I’m my opinion Next polo shirts are the best, they seem stain resistant, M&S polo shirts shrink in the wash but their school trousers are the best they are an extra hem to add more leg room later in the year. Most children have plain polos but a logo jumper so doubt you’ll be inferior to the other mums. School shoes I always buy Adidas tenasur I used to buy Clark’s but my eldest just complained how uncomfortable they were whatever style I bought.

Thank you for this!

Our school had the option of logo uniform or plain in school colour. Dc1 in his first year had M&S plain ones but they didn’t wash great, shrunk a fair bit and faded. I went for the logo ones and they wash better, and last longer. So much so I have been able to hand a few of them down to siblings mixed with a few new ones.

George sweatshirts & cardigans are good, wash & wear well and a bargain at £2 each last year.

I do a mix of logo stuff, George & M&S smirt, trousers & shorts.

*skirt, not smirt.

I don't buy the logo ones ever. I buy from Asda and M&S.

The logo polo shirts that our local schools do are really poor quality. I've found Asda to have the best quality polo shirts over the years.

Next question, how much to buy?! One full set for each day do you think?

I get 3 skirts or trousers. 5 polo shirts. 3 cardigans or jumpers. 2 pack
of PE kit. I don’t have to wash it all in a hurry at the weekend.

A fresh polo for each day, three pairs of trousers and three jumpers I wash them after each day but like to have spare in case I’m behind in the washing.

Our girl has 5 polos, 3 trousers, 2 skirts and a dress (though she mostly wears the trousers), and 4 cardigans. She generally wears the same Cardigan all week (which is only 3 days due to pe).
She also wears pe kit 2 days a week so I have 2 full sets of that too but haven't needed the 2nd set of jogging bottoms or shorts yet as she's not got that dirty.

Thank you all so much! You've made it alot easier, I've been panicking over quantity, quality and brand etc, so thanks for your advice :)
One final thing, name tags, where is best to buy them from please? Currently using a sharpie marker 😳

A Sharpie is absolutely fine. Alternatively, I've found Stikins labels good - they stick to the care label. I also have iron-on labels for my kids' shirts so I know at a glance who they belong to. Probably not needed for one school-age DC though!