School uniform questions from FTM

[Dinoswearunderpants]

Hi

DS starts school in September and I'm wondering when/where to buy uniform from.

The school has said uniform can be black/grey bottoms, white polo (with or without school logo) and royal blue sweatshirt/cardigan.

How many sets of clothes should I buy? I was thinking I'd buy one logo polo and sweatshirt then a few without logo. Do kids stand out if not in logo? I just don't see the rational for spending way more on logo uniform when it'll get trashed.

No idea what size to buy either. He's four but 4/5 is too big but I suspect 3/4 will be too small come September onwards.

Also things like coats, bags etc can they be whatever they want? It's not listed in the booklet.

I assume buying loads of plain pants, vests and socks is needed too. Do all these need labelling too? Surely he shouldn't be missing pants/socks, especially when they have to go in their PE kit.

Hi
I would definitely also buy a pair of whatever is specified for uniform shorts (if dc is a boy) for September too - it can be very hot!

We have 2 logo jumpers, 4 Polos (1 logo, three plain), 4 pairs shorts and 4 trousers. We always go up one size for T shirts and jumpers as tend to come up small.

We also needed to have wellies and waterproof trousers for Forest school so do ask if the school has a forest school.

I get shorts and trousers on Vinted and now I buy logo jumpers from the school second hand shop - it’s rarely worth buying brand new.

in term 1 ds destroyed his brand new logo jumper by using his elbows to brake sliding down a slope at school!

I usually go for 5 tops, 3 sweatshirts/cardigans and 5 trousers/skirts. I tend to find with my eldest that she disgards her jumper before morning break so it doesn't actually get dirty really. I usually go for branded but I get it secondhand through the school. I find they grow out of it so quickly that it's an environmental waste.

I also shop for the generic stuff throughout the year. Mine are spring kids and I find they always have a growth spurt around their birthdays. So I usually buy the next size up in sales and its there ready to go whenever something looks grown out of. I never wait until the summer holidays for anything but shoes.

Before he starts school get him to take off his shoes and socks and put the socks into the shoes so when he gets changed for PE he doesn't pick up someone else's sock by mistake. Some schools have a PE kit day, mine did not.

I also sewed bright printed name labels into the children's clothes using a sewing machine. The trouser label was at the front where your hand would be to pull them on (school trousers are pull ons for a while) so when they are putting on the trousers they can see it as opposed to at the back especially if they lay their trousers on the table in front of them for PE.

I also sewed those labels in the back of the neck of the jumper so easy to tell with a quick look if your child is wearing the right jumper when they come out of school. Label everything and be prepared to dig through a lost property box for it.

Book bags usually go in their trays so are a particular size.

Mine had a clean set of uniform on every day. If you were in a classroom you would understand why. Mine had 5 of everything but no logoed stuff, just jumpers from Asda, cheap and everyone had them, white polo shirts and grey trousers.

Important note, if your child comes home with paint on them from school wash the stain out in cold water first, it should all be washable paint but you need to cold wash then normal wash. If you normal wash the heat will set the stain.

Our school now wear PE kit 2 days per week so only need 3 polos and 2 plain tshirts etc, so check that. I found the official list of uniform often hasn't been updated / thought about eg we bought DD an art apron for secondary and she never used it, as they had them at school.for thr kids to use.