to be shocked that so may kids have returned to school with incorrect uniform?

[PerpetuallyAnnoyedByHeadlice]

Why? Why buy your kids what can only be termed "fashion" blouses and trousers rather than school uniform ones (and this is primary we are talking about). Why allow them to even say they wont wear the normal polo shirts like everyone else? why buy girls black trousers when the rule is grey - why a grey cardi when it should be green?

obviously if someone has moved into area, or has lost items towards the end of the year, things get a little lax and anything goes, but why buy a whole set of new stuff, that IS NOT the uniform - and its not as if its because its cheaper, its not

the trouble is the kids get used to this and parents pandering to them, but the local secondaries will not tolerate it - I await the annual series of front page stories about how petty schools are for sending kids home for having the wrong trousers, or wearing trainers

I can imagine some of these mums marching in and having a word with their DCs eventual employer about their "right" to be late once in a while, or to not want to wear the provided uniform!

I am a little askance at BreastMilks horror of trousers for girls. They are an accepted uniform option at our school (skirt or trousers) and that is entirely how it should be.

My dd requested trousers this term because skirts aren't so good for running unimpeded or hanging upside down from the climbing frame. Tbh she doesn't want to p*ss around playing fairies or collecting pretty stones - she wants to do some rough and tumble!

Sorry - don't mean to sound aggressive (am trying to turn over a new leaf and be nice to people )

I like the level of 'stictness' that says "white shirt" "grey trousers/skirts" etc so you you can get from any shop, just stick to the right colours. and then have logo jumpers, but make them optional as not everyone can afford it. I think that's what our local school does.

Usual I buy shoes for him to wear to school not attend a fashion parade. His shoes are mens sizes however clarks cater for children with bigger feet and are also long lasting. With his feet having gone from a 6 to an 8 in less that 5 weeks I will pay £38 for a pair of shoes rather than £75 for a pair of kickers.

My ds went to school in a pair of vans or converse ...luckily his school was not strict on footwear

I would happily let mine their Vans and Converse if it was a non uniform school, but it isn't, and I think they look much better wearing the uniform properly. If you have no choice but to wear a jacket and tie then do yourself a favour and wear it smartly, otherwise you just look like a pleb!

My ds always managed to look like a scruff in his uniform anyway but then I never really wanted him to look smart [pleb]

Carmen - anarchists? I would bet good money on your children joining the army, the police force and the priesthood

So does mine US. He's the worst scruff bag of the lot, in spite of me. He could make a Saville Row suit look like a potato sack. I can't bear to look at him some days. That's why in a way I wish they'd just do a way with uniform altogether.

He left the house for college this morning looking like a scarecrow . At least he can wear his own uniform of band t-shirts and ripped jeans now

What's wrong with following the rules and having respect for authority? I teach my children to respect mine and dh authority and follow our rules at home so think they should do the same with regard to school too.

I can understand the argument re logoed school clothes being expensive - just a colour scheme would suffice. And there are exceptions to the rules (like medical reasons etc) but a lot of the time just a little bit more effort could be made.

I think it's nice when all the children look smart and the same - it does promote team spirit and a sense of community too I think.

Tbh though I don't really get peeved if another child is wearing something wrong, but I like my own children to look smart and follow the uniform policy though.

My eldest son has only band t-shirts and ripped jeans in his repertoire. and a couple of oversized jumpers that look fit for the bin. Yet when he had to wear a suit for school he at least tried to look a bit decent, and do his tie up a bit.

Middle son prefers fancy labels, and what I snootily refer to as Football Hooligan attire. Or stupid branded sportwear and very embarrassing hats. (I swear he can't be my child - I think someone must have swapped the babies at birth.)
Yet though he can look a bit of a dandy and quite smart when he goes out, he looks utterly dreadful in his uniform. He manages to make himself look ridiculous by pulling the trousers down really low, showing his pants (which is not a good look when you are supposed to be tucking a shirt in )
and his tie is practically round his waist, and as wide as it is long. He looks ridiculous frankly, but I've washed my hands of him.

My middle DD favours the hooped earring and mc hammer trouser look at the minute but shes left school and home so I can pretend shes not mine

When I pick mine up from school I have to drive past the bus stops for two girls schools, and I watch them all rolling up their skirts really short the moment the come out of the gate, then they all start checking themsleves in the mirror to make sure their extreme comb-over side partings on their long hair is still exteme enough, and hasn't slipped back to an acceptable level over the course of the school afternoon!

all good points and why i have wondered if there is support for a mumsnet campaign on school uniform
here

uniform is emotive, expensive, a dividing force and sometimes rubbish!

Why give teenagers even more stuff to subvert by trying to impose regulation uniform? Why make them waste their mental energy on trying to get one over on the school by hitching their regulation skirt too high or wearing their regulation trousers too low? Why set up instant warfare between neighbouring schools by having uniform with which kids can immediately identify 'the enemy'? Why have a wardrobe of clothes that they grow out of quickly but which can only be worn out of school. Uniform is a waste of time and money in my opinion.

My dd has the wrong colour polo shirts for school. I didn't get confirmation of where I had to send her until 2 days after the start of term (circumstances out of my control) so I had to guess based on the most popular colour in the area. I got it wrong, if that makes me a bad mother and means I am setting a bad example to dd then people should address this to me directly and I will refer them to the authorities who put me in this situation.

well that's obviously different.

Bonkerz your arguement is one of the strangest things I've heard Do you buy a 10 year old an age 7 dress if it's a £1... do you buy them completely the wrong size shoes if they are on offer?

It doesn't matter the price if the uniform is wrong, it's totaly false economy to buy something incorrect just because it's on offer.

I know a secondary school where they have banned the girls from wearing skirts after one of the senior staff members got accidentally flashed by a thong wearing 16 year old as she was going up the stairs. Trousers all round now.

Lets hope they don't have any Plymouth Brethren pupils then!

I dropped my son off at an under 18's nightclub recently and I was speechless at the state (and near nakedness) of some of the girls queueing up, of barely 13 and fourteen. I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I can't believe theri parents let them out like it TBH. I used to really push the boundaries where fashion was concerned, but I never never looked that blatantly slutty frankly.

My DD's Primary class has an entirely black uniform - black bottoms with a black top, black tights/socks and black shoes. The entire class look like they are attending a funeral. This is mostly because of the school supplied sweatshirts which are high on the neck with long sleeves.

I am not going to send DD to another school as the next school is miles away; whoever made that suggestion is being impractical.

So I send DD in a black scoop neck tank top (sleeveless jumper) with a white shirt underneath because I think it is preferable for a small child to spend all day looking like a waiter rather than a mourner.

Most school uniforms are cheap, unethically produced and ugly. While I think it is acceptable for secondary school children to wear school uniform because it stops them wearing thinks that are inappropriate in a learning environment, I think the uniform should be a reasonable colour with a blazer and a proper jumper. A lot of uniforms just look shabby and cheap. A proper jumper does not cost more in Asda than a sweatshirt. It is obvious from the name that a sweatshirt is an item of sports wear - why on earth are they wearing them in a classroom?

As for someone on this thread complaining about a girl in school wearing knee socks and shorts, which they think is too Britney Spears. That is traditional uniform. I send DD in exactly that, or skirt and knee socks. That is what I wore to primary school! The fact that people are viewing it as someone how wrong shows how sexualised uniforms have become in the eyes of some disturbed adults - another good reason to put primary children into children's clothes rather than these sweaty items of polyester sportswear everyday for school.