to send a slightly shirty email to the Head?

[TheRealMaryMillington]

pun intended

3 DCs have just come home from (primary) school in a mood because it was announced at assembly that from September there would be a new school uniform to include a shirt and tie.

I am not impressed:

Firstly we chose the school because it prides itself on its relaxed and progressive attitude. Not forcing very young children to wear what is essentially formal work wear. Hardly says this is a positive and creative place to learn and develop.

Secondly, they have made a huge self-congratulatory fuss about implementing forest school across the whole curriculum ….surely shirts and ties (which are not especially practical for 4 and 5 year olds at the best of times) are not the best attire for grubbing around in the dirt etc?

Thirdly - minor issue but there's going to be a whole lot more washing and ironing thats going to have to happen. IME white shirts are only good for one day's wear. Dark blue polo shirts you can usually manage 2 days at least….

Lastly, I am very irritated indeed to get this information relayed to me in this way, and without prior consultation with the parents.

AIBU to send a pissed off note to the HT?

AIBU to be bothered?

I'd wait and see what the uniform actually entails - shirt and tie might be additional to polo neck. Some schools give the option.

Yanbu, by all means tell them how you feel. Don't know why it has to be shirty though. See if you can gather a group that feels the same way?

One U-sounding email to the head will most probably be ignored, however a group of you might not.

I think they have to do proper consultation and give more notice. Experts will follow shortly, no doubt.

If you do write I'd start from "the DC think this but that must be wrong because xyz so I'd be grateful if you could clarify".

Talking about the school ethos and forest school is far more relevant than laundry issues!

Email the Head and ask if there is anything like a working group with members if the PTA involved. I would be surprised if a Head went down the roar of major changes without due consultation.

Just on a practical level - I have always found that ds's shirts wash much better and cleaner than his polo shirts ever did.

I wouldn't get shirty with anyone after hearing secondhand information from children.

Wait until you're told officially, or phone the school and ask them to clarify.

It was confirmed by the lady in the school office. We knew there would be a change of logo etc - this was mentioned in newsletter. But this is the first we have heard of the horror of ties for 5 year olds.

My email hasn't mentioned the washing and is very polite indeed.

(This and SATs makes me feel like pulling them out and home-edding.)

We had similar happen a few weeks ago. We eventually got a letter citing the governors as pushing for it. Dh, as a govenor was a bit as had no idea about it
I don't like ties on young children - one of the reasons given was to prepare the children for secondary school, but guess what, they don't wear them there!!
I'd wait for 'formal' notification & see what the word in the playground is. Our change doesn't come in until next February & my youngest will be leaving that July so hardly seems worth getting bothered about for us, if they were younger I could foresee many years searching lost property for ties.

Have a look at this before drafting anything and if necessary draw the Head's attention to it.

Are they offering any sort of phasing in arrangement, or are they insisting that everyone change to the uniform in September? If they are expecting people to throw away perfectly good old uniform they are certainly acting outside the spirit of the guidance which puts a lot of emphasis on not expecting parents to keep paying out ridiculous sums of money.

I do agree that ties are stupid, especially for primary age children. In fact, if you think about it, they really are very weird garments anyway wild generalisation coming - I suspect it's not a coincidence that women have largely given up on wearing such useless objects.

Are you being offered the choice of polo shirts and shirts/ties? Our school allows both. The ties are really that much of a horror - bit of material at the end of a bit of elastic - and non-iron shirts can be tumble dried or drip dried faster that polo shirts dry.

Yes, keep it buttoned for now until you get clarification.

It seems very retrogressive to me. And pointless. School has a lovely calm respectful and positive atmosphere and there are practically zero behaviour issues.

Nice lady in office says they can wear uniform they still have which is fine I don't want my kids dressed up in ties like mini worker drones, they will have to do that for enough of their lives.

Mini worker drones? It's only a tie - keep it in perspective. Many workplaces don't expect ties, but your DC will still be worker drones working to pay the bills, regardless of what they're wearing...

That's good they can still wear their other uniform in the style of mini worker drone

I know, I am an old hippy and I never had to wear uniform at school (or at work apart from a stint as a waitress).

My kids wear ties and blue shirts. They swapped from poloshirts a few years ago. I like them, the shirts are much easier to wash and dry than the poloshirts and I don't iron them. I couldn't get worked up about the ties tbh the skirts/trousers/pinafores that they already wear to school are already a bit "officey", ties don't make that much of a difference. We were given a years grace with any old/ secondhand/already bought uniform.