To ask what UK parents really think of school uniform

[longtimelurker101]

Relating to the thread on school uniform and hair dying. What do parents really think? Do you support the idea or would you prefer that schools across the U.K went non-uniform and had no rules regarding appearance?

the only things I have to buy are a school badge (£5) and a Tie (£5:99)

all the rest is Asda/M+S/Sainsburys - yes probably Teflon coated - makes it easier to clean !

I don't care really.

In some ways it makes life much easier ( no decisions each morning) and both my DC have happily worn it.

But if they ditched it tomorrow I would not care too much.

I detest school uniform and all the silly rules that go with it.

I have never worn a school uniform so think I may be biased, and even though I didnt have very nice clothes at school and was a target for teasing, I still would love DS not to have to wear one. I think it very stifling

When I was at school I never knew anyone who lost clothes, I think as you knew which were yours. At DS's school there is always a trail of red jumpers all over the school and piles and piles at the end of each term..I think everyone being dressed the same DC's take no heed of a discaded red jumper

Love it. Means dc don't ruin expensive clothes and also tells kids they need to be smart and presentable for "work"

I like the idea of uniform.

A lot of jobs in the real world of work require you to wear uniform and have certain standards. Therefor it is part of preparing the child for this.

It also stops you having to think what to put your dc in, in the mornings.

I loathe uniform. Unless done very expensively well, it looks awful - tacky and shiny. As another poster said up thread, you can tell the poorer kids regardless.

Round here, the wearing of a tie and a cheap blazer is enforced but skirt length etc isn't so lots of teenage girls look like strippers.

We live abroad so my kids have never worn uniform, and none of the dreadful things that are supposed to happen if kids wear their own clothes actually do happen in real life. They basically all wear jeans and trainers.

I don't object to the sort of sensible uniforms that many primaries have (grey trousers and coloured polo or sweathshirt) and I can imagine it does make parents lives easy (though tbh so do jeans).

I find the weird rules in many secondary schools unrealistic, excessively controlling and sometimes frankly perverted :-/ (eg stories of teachers measuring skirt lengths). And I think fully developed girls of 14-16 wearing traditional uniform quite often look like they have got dressed up for a bit of kinky school role play :-/ - honestly, I would hate my fourteen year old to have to dress like that.

I find the weird rules in many secondary schools unrealistic, excessively controlling and sometimes frankly perverted :-/

Riggghhttttt ok.

I went to a secondary school with no uniform - it was a mass of jeans and jumpers with the odd person trying to look different. No rules relating to hair / jewellery etc other than that it had to be safe in PE or the science labs. It was a non issue.

I've never had any trouble dressing smartly for work, which is one of the arguments people make.

We did have a PE uniform, but it was pretty plain and basic.

I support uniforms.

It is no bad thing for children to learn that there are occasions and environments which require a specific dress code.

I have a DD who has extremely strong views on her daily outfits. We don't argue about it but it can take 15 mins to decide what to wear if it's not a school day. This would drive me to distraction.

Also there is no doubt that there clothes would cost more money if there was no uniform.

I used to be in favour of uniform but I'm not now.

Rules for health and safety eg long hair tied up, shoes that cover toes and aren't a fall hazard (high heels) but don't agree it stops one upmanship or cost issues.

Either the school is super strict, everyone has to wear exactly the same and this can only be achieved by only having one shop sell it and they charge a fortune

Or school not so strict and so you get some kids wearing supermarket uniform and others wearing from high end shops and the kids definitely know the difference and that causes issues.

Most other countries don't have uniform (only ones I can think of are Australia, China and Japan) and yet still have students that do well in school and go to uni and have professional careers, the ones that do have uniform still have kids that don't do well in school and go off the rails so the argument that it improves concentration and limits distraction in school doesn't work either.

I attended 2 high schools (military brat) the first had a relaxed policy was a great school with good teachers that got good results.

The second had a strict policy (detentions for wearing wrong colour hair bobbles) but had an appalling educational record. Frankly the head cared more about image than employing decent teachers and educational attainment.

I love my kids school uniform.

Have one in primary and one secondary.

Dd (oldest) is reasonably priced, good quality, no iron. Getting dressed in a weekend takes her an age, to pick something that all goes together perfectly. The school is really strict which means I don't have to argue with her about what she is wearing.

Ds is really cheap and hard wearing.

Wouldn't choose to put them in a non uniform school.

I was in the other thread (it's licked because it reached 1000 posts, longtime), and I'm against uniform, especially in primary.

What would be a good question alongside yours would be what, if any, benefit do you think it brings to the DC? Given that there is no robust evidence to support uniform, and many countries manage to educate their children without it. Why do British children seem to need uniform when others don't?

The only argument that has come even close to convincing me is that it's a leveller - but even then lots of people with experience of this dispute that it does - kids know the difference between cheap and expensive uniform, for example. Poor kids won't have their uniform replaced when they grow out of it. That kind of thing. Shoes and bags are still an issue.

Thanks for starting this thread, it's an interesting debate.

We don't have school uniform for primary or secondary. I would prefer it if we did.

I understand what pp said about you can tell the difference between a M&S/ John Lewis uniform versus an asda etc one, but we had class photos last term & you can really see the difference between Boden/ Joules/ Frugi vs Primark or H&M.

By the time they are in P6/7 the kids are wearing Superdry, Hollister etc and the divide is hugely noticeable. At least school uniforms sort of help.

I hated "Mufti" days at school as my non school clothes weren't fashionable :(

One of the things that came up on the old thread was that public perception of the school and the uniform and appearance are mixed up together, would you say that this is the case?

DCs wear a uniform. It's great. It's either standard issue from school so no one version is distinguishable from another (school jumper with crest on it) or it's very plain and boring and available from Marks/Sainsburys/wherever (plain white school shirt, grey school trousers). All very inexpensive and it just removes a whole set of issues - no faff in the morning, cheap and practical, creates an identity with school. You definitely cant tell the poorer kids with our uniform as everyone is wearing the same boring thing.

DCs are at primary - I'm also all for uniform at secondary school and don't object to the idea of suits at sixth form. As an employer we have to do quite a lot of re-education for some of our employees as to what's ok to wear to work....happy to have this process start at school.

Shutthatdoor you think it's normal and okay for adults to measure girls' trousers at the knee and ankle as described by an OP above?

Personally I think that is degrading for both the adult and the pupil.

A friend's son was suspended (internal suspension) for wearing a black sock with a single grey stripe., instead of a plain black sock. Mind boggling.

When I was at school (not very long ago!), on non-uniform days quite a few children would refuse to come in (i.e. skive) because they were embarrassed not to own more expensive clothes. :( So for that reason I am pro-uniform. It fosters a sense of community and equality with the other members of the school, I think.

On the other hand, the strictness of some schools (like your daughter's, Ellybellyboo!) is excessive.

I hate school uniform.

My kids primary did not have uniform and it was so easy. They just wore what was clean, I did not have to worry about getting XYZ clean and ready. In the winter they mainly wore Jeans, trainers and hoodies. In the summer it was shorts, t-shirts and trainers. They were happy and comfortable. They also got a lot of use out of their clothes. When they went to High School and had uniform I found they were growing out of jeans, trainers etc having hardly worn them and I was having to buy uniform too. That seemed like a waste of money.

Now the High School seem obsessed with uniform to the detriment of their education. I would be delighted if they got rid of uniform and they could wear what they want and concentrate on studying.

Society is so much more casual now, most people I know wear jeans to work (office staff in professional roles) and I can not remember the last time DH wore a tie to work. School's should reflect this more casual attitude too.

Why do people think that children can't learn that there might (not will, I've never worked anywhere with a dress code) be a dress code at work that they must adhere to, if they haven't spent years wearing uniform? Can this not be explained? Are they blind to all the working people around them? That British kids have never noticed people in suits or uniforms? Really?

I hate uniform.
The local high school has made it compulsory to wear a blazer in first and sixth form. The blazer costs £80.
It is totally compulsory and children have been punished for putting a waterproof jacket over it inside school grounds.
I've seen these kids on the bus home, they are often soaking wet and the heavy wool holds the water, so they look like drowned rats. Hardly smart or practical.

I'm dreading trying to afford it when DS starts high school, and we are well off. How parents must feel about this daft rule when they have no money I don't know, but I feel sick when I think of poor families going without to afford this ridiculous garment, just so their children can go to school.

I like uniforms, provided they are sensible and not daftly expensive.

No 'what shall I wear' issues.
Cuts down on amount of 'normal' clothes we have to negotiate over buying.
Lasts well for my slow-growing DCs.

Means on school trips you can easily identify those from your school.

DD's old HT had a view that by having a uniform it gives the teens an obvious thing to stretch boundaries over - which meant they weren't pushing boundaries over more serious things. He reckoned they needed something to rebel against so it might as well be uniform!

I'm in favour of uniform as its a social leveller, plus prevents arguments with DC about what to wear. It should be cheap and unisex though.

I really like school uniform. Especially if you have to go to a school supplier then everything is the same and you really can't tell who is better off.

I prefer it, we are not at all well off and uniform prevents the pressure to have the best of stuff. We get the M&S uniform when it's 3 for 2 and buy a size to grow into so it often lasts the whole school year. Some of my DCs friends have the ASDA etc uniform and it looks good as long as it's not the lycra style trousers (no idea which shop they are from) which do seem to look awful, I've never seen them on sale in a supermarket though.