To think it's not hard to adhere to uniform rules

[Puzzledconfusedandbewildered]

Yet again in the fail a school has had protests from parents (and police presence) due to 50 students being turned away on day 1 for breaching the uniform rules

Aibu to think the rules are the rules and if you want your child to attend that school you adhere to them?

witsender DD is 6 and goes to a non-uniform primary. She has already learnt to consider the weather and the day's activities before choosing what to wear to school the next day. A pretty life lesson, I would have thought.

It also means she can start school tomorrow, when it is going to be 26 degrees here, in a summer frock and sandals, instead of (as I've seen mentioned on other threads) winter uniform.

Pretty valuable! Stop eating my typing, iPad!

Yes DS2 (Y6) cycled off happily in his shorts this morning. He was most unhappy when I mentioned that shorts are not allowed at any of the local high schools.

You couldn't turn up to a professional job in a pair of trainers

I do - it depends on clients. I match my clothes to who I will be seeing, as does DH who works in a different sector.

I wore Adidas Superstars to work today!

My high school (which was one of the first Daily Fail trouser/equipment detention stories about 5 years ago actually) used to recognise that 1500 students in a school serving small villages were going to be almost impossible to kit out identically so years 7 to 9 wore a black blazer, school tie, and any white shirt, grey skirt or trousers and black shoes. Year 10 and 11 was any black jumper or cardigan, any black trousers, any white shirt and a navy tie.it worked quite well. Nowadays you have to buy a different-coloured sweatshirt every year and they have house colours. Eyeroll.

6th form was a separate college in the town centre - no uniform as frankly I think it's best to treat 17 and 18 year olds like adults. I have never been as well-dressed!

It's time uniforms were got rid of again. It's a throw back to the 60s.

DSs went to a non uniform comp in the 80s/90s. One's a PhD one's a MSc. They wore jeans and trainers but still seem to have done ok.

As a teacher I have better things to do with my time then tell DCs how to dress. Not my job. Dress code is enough.

Hardly any schools anywhere else in the world have uniform, apart from communist states.

You couldn't turn up to a professional job in a pair of trainers

But what does that even have to do with kids going to school? They just need to be clean and comfortable to study.

I don't think parents have a clue about how much a non uniform dress code would cost them. I think that in general a school with a strong uniform code, accurately applied, is an easier place to learn. If your child wants to protest at injustice maybe point them in the direction of all the children dying because of no clean water? I looked at the list of pupils at my school who were in inclusion because they failed to meet uniform requirements yesterday , in total 4/1100, in inclusion, not sent home, and if you had asked me in July I would have been correct. It often seems that it is the parents 'grudge' that motivates them.
I am lucky, I work in an amazing school that gets outstanding results and a HT who is happy to remind parents that teachers' time should not be wasted on trivia. You know the code, if you don't like it go to the nearest school with poor results and a casual uniform. They always have plenty of places. We, however, are oversubscribed for every year group. It might sound snotty but it is part of the ethos that school is a place you go to learn. A teacher will never be as entertaining as an xbox so you turn up to class not in your pj's but uniform.

Of course there are some jobs where you can wear more casual clothes. But there are many jobs where you can't. And there are many jobs where 'questioning authority' will get you fired or demoted. Teach them to follow the rules first, then teach them when it's appropriate to question or break them. Too many students think it is their right to question every instruction, regardless of how much time (their own and others') is wasted, and too many parents back them up. Making them wear a strict uniform is - if I'm honest - a short cut to getting them in an obedient frame of mind so they can get on with more difficult things. A child who has accepted that when you say, "Button your shirt, please" or "Roll down those sleeves" is less likely to argue when you ask them to solve a quadratic equation. Doing as asked becomes habitual. Some will see this as draconian (and it is) but there is a solid practical purpose to it that I firmly believe benefits students in the long run, provided they are also taught how to think for themselves.

There isn't any correlation between academic/school success and uniform criteria. Genuinely.

I say this as a teacher and school governor BTW.

When parents request a place at schools they know the uniform required in advance...I'm always gobsmacked when they think it doesn't apply to them. It might not improve learning outcomes but it helps everyone feel they are part of a well oiled machine and stops kids feeling they are doorks if they wear the correct stuff. I can't understand why parents dont want their child to feel part of a team and wear the same stuff as their friends!?

Witsender: Not in general, no, but the poorer the school in terms of demographics, the more the correlation holds.

Redsrule it all depends on the parents, doesn't it? If they pander to their kids' fashion victim faddiness then yes, it is going to cost a fortune. It doesn't have to be like that, though.

And for all those saying that kids wearing the wrong brands will be bullied - not in a school worth its salt, they won't. That is an important part of a school's job, to make sure that stuff is cracked down on, hard.

And the 'starving kids in Africa' argument really doesn't cut a lot of ice these days because it is a zero sum argument. It is bad that there are kids who have no clean water. It is bad that there are stupid ineffective rules. Both things should be opposed, it isn't either/or.

That doesn't even make sense Redsrule. Some children don't get clean water so British kids shouldn't protest school uniform?

There is no evidence of a correlation between a good school and school uniform, absolutely none.

Having has three kids go through non uniform sixth form I am well aware of the cost of non school uniform. My kids wore Adidas and Nike and H&M and charity shop, mostly stuff they would have had for the weekend anyway. And stuff they then took to Uni.

Trifle Are you a teacher? I find your attitude genuinely disturbing.

There isn't a single school the entire area that doesn't have a uniform any more. Where is the parental choice in that?

Well witsender in the 5 years since my school started imposing a strict uniform we have gone from inadequate to outstanding and are now in the top 5% of state schools for the third year running. It is not the only reason but it reflects the ethos that has allowed so many disadvantaged inner city kids achieve amazing results and have incredible opportunities for the future. I work in an incredibly disadvantaged area and leafy suburbs envy our results. Strict policies enable teachers to focus on the education not the behaviour.

You may need to toughen up, Tinkly. "Disturbing" 😂

Yes, I am a teacher.

Oh dying children = not wearing trainers; yes they are equally terrible. Think a moral compass is missing.

Haha! Am laughing a little at behaviour improving if strictly uniform rules are applied. Cause kids react really well when treated like brainless automatons and given as little respect as envisaged by some posters. They're just small adults, give guidance and model what your expect...that will improve behaviour more than a strict behaviour. As a teacher it used to wind me up a treat when this mindless dictatorship was in play, imposing it got in the way of actual teaching.

It enables them to focus on what colour socks children are wearing. I don't think that's remotely useful. Ymmv.

My boys school has a uniform. The policy is fairly similar to most school. Black trousers or skirt, shirt, tie, blazer, jumper/cardi/sleeveless jumper if wanted, black shoes.

No-one cares about socks...

Jackets to be carried or put in lockers. In hot weather they can just wear shirt and tie. They can wear jumpers etc or blazers or whatever if they want.

No rules on hair, technically not supposed to wear make up until senior pupils but not strictly enforced as long as it's not ott.

Some skirts are short, some girls wear leggings, some pupils wear trainers, as long as uniform is reasonably attempted then it's fine.

Kids all look tidy enough, no-one is wearing designer goods etc.

They somehow manage to be one of the best academically achieving schools. Yes there is a uniform, yes there's an expectation that it is worn, however there aren't any uniform nazis so kids generally comply.

As for them all looking the same and not being able to express their individuality, the headmasters speech addressed this point by referencing a popular football team and saying that despite them all wearing exactly the same thing, everyone could tell the players apart both by the rest of their appearance and by their actions. I was tempted to call out that they also had their names on their back, but I resisted... :o

Redsrule, it worries me that you would suggest that the improvement in behaviour is due to uniform. What about everything else the school does?

You are missing the argument Redsrule. Dying children is terrible. That doesn't mean no one should ever object to anything else.