to ask school to cover up uniforms when using messy things?

[DevineByName]

DD has ruined 5 polo shirts in two weeks with mud and (black) paint. She's also got a few dabs of whiteboard pen on which is probably unavoidable.

I buy cheap-ish, and I know what kids are like (especially when it's spaghetti bolognese for lunch!) but I remember using big tshirts to paint with. Do they not still do that?

Ours had waterproof aprons in each classroom.

Children hardly ever used them.
I ended up with the approach that I knw that I had washed their polos so they were clean. School could put up with the stains.

Have you tried sticking them all in the wash with a bit of bleach?

I tried bleach, Vanish and all my other tricks :(

They should cover them up but all those stains should come out. Fairy liquid or household soap for mud and paint. Hairspray or vodka for the whiteboard pens.

Pinafore dresses? The worst-stained polo shirts get relegated to being worn under one of those, or I suppose if you were more organised than me, you could start off using the dresses to protect the t-shirt in the first place

We never got whiteboard pens out and I can usually get anything out. I refused to buy more shirts as it was always because they were sat on the floor and the children behind would wave their pens around, it was always on DS's back. I found reception class will usually wear aprons but after that they don't seem to bother. Annoying really.

My mum is the only one who can get DS2's white polo shirts clean! She washes them at 90 with loads of detergent (makes me sneeze there's so much), Vanish gold & hangs in the sunshine. Also, I have heard that vodka or nail varnish remover gets rid of whiteboard pen, but not tried it myself.

At our school marker pens seem to be used all the time - well by the state of my DC shirts

I use hair spray to get out the worst of marker pen (not sure if it works on biro etc). Spray the mark liberally and roll a cotton bud hard over it and bin it - not scrub as that just makes a grey splodge, the rolling action lifts the pen out without despositing it back in the shirt. Takes a canny few cotton buds though, not even sure if it's worth it tbh.

Forgot to say 90% of pen marks are due to pen duelling with mates in class hmm]

DD hates pinafores- she says they pull her in!

It's very frustrating. Lord knows what she'll look like by June.

I was wondering how she managed to get it on her back though- sitting on the floor explains that!

Try soaking in water with bicarbonate of soda and adding a scoop into your washing machine too. Or put mucky polo shirts in a pillowcase with a scoop of bicarbonate and wash as normal

I tend to assume school uniform will get trashed in the early years and take it as a positive thing that they are getting messy. I buy supermarket or second hand. I might feel differently if I had to buy very expensive uniform!

Napisan and sunshine get white polo shirts clean. I am rubbish at laundry in general, but I am not bad with white polo shirts.