To be pissed off at the complete change of school uniform?

[MycatsaPirate]

DD2 is in year 6 and has another two years at her middle school.

Just before Xmas an email was sent to parents asking if they would be prepared to pay 'a little extra' for a better quality blazer and asking if they agreed with ties being compulsory. Just to state that DD doesn't wear a blazer and I have never seen a child at the school in one at all.

Their current uniform is grey logo jumper (£22 from uniform shop), light blue shirt (high street), grey skirt or trousers (high street and girls can wear either), black shoes and grey or black socks. PE kit is a logo rugby top £22 from uniform shop), black shorts or joggers and a blue polo shirt.

All the kids always look very smart and neat walking to and from the school.

Today DD came home and told me that 2 children from years 5, 6 and 7 were picked and asked to model the new uniform.

This consists of long checked skirt for girls (no trouser option and will only be available in uniform shop)
Checked trousers for boys (again, uniform shop and apparently they look like Rupert the Bear trousers)
Navy blue logo jumper (uniform shop)
Black/Navy tights for girls with black slip on shoes
Not sure on shoes/socks for boys
White or pink shirt for boys and tie
White shirt for girls and tie
Blazer. (uniform shop).

None of the parents are happy. Especially the year 7 parents whose DC only have a year left at the school! This is coming into effect in September. There has been no parent consultation at all except for asking about a better quality blazer.

It's a new HT and she seems hellbent on making her mark but I am so pissed off that the majority of the uniform is now only going to be available in one place and that place is bloody expensive!

I doubt there is much that can be done now, but really, it's not like it's a private school!

museumgardens £63 was for the grammar school (it's an academy if that makes a difference) polyester nothing fancy same as the other local schools.

Just checked And the other local high schools blazers are £30/£35 mark. Big difference. Website does that annoying thing where it gives price for a tiny one and prices goes up for every 2 inches.

Haven't RTWT - sorry - but the Dept of Education guidance on school uniform has already been mentioned. There's also guidance from the Office of Fair Trading which is very much against giving monopolies to shops for providing unnecessarily locoed items.

I am a governor and the rules are that pupil premium should be spent on closong the gap between PP students and the rest, if that gap exists. There is a lot of flexibility for the school in how they do that (our school funds some whole school stuff for example) but the bottom liine is they have to prove it.

So, this year, she may get away with paying for uniform out of PP, but I cannot see that getting past governors or ofsted in the long term, so that is just a sop to the stop you asking about lower income families.

As a governor, with responsibility for PP I would challenge the use of PP money for uniform.

Thanks for the heads up about pupil premium. Will also be asking about that.

You are all a mine of information.

Ive seen stuff about some schools even insisting the coat worn to school has to be black.

Has anyone else on here heard of or experienced this?

Dixie i found an old news article where a young lad was made to walk home in the cold without one because the school confiscated it. It was black but still not right.

Madness.

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/high-price-of-school-uniforms-leaves-children-at-risk-of-bullying-10065734.html

I'd say the message of this thread is to check the 'facts' brought home by children before going wild on social media!

The original story was pink shirts and checked trousers for the boys and compulsory kilts and slip on shoes for the girls!

To be honest, the true story doesn't sound that bad, though obviously a pain if it won't be phased in.

Get the price list and get other pissed off parents for a sad face article in the local press ;)