Enforced wearing of blazer (wool) in hot weather

[Sweatingcobbles]

I know in the grand scheme of things this week it isn't a massive crisis but aibu to think it's stupid that in 29 degree weather today school refused to let the children take their fairly thick wool blazer off.
They said it is to maintain smartness and an office like uniform.
I'd rather kids could concentrate on learning and exams rather than feeling sick or ill.
Ironically I was in the office today with sandals and a short sleeve top.

Trifle, that does make sense re party atmosphere. Do you think that is linked to the fact it is unusual to allow it though? If a school was usually flexible on e.g. jumpers, then it would be no big deal when they didn't have to bring them in.

Can't imagine trekking into work in a thick jumper and blazer today.

My school has blazers - they may remove them in lesson but some girls especially feel self conscious about wearing a white shirt and won't take them off - so they're sweltering while I'm teaching in a loose sleeveless top, skirt and bare legs (smart style but cool).

I don't care for the business dress idea - we've been running a programme where young people working in local businesses (as in local branches of huge multinationals, not one man bands) come in to talk about the world of work, and not one of them has been in business dress. Their daily working wear is a huge degree less formal than the uniform worn by the students sitting in front of them! I don't wear "business dress" and I hardly know anyone who dresses like that for work.

the last thing we need is the party atmosphere, and unfortunately that is what happens when you tell kids 'no jumpers, no blazers, no ties'

Then the school is badly run. It does not require a strict dress code to enforce discipline in a school. It requires an environment in which teachers are respected.

I don't know about your teenagers, but if mine were forced to wear winter clothing in summer heat they would have very little respect for the adults enforcing the rule.

That's the other problem - see through white shirts! Why white or am I missing something really obvious?

The school I work in has strict uniform - but when it's hot blazers are off

Same. They have to have it with them.

The battle we have in summer is students wearing shirt and jumper, not shirt and blazer. The jumper is optional. The blazer is compulsory. So if they're cold enough to wear the jumper, they're cold enough to take the jumper off and Wear the (not heavy or wool) blazer.

Spot the source of my frustration yesterday. I don't even get why anyone would have wanted to wear a jumper yesterday anyway! I was in a short sleeves top and sandals.

If water is available and windows are open then fine by me. We only get warm weather in this country anyway.

Mistigri

I don't think the school is badly run. I think it natural for kids to feel a sense of freedom when told they can remove items of uniform. That has an impact on behaviour. I am not talking chaos, but inevitably that impact is going to be detrimental. At this time of year SMT have GCSE exams and revision as their first priority, so it is daft to create further problems for themselves.

I don't disagree with the idea of a summer uniform but I think it should be for the final half-term only and it would need the approval of governors and parents. Parents are not universally supportive of the prospect of buying two uniforms.

I don't wear "business dress" and I hardly know anyone who dresses like that for work.

I work for a company which is quite oldfashioned in many respects, but suits and ties are gradually disappearing except for meetings and events. There has in recent years been a "dress down Friday" informally in place, but there is less and less distinction between what people where for the rest of the week.

My kids are at non-uniform school so with no dress code, and tbh none of the terrible things that are supposed to happen without uniform actually take place. And there are far fewer problems with teenagers using clothes to rake pot shots at the rules.

My DS's secondary insists on shirts and ties but jumpers and blazers are optional all year round (DS never wears either apart from on school photo day). So, no party atmosphere, no questioning of the rules, they still look smart and identifiable as students of that school and they are comfortable.

TooStressyForMyOwnGood

Yes, probably. But flexibility on uniform brings its own problems, as I've said.

I bet none of the teachers are wearing wool blazers
And we"re back to the usual uniform vs what teacher wear thay turns up on any uniform thread.

I wear a blazer 90% of the time.

Like the students, I take it off when it's hot.

It's not rocket science.

Wh0Kn0wsWhereTheTimeGoes

Sounds great. In my school we would have kids walking round in teeny weeney skirts, shirt sleeves rolled up and top buttons wide open, untucked shirts etc. They would look dreadful. Their parents would support them and it would take hours of everyone's time to reach any sort of reasonable standard. Contexts are different.

I've always encouraged any teens I know who complain about this (lots because my friends and I all have secondary aged kids!) to politely ask the teacher why the HT and governors are enforcing them wearing it when they don't enforce the adults to do the same - because saying it's for smartness and practice for work environment would indicate that actually they will be expected to wear it when in work.

They insist on top button done up, shirts tucked in, not sure about sleeve rolling but short sleeves are allowed.

Remembers school uniform...(shudder). They dont still have this silly rule. Its stupid. Thought so in the 1980s surely moved on since then. If hot blazer removed.

Has been good to hear lots of opinions on this thread - makes me wonder what the uniform will be when my DC finally get to secondary. Thankfully I am off to check my primary and preschool age DC are getting ready, in their cool summer dresses. On the way to school we will see the senior school students sweltering and looking downright miserable in their blazers.

And ties off!

Nothing useful to add apart from uniform for the sake of it being sadly the sign of petty mindedness that I would not want DS to emulate. And as for OP's acting head wearing the blazer to prove a point: what a bellend, the students will have zero respect for them, frankly - apologies to the decent teachers out there, you are the majority- tracking does seem to attract more than its fair share of utter twats.

Teaching, even: not tracking, whatever that might be!

'I think it natural for kids to feel a sense of freedom when told they can remove items of uniform. That has an impact on behaviour. I am not talking chaos, but inevitably that impact is going to be detrimental.'

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous. They will only feel such a 'sense of freedom' that they end up being silly if uniform is a stranglehold on them in the first place.

Really, I have no idea how kids here in Germany (no uniform at all, partly for very sound historical reasons) learn anything, with the anarchy that must be in place in all those classrooms. Oh, wait... the sense of order and focus in those classrooms is not dependent on making children uncomfortable in the name of some strange equation of outer 'smartness' with inner discipline.

youarenotkiddingme
I'm not a fan of "but adults wear/can".

At our school adults can:
Use our phones not during lessons
Wear nail varnish
Have earrings in
Wear jewellery
Go off site to the shop at lunch

Kids can't. We're not going to start saying they should have all the freedom of adults because well, they're not adults.

As I say to the kids, I have to follow a dress code. My male colleagues are in suits and ties all year round. Our leadership team are in business dress all year round.

We all have rules and guidelines for our situation. I'm amazed (when they ask 'but why don't you just wear... because it's hot/cold') at how many students are surprised we have to follow a dress code.

My kids are at non-uniform school so with no dress code, and tbh none of the terrible things that are supposed to happen without uniform actually take place. And there are far fewer problems with teenagers using clothes to rake pot shots at the rules

This.

Mine too Mistigri

I used to teach in a UK secondary and so much time was wasted enforcing uniform rules. When I asked DD if the teachers at her secondary ever have to talk to pupils about unsuitable clothes she looked at me as if I'd asked her whether the teachers ever teach standing on their heads... I go into her school when the 1200 10-19 year olds are there and walk through the hoards :o quite often, and they are all pretty amenable and wearing mostly jeans and T shirts most of the year, shorts and T shirts mostly in summer. There are some short skirts and hot pants and crop tops in very warm weather - it appears not to have occurred to anyone to be distracted or in any way interested in this...

And yep, I work in law, for a fairly traditional firm: I don't possess a business suit, I wear clothes that are smart but appropriate to the temperature - today that will be a floaty linen dress and - pass the smelling salts - bare legs. If I had to wear a nylon blazer, tight black trousers, a jumper, shirt and tie,I'd leave.

Only British ah children need to wear inappropriate clothing to keep them under control. In every other country, children can learn and behave well in their own clothes. It's very odd

Sparkly that's the way to do it

My sons school told them they couldn't even take their blazers off until they got HOME from school - so even in the depths of summer they were meant to keep their blazers on when travelling home on buses/tubes or just walking.

My response to that was similar to yours. He didn't get a bollocking, but I coud tell at parents evenings which teachers really didn't like me!