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AIBU?

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Original poster

Enforced wearing of blazer (wool) in hot weather

266 replies

Sweatingcobbles · 25/05/2017 22:48

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.

OP posts:
liz70 · 26/05/2017 12:38

"Another 70's child who got the option of summer dresses at secondary."

I was wondering when summer dresses at secondary school level were ditched. I started convent school in 82 and they were out by then, although they had been regulation summer uniform in the past. But then school girls wore pinafores from age 11 to 16 in the past, which seems unthinkable now.

caffeinestream · 26/05/2017 13:08

Yeah, I don't get the "you need proper uniform for exams" thing either. I did four years of exams at university and managed to pass all of them in varying states of dress!

Sleepyblueocean · 26/05/2017 13:19

My son when too hot (indoors in this country) has become ill enough to be rushed to and admitted to hospital. Problems with temperature regulation apparently.There is no way I would allow him to wear anything that would make him too hot.

OpalTree · 26/05/2017 13:22

Summer dresses were optional at my school in the 80s. They were only worn by a minority as they weren't considered to be the fashionable option, although they were pretty dire.
By the 90s they'd changed to a kilt all year round.

OpalTree · 26/05/2017 13:23

Our teachers wouldn't have dreamed of telling us when to wear our jumper and we didn't have a blazer. We were able to choose depending on how warm we felt. Much more civilised.

AnnPerkins · 26/05/2017 14:07

Papergirl1968 "My DDs' school has a new headteacher who is changing the uniform from polo shirts and sweatshirts to shirts, ties and blazers because it's more businesslike."

That headteacher is just showing how out of touch they are with today's business world then. Do they also think bank managers wear bowler hats and carry umbrellas and a rolled up copy of The Times under their arm? Grin

Gileswithachainsaw · 26/05/2017 14:17

I'm with you op

If the school dd ends up going to next year tries this nonsense they will find me camped out in the office with an invoice for the copius amounts of eczema cream I've had to buy to repair the damage from her overheating and scratching til she's bleeding.

There's no need for it.

Stormtreader · 26/05/2017 14:19

Being uncomfortably hot or cold is distracting, its much harder to concentrate when you are feeling sick from the heat or shivering in the cold.
I would suggest that the main reason children are in school is to learn things, and making that more difficult for no other reason than "well, those are the rules" is pointless.

dawnz · 26/05/2017 15:43

I've only read pages 1&6 of this thread, but it sounds to me like schools in the UK who are still enforcing blazers - indeed any inappropriate uniform for the weather conditions - need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the sunlight, so to speak.

How about a mass walkout organised by the kids in each school via social media, where at a given moment in each school on a certain day, all the kids who are exercised about this issue, get up and walk out onto the school field (if they still have one) to protest? Parents could roll up with some placards etc to support them, bring the local press...

I'm not a protester at heart, so I'm sure others would have good ideas. Maybe the kids in each school could organise a debate with the senior mgmt team on the subject? Petition the Ministry of Education?

Seems like an issue affecting a lot of people still, and one which just seems utterly ridiculous to me in this day and age. Britain is known worldwide (or is it just the Antipodes that think of you like this?) for having a bit of a stuck-in-the-mud attitude to change - so why don't you prove others wrong and FIGHT for recognition of hot weather sartorial requirements, instead of just whingeing about it each summer? G'orn, I dare youse! The kids would be rapt if they won a small victory like this - the Battle of the Blazers, summer 2017 Grin

And for goodness sake tell them to remember that any change that's achieved, can only be accepted provided they have it in writing that the school uniform policy has been amended accordingly. Otherwise you/they will just have to refight it all over again next year.

youarenotkiddingme · 26/05/2017 17:20

Maisy I never mentioned earrings etc.
But most teachers I know (and I know a lot!) dress for the weather. None I know of are expected to wear wool jumper or blazer in 30° heat.

So my point to children is to ask politely 'why' the expectation is there.

The earring one has a really simple answer and that's students doing PE, out on fields etc earrings can be a risk. You can explain why year 11 have different rules because they don't tend to rough housing as much as younger years.

I work in KS4 and find I get better reactions from my students if I don't just give them the party line "because it's the rules".

Luckily my ds secondary are fairly sensible. They can take blazers off at all times except travelling between lessons. I suspect that's more to with negating the need to match 1000 blazers to their owners Grin

MaisyPops · 26/05/2017 18:10

My point youarenotkiddingme is that any objections to uniform that rest on "but teachers can" isn't really worth listening to in my eyes.

Personally, I couldn't care less uniform or not uniform. But if there's a uniform in place in my school then I will support it in public, raise my issues privately and not undermine it in front of the students.

E.g. I think it's silly we make our students put their blazer on at lesson changeover. But I'm not about to be one of those teachers who gets all 'yeah I know I think the rules are stupid too' with the kids.

This week I mentioned privately to a senior leader that where I am on site it's not fair to expect them to wear it. They were fine with it. What would of been silly would be to tell the students I think the rule is stupid when the professional thing to do is exercise judgement.

My line on all kinds of things is 'places and organisations have rules. People follow them. If there's a real grievance then they raise it appropriately. Now let's get on'.

DailyMailReadersAreThick · 26/05/2017 18:22

YANBU

I hated this in school. I hated the arbitrariness of it and the way those adults could control my basic comfort for absolutely no good reason.

HelsinkiLights · 26/05/2017 18:23

Making kids wear blazers in classrooms on hot days like this is cruel.

liz70 · 26/05/2017 18:29

When I went to a private convent school in the 80s we just hung our blazers up in the cloak room in the morning and collected them at home time. We could wear them outdoors at break if we wished, but it wasn't compulsory. If it was warm we just wore our short sleeve summer blouses with cardie/jumper/tanktop if wished.

Wearing a blazer indoors in weather this hot is just insane.

HelenaDove · 26/05/2017 18:41

Interesting. How come some schools are dictating that blazers must be worn on the way to school and on the way home yet if bullying takes place on the way home the attitude is "its not our (the schools) problem as it happened off school grounds."

They cant have it both ways.

MaisyPops · 26/05/2017 18:47

HelenaDove
Our take is that bullying IS our concern on the way to/from school because it gets brought into school/taken from school.

So the conduct of our students in the community when wearing our uniform IS our concern.

What's not really our responsibility is the regular reports of what people did/didn't say on social media on an evening or at a weekend. That's a parent thing.
Equally, kids arranging to prank each other out of school and they've videoed it is also not really our issue (but the phone call in to report it clearly suggested it was our job to police).
Some people seem to think they can let their kids use unlimited technology and go where they like and it's schools job to sort those issues. It's not. No school conduct is the responsibility of parents.

MaisyPops · 26/05/2017 18:47

*Non school conduct is the responsibility of the parents.

fromthebreach · 26/05/2017 19:22

Practically, two suggestions.

  1. Ask for consistency for standards of dress? If students must wear full uniform, then so should teachers, which would include cap and gowns.
  2. Petition for return of gingham summer dresses for the girls and shorts/short sleeved shirts for the boys.
Trifleorbust · 26/05/2017 19:42

*Practically, two suggestions.

  1. Ask for consistency for standards of dress? If students must wear full uniform, then so should teachers, which would include cap and gowns.
  2. Petition for return of gingham summer dresses for the girls and shorts/short sleeved shirts for the boys.*

Am not sure that is consistent - how so?

youarenotkiddingme · 26/05/2017 20:23

I've never said "but teachers can". Maisy.
I've said pupils can politely ask why they are enforcing such rules for the pupils. If that's because the rules are different for adults it will form part of the discussion but I really don't think asking what the rationale behind wearing a polyester blazer in 30° heat is is unreasonable.

Well it's not as unreasonable as forcing pupils to wear winter clothes in the height of summer!

MaisyPops · 26/05/2017 20:37

1. Ask for consistency for standards of dress? If students must wear full uniform, then so should teachers, which would include cap and gowns.

It's this kind of ridiculous 'adults and children should have exactly the same standards and boundaries' type of view I was on about youarenotkiddingme.

I'll be honest, I'm happy to do what you've said and just say 'we all have dress codes and rules to follow'. Just like the children have more freedom.with what they can say and do on social media than I do. Different rules but perfectly fine.

I tend to shut it down most of the time because it's just a tireless work avoidance strategy. If they wish to discuss after my brief 'wr all have rules' they can find me at break or lunch. It's amazing how they're not keen to debate nail varnish, earrings, jackets etc in their own time.

Suzypoo10 · 26/05/2017 20:42

The school my kids go to is very strict on uniform, and blazers and ties must be worn at all times, (shirts are short sleeved anyway). However, once the temperature gets to a certain the level, the headmaster allows weveryone to take their ties and blazer off and undo the top button on their shirts. The last two days years 7-11 have been allowed to go wearing in pe kit and years 12 and 13, who have a different uniform ( more like a business suit) have been allowed to go in wearing loose, smart clothing.

Natsku · 26/05/2017 20:52

It is a ridiculous rule and doesn't help children learn (and could possibly be dangerous if it gets very hot - heat stroke anyone?)

Glad my schools weren't that strict. I wore my school jumper on the first day of secondary school and never again after that (it was a horrid pea green colour)

Now I live abroad and schools here don't have uniforms at all, children are just expected to dress weather appropriately (and its shoes-off inside the school - so much more comfy for the children)

Fireflybaby · 26/05/2017 20:53

We received an email yesterday from school to let parents know children were allowed to be in school without blazers today. They had to wear it yesterday though. Not much difference of temperature between today and yesterday Hmm

TooStressyForMyOwnGood · 26/05/2017 20:54

It is extremely hot here today. I don't think it's melodramatic to be worried about children overheating.

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