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.

Yes trifle. I could have spent that time with the y11s who had exams this week and were back after school revising. They'd have loved some extra help and instead I was being told that I shouldn't work with children because I told them their child had been rude to their teacher and must attend detention.
But what can you do? There's enough threads on MN encouraging this kind of culture. And then it's all our fault if their precious darlings don't get the grade they want.

Thankfully, I always remember that the vast majority of parents are amazingly, supportive, super polite and are lovely to talk to. Otherwise you end up getting wound up by a small group who are probably just as obnoxious to anyone else they meet in life.

MaisyPops

Indeed. The kids make it worth it anyway.

What I really, really don't understand is this practice of wearing blazers indoors anyway. As I've said, I was at a private school in the 80s. We had to wear the regulation school mac with scarf in colder weather, then the blazer in spring and summer. The blazer was strictly outdoor wear only and hung up in the cloakroom during the day. Inside the school we just wore cardigan, jumper or tank top, which we could remove if we wished. Similarly outside in warm weather - I have old photos of us sitting on the lawn at break in just our short sleeve summer blouses (no ties) and skirts. So why, oh why, thirty years on, are all these schools insisting on pupils wearing what is to my mind an outdoor jacket, indoors, especially in this sweltering weather? I can't get my head around it.

liz
The vast majority of schools do not MAKE kids sit in blazers all day.
The vast majority of schools and teachers let kids have them off if they are warm.

Multiple people have been on saying this bit it doesn't suit the 'nasty teachers on a power trip' whines that people love.

The summary of this thread for a lot of posters should really be "I personally don't like blazers and think they are silly".

I remember our headmaster telling us stories like this of when he was at school. All in a 'wasn't the past stupid' vein. And this sort of nonsense seems to be making a comeback. It's ridiculous. Nobody in my office but me gets to decide whether or not I wear my cardigan. We should be teaching children to listen to their bodies.

My daughter's school is like this! Funnily enough I had an interview there last week, and when I walked into the Head's office she said "please feel free to take your jacket off, and then we can". Unfortunately, because I knew of the 'jackets at all times' rule ( which applies to all staff), I hadn't worn an entirely suitable top under my jacket - so I had to leave it on, and spent the whole interview thinking that they might be a bit annoyed that they had to keep their jackets on because I wouldn't take mine off!!

VerbenaGirl

What an odd set-up! Probably going to piss off a while load of people on the thread for saying this, but as an adult professional I wouldn't work somewhere where dress code was stipulated to that level. Same with phones - some schools make teachers hand in their phones at Reception.

I think I'd go to the papers. That's a dangerous, draconian attitude, and any boss that insisted their employees wore jackets in the weather we has this week would be taken to court.
My son has to wear in sweater in reception rather than the jumper the rest of the years wear, but he's allowed to remove it when he wants (and then leave it at school in error quite frequently ).
Good on Sparkly for fighting bureaucracy.

Ds old school had a strange dress code for teachers. I'm pretty sure it was enforced iyswim? All males wore full suit and tie and women were in posh dresses with stiletto heels. They didn't look comfortable imo.

The secondary he's now in the male staff wear trousers and smart shirt and often v neck knit jumper in winter and woman wear trousers/skirt with nice smart top.

Guess which school had ideas above their status and an attitude of "we professionals - you just parent!" And guess which staff look comfortable and more approachable and have the better behaviour?

Not which staff behaved better although that is actually true in this case but which has the better behaviour from pupils!

youarenotkiddingme

They specified heels? That is outrageous. I think I'd be dead if I had to wear high heels to work. The floor of my building is constantly littered with banana skins and crisp packets, or soaking wet with chucked paper towels/large puddles of water students have drenched each other with. Kids will be kids, but high heels would be lethal.

I agree it's ott. When our eldest ds came across this at secondary school, he was sent out of the classroom and told only to re-enter once he was wearing his blazer. He duly put it on, walked into the air conditioned classroom, and said to the teacher "glad to see you're wearing your jacket in this heat miss, thanks for leading by example as you're wearing a strap top and flip flops" obvs he got detention for his cheek!

olbndansmummy

Fair enough, really (the detention, that is).

I don't if they specified heels but all females wore high heels - mostly stilettos. It's probably more an "expected culture" iyswim? Filtered down from SLT who dressed like this

At my DDs school jumpers are optional but blazers are compulsory until year 11, when they can ditch blazers for a different coloured jumper . Blazers or year 11 jumpers must be worn unless they have permission to take them off. Ironically yesterday in the hottest day of the year the year 11s were given their leavers hoodies and although they were given permission to wear shirt sleeves they all put their hoodies on!!!

Outrageous to specify that stiletto heels should be worn.

I could never work or spend much time in an establishment that had any such expectation. I simply cannot walk in heeled shoes and would be likely to break my neck if I tried stilettos. I know some people love them, but not me.

This is so ridiculous. My school had a wool blazer, which we weren't supposed to wear in class (even in the freezing mobile science labs) but did have to wear going to and from school. Teachers stood at the gates and nearby streets (!) to check and when I had a broken arm and couldn't get the blazer over the cast one teacher suggested my parents buy a larger blazer (to use for a month!, they were about £60 over 20 years ago, from school supplier only).
The uniform was very strict in general a D the only elements that could be bought from a normal shop were the shirts. In winter only the regulation scarf could be worn, £20 back then and when I lost it my parents wouldn't get me another one and a plain black scarf was confiscated.
We had to wear tights in sixth form all year which was stupid in summer.

Trifle the tie in your school sounds reasonable but how can kids be expected to concentrate on exams if they are sweltering?

JeNeBaguetteRien

Our students don't wear blazers and don't have to wear jumpers in the summer. They do have to wear their ties and they do have to button and tuck in their shirts. They are very warm but so are we all. I am running between classrooms, carrying thirty books, standing up talking and circulating the classroom - it's not like I am asking them to do anything I'm not prepared to do.

When my daughter was 14, she had a very bad fainting fit, and I had to leave work to collect her from school. It turned out that she (and the rest of her class) were not allowed to take their jumpers and ties off, in the extremely hot classroom (about 28 degrees). They all had long white shirts, tie, jumper and trousers / skirts on, and none were allowed to take anything off. Got to the medical room, and when I found out went berserk. Went to the class room, where "Teacher" was wearing a flowery, sleeveless cool dress!!!! I am afraid I made a complete spectacle of myself, but that evening quite a number of parents contacted me and praised me, and we organised a mass meeting at the school. After that - the rules were, in fact, relaxed a bit!

user1483875094

I understand why you were angry, but do you not think you were shouting at the wrong person? If you came to my classroom shouting aggressively at me in my workplace I would phone the police right in front of you.

I do about 10km a day teaching, I'd probably break an ankle if I had to wear heels!!

The vast majority of schools take a common sense approach to blazers and jumpers, although I did once work in a school where the head had a right old hissy fit and told my line manager to have a word with me because I told him his olive of blazers in the summer term was ridiculous.

Line manager's face was like this >>🙄

His policy

No olives.

morningrunner

I've said repeatedly, no, I don't. But if you send your child to a school where the Head and governors have created a strict uniform policy, which I enforce because it's my job, don't dare start screaming at me about it. I will tell you to direct your anger at the people who made the rules, or educate your child at home.