To find it outrageous that school inspects the DC's trousers

[BlackTrousersAreBlackTrousers]

And makes them change immediately into school regulation trousers if they are not the right 'cut'.

Black trousers are black trousers surely. DS wanted the 'skinny' type which are not actually skinny but less flappable than the standard fit. All the rage, plenty of DC wearing them. Store sells them as school trousers. They are school trousers.

School decides they are 'jeans'.

AIBU to think they should take their head out if their arse and concentrate on educating the DC rather than making them line up for 'inspection', as if they are army recruits?

Lower school HAS to wear trousers only sold by school uniform shop. They even put a colourful line down the side, like they are an army brass band, so they cannot sneak on reasonably priced trousers - £18 as opposed to £6 supermarket ones.

It is obscene. Why are they allowed to get away with it?

Before some idiot pipes up that I should disrupt DS's education by moving him if I don't like 'dem rulz', schools are a public SERVICE not a vehicle for boosting the ego of some limp dicked, power crazed twat .

YANBU. Can't help but wonder what all these rules are for.

My DD's school just ask for grey school trousers/skirt, polo shirt or white shirt with tie, navy v-neck or cardigan. That's it. Everyone looks smart. She has a mix of M&S, Sainsburys and Asda, and all the stuff looks decent. You can buy school branded stuff, but it is optional and not too expensive- tie is £3.

hennaoj As already written above, there's no lack of jobs with mandatory uniforms. Even the cashiers at my local supermarkets wear branded tops. Good luck going for a job dressing too casually either.

By experience, a no-dress code is not sustainable in any company, because one day someone takes liberties, dress inappropriately and something has to be done.

School uniforms make life so much easier for everybody. Chose a no-uniform school if you prefer. Having been a pupil in both, I much rather a uniform to moan about to the expensive labels competition and the inappropriate clothes you can get away with.

I agree @Maisypops. I'm not a fan of uniform either, but that's not the point.

The point of the uniform rules is to ensure basic rules are being followed, because in life we all have to follow basic rules (laws). We don't get to decide which laws we want to follow and which ones we don't, without accepting there are consequences if we don't. Agreeing with your child that they can choose which ones they want to follow or not is just not helping them when it comes to being an adult, holding down a job, life in general etc.

Secondary school is all about seeing if you can get away with it. DS wears illegal trousers, illegal footwear AND sometimes a banned hoody. He has good grades though and never gets in trouble. I don't think the teachers actually care about uniform rules. It's a fab school.

Why do these threads always attract people saying “if you don’t like the rules just move your child to another school”? Do people seriously imagine that it’s that easy? Or indeed that every town and village offers alternative schools without uniform rules? The fact of the matter is that, very often, there is no realistic choice and parents have to accept the place at the school with stupid rules if their child is to get an education at all.

What's the relevance of the fact that some jobs require uniforms? In other countries people seem to cope with that without any difficulty despite having gone through childhood never wearing uniform at all.

The only reason they end up specifying and selling one pair of must have regulation trousers is because of people purchasing skinny trousers etc and insisting they're school trousers when they're not

see, I don't think these rules are stupid, I think they are necessary. I also think that some of the school uniforms are completely inappropriate, and mini-skirts or micro-shorts should not be allowed for example.

Each school has a policy on uniform. Some are stricter than others. If you don't like the uniform policy or the suppliers of it, then contact the school about this to express your dislike and ask if change can be considered,. You can put your well thought out arguments. Do this before your school starts and after your child is there, but not when they have been picked up for not complying with a clear policy.

There may well be other policies you don't like. They might relate to discipline or homework or anything else. Again, express your dislike of the policy and explain why before an issue arises with your child.

Simply disregarding the policy and doing your own thing, and then complaining when child is picked up on it is never going to get you a favourable hearing and nor should it. As the parent you know the rules or it is your job to know the rules and buy the right stuff so your child isn't in trouble. They might ask for other stuff, but as a parent, if you don't refuse, you not only undermine the school, but set the child up to be in trouble too.

What about sending a message to your child that school is important and they should follow the rules? When parents blatantly disregard and don't value them, can any parent then be surprised if their child takes a similar attitude towards a multitude of things and is trouble over lots of them? But will that parent then see they might have played a role within it all, or blame the child or even the school?

GnotherGnu
I also went to non-uniform schools. They were not a free-for-all but had strict guidelines for a start. I wouldn't have liked to be in the "poor" non-trendy group then.
Going into a strict-uniform school was a relief.

As a parent, I much prefer my kids in uniforms, it's easier and way cheaper! Non-uniform days are bad enough.

I never objected to uniform, especially at secondary stage.
It's a great leveller - everyone in the same - no clamouring for whatever's the latest - often expensive - that 'everybody else!' has.
And no arguments with younger ones about what to wear in the morning.
It shouldn't be too expensive, though.

Send your child in school uniform trousers and problem solved - it is so easy to comply with school uniform rules but some children and some parents always want to chance their arm, and then end up with miserable face in daily mail. Get a grip

I'm not a fan of uniform and dd's school doesn't have a prescriptive uniform in so far as it's easy to meet the rules from the supermarket uniform available. What I don't understand though is why, when the school make it explicitly clear that skinny fit trousers and short body con skirts are not allowed, do parents buy them regardless and complain when their child is sent home and they are forced to buy a replacement? Surely it's easier and cheaper to buy what the school demand first time?

I understand the need for uniform BUT I disagree with the way the schools go about it.
E.g brought dd plain black school trouser (marked as school trousers) they had a pocket that wasn't a pocket with a black zip on them. Dd was told they were against school rules although it didn't (and still doesnt) say ANYTHING other than plain black trousers.
Now THAT is pathetic.

Is this really about uniform at all, or about not liking being told what to do? And it's the parent rather than the child who doesn't like it.

All large organisations have rules. Some will be ones we can see the point of and others we might find annoying or even hate. We can express our views on them if we feel really strongly. That is fine. Isn't it also the case that we need to teach our children that all institutions have rules - it's fine to say that some of them you might not agree with. However it it entirely different to encourage them to flout the rules or to aid and abet them in breaking the rules and then complain when the clear rules are enforced and they are in trouble.....it's hardly a surprise is it!

Feel annoyed by the rules if you want. Fine. And then just get on and follow them and teach your kids to do the same. COmplain if you want, but stick to the rules while you're waiting and hoping to change the system.

'Basic rules' shouldn't cost £300 a pop. My friend is a single parent gets fuck all from her ex. 2 kids at the only school in her area and every sodding bit of school kit from gym kit- shorts, tracksuits, tshirts etc to uniform has to have school logo and bought in one specific shop. 2 kids at £300 each. What a farce.

Does sfa for thier education, but it looks good. She goes without to save up for the uniform as her kids are both growing like mushrooms and are both heading for 6' so need new stuff every term.

I agree kids should look smart at school with basic uniform code but within reason. Our local schools have basic uniform (only jumper and blazer have logo ) but trousers arent checked for width! They tend to focus on the kids and thier education.

Op said quite clearly that the trousers she bought were labelled 'school trousers' and are marginally thinner than others. What possible difference does about an inch of material make?

YANBU- it’s a policy not law and it’s not like he’s rocking up wearing something that is inappropriate, he is wearing black trousers Ffs. Tight or baggy will make no difference to his academic achievement but will probably mean that you get your child out the door wearing a uniform with less hassle- such a waste of time to concentrate on monitoring uniforms am sure time could be better spent within the school dealing with real problems

I imagine that when devising a school uniform, the considerations are the same for most governing bodies:

• What will minimise bullying?
• What is reasonably affordable?
• What makes our students distinctive, so issues outside school can be clearly traced back and students can be safer?
• What looks smart?
• What is simple, so anyone can understand the requirements?

And they come up with - most of the time - the same sort of thing: shirt, specific trousers, plain, unbranded shoes, tie, and so on.

Schools wouldn't be doing this in their thousands if there was another completely obvious way to go about achieving the above things.

My view is, follow the policies at the school you chose, or choose a school that has policies you like better.

YANBU

Out of nowhere they asked to get a fucking rugby shirt from a specific uniform store for 37 quid!

I’m always fascinated by the uniform haters. Surely school uniform ‘rules’ are a starting building block in following the rules in life? Just like learning how appropriate language and attitude in the workplace makes you more employable. Going to a large supermarket on a Sunday seeing kids wearing onesies, parents in stretchy leisure wear with bed hair and no intention of hitting the gym shouting at kids to f***g behave - far too many parts of our society don’t like rules, but expect those of us with some standards to dumb down and buy into a liberal slovenly attitude.

The pettier the uniform policy, the worse the school. it's part of a bigger problem with education, which is that it's currently being run by people who have absolutely no idea about it, but are obsessed with their own weird 1950s wank fantasies about when the poor were obedient and knew their place. So a school which is struggling (due to a combination of underfunding and the repeated changes to the curriculum imposed, again, by fucking idiots who have no idea about teaching, learning or child development) gets a new Head dumped on them, and the new Head immediately introduces Strict School Uniform Rules. And permanently excludes as many as possible of the kids with SEN or EAL or on free school meals (ie can't afford the overpriced, one-shop only, ugly new uniform). The school might 'improve' a bit in terms of having got rid of all the 'difficult' kids and kept only the ones with compliant or non-poor parents, but often as not it develops a different set of problems.

When reading threads like this I get the feeling I am very lucky with dc’s school uniform.

It states that you can have either a school jumper/cardi with the school logo (cost £8.95 each) or a plain (supermarket) one as long as it’s in the school colours.

Grey skirt/trousers/shorts/dress.

And black shoes.

To be fair the school don’t seem to give a fig as long as it’s the right colour.

It's also interesting (given that some of you mentioned governors being the ones who decide on uniform) how keen the Government have been to get rid of parent governors and cram governing bodies with business people who have little or no connection with the school or the local area.

It's very important to teach children not to respect authority blindly, and certainly not to respect authority which has no respect for them.

DS is not allowed jean style trousers, but this means the ones with the back pockets stitched on the outside like jeans, they can wear any other black school trousers. We have to buy the blazer, tie, and sports kit from the school supplier but the rest can be bought anywhere.

I’m expected to dress in professional workwear. I do so because I understand the company values, respect my employer, they pay my salary and when I’m in said professional workwear I feel like I’m part of the vision we aim to project. When I’m not at work I dress down in my own choice of clothes and appreciate the different feeling I have of being more relaxed. Honestly as a country I think we could all very much smarten up.