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 .

Schools are prevented from making a profit on uniforms chocolate. its for reasons of consistency and quality.

You knew what was required. You made the choice. Doesn't matter what the store tells you they are.

Schools are prevented from making a profit on uniforms. is there anycspecific enforced legislation for this, I couldnt find anything online.

OP: how much were the three pairs of skinny jeans you bought compared to the cost of uniform trousers?

I'm generally in favour of uniform - I know growing up poor it meant I didn't stick out too much as the poor kid BUT it's getting very silly now

no parent should be made to face hardship by a school insisting they buy a £20 cardi rather than a £6 one from Asda - that's insane

I do find academies are obsessed with enforcing the tiny little things whilst generally ignoring the fact they only employ NQT's, have no support staff and cut costs everywhere - because it makes it seem like they are doing a good job

i went to school in a country without school uniform - it was horrendous. bullying to the extreme if jeans weren't diesel, shoes not nike (several pairs), specific brand of coats, bags etc. Easily £300 per outfit, times 5 at least. my parents didn't have that sort of money, so i got bullied, from year 2 or so, right until the end. Not a rich school by any means! Give me school uniform!

The only reason some schools move to parents being forced to buy the very expensive specific uniform items from one supplier, is because parents have refused to follow the rules previously, and have bought their dc jeans or trainers, rather than 'proper school trousers' or shoes.

That is not a valid reason for forcing families to go to expensive suppliers. Department for Education guidance specifically states that schools should not price families out by insisting on expensive uniform. After all, if that genuinely is a problem they can set up a specific supplier arrangement with someone who supplies cheap uniform, can't they?

Or they can decide that children learn just as well whether they're wearing "proper" trousers or not, and get on with their job of educating those children.

I'm at uni and feel like I learn better because I'm comfortable, not trussed up in an itchy skirt, tights, a shirt and a tie. Surely if people can manage to learn at degree level in their own clothes, so could younger people at secondary school.

Planning. Saving. Not difficult.

*You know you will have to put your child through school and that child will need a uniform. There's absolutely no excuse for not providing one.
*
Chocolate, why do you struggle so much with the concept that, although parents know their child will probably need a uniform at school, they don't know that their child will need a uniform requiring £18 cardigans and all the other ridiculousness?

And if you really do not understand that some people are struggling so much financially that they have difficulty even in paying for food let alone saving money, you are living in a fantasy world.

If they're denim they're jeans. Cotton are trousers

Denim is made of cotton. so therefore jeans are trousers.

ohgoodness, I question whether you know about the reality of securing school places if you really think all parents have a wide choice of schools and can easily opt for schools without uniforms.

OP, you're not talking about generic supermarket clothing though, are you? You're talking about skinny trousers as if they're uniform; they're not. Slim-fit is valid, skinny trousers are not.

I'd be absolutely on your side if you were talking about a cardi that you could buy anyway, or a shirt or something but if black trousers are specified then what kind of parent interprets that as 'black skinny trousers'? They don't look like 'uniform' and that's why your son and every other boy, wants them.

I've never heard of a logoed school bag being a compulsory purchase. Is that really the case?

It's a bit ott for me. My son wears slim fit trousers rather than bootleg as he is tall and lanky so they suit his frame better. I'm glad his school aren't crazy about uniform
We have a strict uniform and follow it meticulously. We couldn't give a damn if one cut of trousers was fractionally more straight cut.

What we have an issue with is when parents see 'not skinny or fashion trousers' and then go and buy very skinny fashion trousers.

It's a very obvious difference and funnily enough only the fools who buy their children fashion non uniform items seem to think this is unclear.

Should add I don't agree with expensive single supply uniform. It should be affordable in my opinion. I just understand how some schools come to make that decision when there are idiots who think 'black school shoes' means 'black trainers' and their answer to 'but why did you choose to ignore the uniform?' is they are black followed later by but what difference does it make if they wear trainers?, proving that they knew fine well they weren'f school shoes. They just wanted to act like teenagers throwing a strop about it

Well WHAT difference does it make Maisy?

I couldn't believe it when my DD told me my DGD had been pulled up about her hair scrunchie being the wrong colour. It was blue and white,instead of just blue.

And there we have it OP. But why shouldn't they havr trainers... false nails... full faces of makeup... hoodies... neon green hair... facial piercings. It doesn't affect their brain is the trademark of adult sounding like an argumentative teenager who wants to look cool.

As I have said before must be about 6 times on this thread, i couldn't care less if i teach in a school with or without uniform (i've done both).

The issue isn't uniform details as such. The issue is parents who think they can pick and choose which rules apply to their DC.

If a parent chooses to ignore the rules and kit their child out in non uniform items becuse that's what's cool then it says a lot about them.

And i'm a teacher who would back a parent if they wanted to wear a plain school jumper rather than a logoed one and I have fought that with SLT on occasions. On the whole people who flout uniform magically have fashion/cool items though so thry need to get a grip.

I see op didn't get a sad pic in the Daily Mail today, maybe tomorrow!

If you teach a child you dont have to obey the school uniform rules, what do you think they learn about obeying any of the school rules. Just do the homework you like, maybe only obey the teachers you like, do whatever you like and your parent will back you up. Why not just home school them and get it over with already.

So you allow trousers to be a little bit different, then what about the next kid who says his are only a little bit different from that, and the next a little bit different from that. Yes I have heard children and parents use that argument. Before you know it you have no uniformity and a school full of disobedient children.

If they tell him to change them again, I will keep the spare school ones they give them until his last day and then give them all back. If they start running out, perhaps they will apply a bit of common sense.
I imagine the school would have to take action. Bill parent for the clothes, make DC start changing into school clothes at the start of every day and change out of them at the end. Start internal exclusions, then external exclusions and move to permanent exclusions until parent starts to see sense.

I hope it doesn't affect DCs learning, ability to do exams, need for a reference for a college or entry to 6th form.

I think it's probably to do with the school taking a percentage of the sales
Well we (certainly not me) did vote for a government that is determined to have schools that are run as businesses. Just one of a huge raft of issues with state privateacademies.

So you allow trousers to be a little bit different, then what about the next kid who says his are only a little bit different from that, and the next a little bit different from that.

Seriously, why on earth does it matter if everyone's trousers are different from each other? How does it affect how children learn? If schools took a sensibly relaxed attitude to this the issue of disobedience simply wouldn't arise.

Read most of this and I am in the camp with just getting on with abiding by the rules. Where money comes into it I can only suggest it’s cheaper to buy uniform for the year - must be more expensive sending them in their own outfits - plus the fashion show element and envy etc etc cannot help classroom management

I think part of the problem is people perceptions of what the school mean.
E.g plain black trousers to me means they don't give a shit as long as they are black trousers.
So you buy your child THEIR choice from e.g. asda school uniform range to find the school doesn't approve of those trousers.

If they are not more specific how can parents get it right? Once you've brought them as well what are you supposed to do? Take them back?

Don't even get me started on the logoed pe kit at almost £100 per child

why on earth does it matter if everyone's trousers are different from each other?

then there's no point in having uniforms, is there. Either kids have uniforms, or they don't. I much prefer they do.

If schools took a sensibly relaxed attitude to this the issue of disobedience simply wouldn't arise
Seriously, if you think this then you have no idea what happens with some children when you 'relax rules in school'. Hint children suddenly dont start behaving like saints.

I'm pretty sure the Ofsted guidance states the uniform should not be unnecessarily expensive, some style and available from a wide variety of outlets. Eg cheaply at supermarkets.
Will share a link when I find it..
What are these schools playing at...?

If schools took a sensibly relaxed attitude to this the issue of disobedience simply wouldn't arise
You clearly have no idea. It's not about an item in a uniform. It is an attitude held by some parents that their DC only have yo follow some rules, that if they don't want to follow an instruction then it's fine for their DC to argue back with the teacher and then (obviously ) it's the teacher's fault dor the disruption because whatever rule or instruction it is is so pointless thatthey should have let their DC ignore rules. After all, it's about challenging authority and of you don't agree with children disrupting learning by being argumentative PITA then you must be a draconian bully who wants blind obedience. (These people can't grasp that it's possible to follow basic rules withour being an argumentative and disruptive PITA whilst being able to challenge issues appropriately)

Schools pick a line and it is reasonable for it to be followed.

(I have very strong feelings about schools having expensive single supply uniforms but that's not relevant to the principle of uniform. I equally would happily go back to working in a non uniform school)

It's all about attitude and the types of people who see 'plain black trousers. Not skinny or fashion' and buy very clingy skinny fit trousers are just silly adults acting like teenagers.

If schools took a sensibly relaxed attitude to this the issue of disobedience simply wouldn't arise

Let's take a relaxed attitude to using phones in class.
Let's take a relaxed attitude to the time kids arrive in the morning.
Let's take a relaxed attitude to bringing choc bars and crisps for lunch.
Let's take a relaxed attitude to the parents parking outside the school gates.

Then there will be no disobedience at all.