To refuse to rebuy five years of primary school uniform

[Schooluniform2018]

Our small primary school has always had a uniform. I have had one child pass through the school into high school and therefore have enough shirts, pinafores and logo cardigans to pass down to my youngest two. Currently in years 1 and 3.

Deputy head was recently promoted to head and promised 6 months ago that the uniform was staying the same with a logo change in the cardigans.

Today they have decided that the colour of the uniform has to change. (Not sure if pinafore/trouser colour is changing yet)

So could we buy new pe kits, jumpers/cardigans and maybe pinafores/trousers !

So I have five years of uniform...enough for my youngest two to wear all their school life, in good condition and they want me to spend a lot of money which I simply do not have to replace the uniform.

Oh and they didn't bother to ask parents opinion, just presented it as a done deal.

AIBU to tell the school that my kids will be still wearing their old uniform colours until they graduate to high school in five years time, as I don't have the money to rebuy new stuff :(

I heard that uniform is optional at primary school, so hoping that will work in my favour.

I am so upset. It is a good school with no reason to change the existing nice uniform, the new one is made by the same uniform shop in the same materials just different colour and logo.

That is an appalling change. Why on earth do state schools introduce these ridiculous uniforms? Why don't they have a national uniform as in Japan?

I thought there was a ruling where by state schools can't have uniforms with only one supplier etc precisely because of the cost barrier it creates?

I buy a fresh set of uniforms yearly in the colours from Asda. I think it’s unreasonable to expect you to replace the logo clothes with new colours but you could buy non logo things in the new colours for cheap.

I very rarely hand down clothes anyway unless immaculate the same applies to uniforms. It’s not fair on my youngest to always get seconds so my husband and I go without new things instead if money is tight. Just my opinion though

Has the head explained how it will improve your children’s educational outcomes? What change in their attainment levels can you expect as a result of this?

Randommess Really that could help.

One of my suggestions was something that has a supermarket option.

There is published guidance with emphasis being on the cost!

I googled England law school uniform.

But they have chosen a grey and blue tarton for the bottoms and a blue for jumpers which can only be bought in the uniform shop

I’ve no idea how much a book bag costs. £10? £15?

3 long sleeve shirts in TU are £6.50 for an 8 year old. I would buy 6 so you had enough for the week so £13

One skirt and jumper each and buy big so they can last them. So £10 and £18

Tie £4.50

Are PE kits really £20??? And £5 for a bag?

You’re looking at around £80 for each child but if you buy big then you won’t have to buy again as it will pass down if elder girl only had two years of wearing the uniform! £160 is doable with 15 months to save for it?

If they only have one skirt and one jumper each it is a complete pain if they need washing... you do so much washing as a family of 6 the last thing you want to have to do is an emergency overnight wash!!!

I would ask that the school loan you the money and you'll repay at £10 per month or similar

They are in breach of the published guidelines though!

Come on, Daily Fail, surely you can help with this one!

Why don't the boys have to wear tartan, trews or the kilt?

The tartan isn't the newly promoted (deputy) head's clan tartan is it?

This truly is thoughtless and just plain daft. How can any head justify it

Is it a maintained school or an academy?
I just despair at the sheer waste, even costs aside. Have they not seen the news about the plastic mountain- where do they think polyester jumpers go to die?

OP
Have you read the guidance linked to above from the DfE?

It states
"When considering how the school uniform should be sourced, governing bodies should give highest priority to the consideration of cost and value for money for parents. The school uniform should be easily available for parents to purchase and schools should seek to select items that can be purchased cheaply, for example in a supermarket or other good value shop. Schools should keep compulsory branded items to a minimum and avoid specifying expensive items of uniform eg expensive outdoor coats.
Governing bodies should be able to demonstrate that they have obtained the best value for money from suppliers. Any savings negotiated with suppliers should be passed on to parents wherever possible. Schools should not enter into cash back arrangements. Exclusive single supplier contracts should be avoided unless regular tendering competitions are run where more than one supplier can compete for the contract and where best value for parents is secured."

Quote this guidance at them and ask them to go through step by step how they have taken each of the points into consideration:_
e.g. Can they provide evidence showing that cost and value for money was given the highest priority?
Have they keep compulsory branded items to a minimum? What considerations were taken into account when deciding which items were to be branded / logoed?
Can they confirm what investigations they undertook to ensure that items would be available from a wider variety of suppliers e.g. supermarkets?
Could they outline the tendering process for supplier of the compulsory items not available in high street shops?
Could they confirm if they will be receiving any cashback and detail how any discounts obtained are being passed back to parents?

There are plenty of options in those paragraphs for challenging the process.

Actually you are right I miscalculated it will be £200 for the first year and only £100 the next four...I forgot to include the handing down between the sisters.

So it is 'only' £600 !

Plus my kids use two bottoms (skirts/pinafores), two jumpers and five shirts a week and they all get washed Friday.

There is no way I could keep up washing and drying a single skirt and a single jumper per child. It would not work for us.

I am guessing uniform number is similar to the mythical Mumsnet chicken.

I know they are determined to change the uniform. Even through it is unnecessary and the new uniform ugly. So I am going to push for supermarket options.
If I could buy 2 cardies for £6 each, 2 skirts for £5 each and shirts at £3 each that would be £37 per child.
Which would be £72 for the first year and £37 for the next five years. Hard but doable.

A total of £252 rather than £500 from the uniform shop.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude Love your post. Yes. I will be asking all that.
I don't care if they keep the expensive uniform as optional but there needs to be a cheaper supermarket option with a much nicer colour of blue

I am also against forcing kids to wear shirts with a tie, unless all the teachers do. If is uncomfortable and children should be able to move freely without their neck being restricted.

Plus objecting to rucksack school bags is ridiculous. They should limit bags to those who fit in the schools lockers alongside their PE kit...which our school bags do.

No one is Scottish. We are a little English village no where near Scotland.

I am assuming the uniform shop had a lot of this really horrible tartan that they could not shift and still had in stock and found a nice person to scam sell it too.

only £100 the next four.

What’s the £100 for?

@Beeziekn33ze

Tbh it just lists the stuff and then says boys can wear black trousers.

I think that should mean girls can wear black skirts and pinafore instead of the overpriced tartan ones.

"What’s the £100 for?"
For the next size up in jumpers, shirts and pinafores for the oldest child.

But it would only be £37 at the supermarket..so I am hoping to persuade the head to give us a cheaper option. Everything crossed.

You won’t need the next size up! Your older girl will only have 2 years in this uniform. You buy it big enough next september for it to last her two years. When she leaves the school it goes to your youngest girl who will just have been wearing the same uniform since sept 2019.

Can the boys buy their trousers anywhere but girls have to buy tartan skirts from the designated supplier?

If so, ask them why girls are expected to where expensive skirts when boys can where supermarket options? Why are girls expected to wear more expensive uniform than boys? i.e. why are girls being treated in a less favourable way in terms purchasing options for uniform?

wear not where (agggh!!!)

I had 2 children in primary and a third ready to start when they changed the school jumper. Completely different colour, and no integration period.
Roll on 6 years and I had a lovely set of jumpers ready for DC4 to start school and they changed it again.

I thought it horribly wasteful too. There were hundreds of good quality jumpers just binned as they were no use to anyone due to to the embroidered school logo.

"If so, ask them why girls are expected to where expensive skirts when boys can where supermarket options? Why are girls expected to wear more expensive uniform than boys? i.e. why are girls being treated in a less favourable way in terms purchasing options for uniform?"

I am assuming that is why they are offering a tartan kilt option. They can claim that is for the boys. Even though no boy will buy it.

If you have tall DC you can't get 2 years out of school uniform without them looking ridiculous also because you are handing the stuff down you don't want it trashed beyond looking decent!

With my 98th centile DD we only used to get one school year out of clothes even though they started the year "big"!