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.

When our school introduced a uniform (previously non uniform), they said the new year joining school needed it and it was optional for others. I think they should do this. This was when my ds1 was in y4 and he wanted to stay out of uniform as did most of his cohorts. They are now y7 so moved on, and the school is totally uniformed, but there was a period when it wasn't.

How much uniform realistically is going to be handed down?
I would suspect that the colour of skirts/pinafores/trousers won't change (surely most schools are basically black and/or grey anyway?) and I'd be amazed if you get even 2 DC's wear out of shirts unless the older DC grew out of them very quickly.
That only leaves jumpers/cardigans and most parents only buy 1 or 2 anyway surely (certainly they do if struggling to afford uniform)? Yes, still not great, but you can't expect schools to keep the same uniform forever.

Our school changed the uniform last September and they were ok about wearing old uniform but they are changing it again this September to a completely different one again and I’m so pissed off, I have 2 boys and I have plenty of uniform I can pass down but the new uniform is a completely different colour than the old (new) one, I have no idea how the governors have got away with it, loads of people complained but they don’t give a shit.

"No they don’t. Buy 1 for each child and buy it big so it lasts two years."
All my kids need two jumpers, so when one is dirty it can be washed whilst the second one is worn. Plus our jumpers can't be tumble dried so take a long while to line dry.

The thing is as well, that everything is so bloody expensive. The 2 blazers for 'big' school, for my kids, cost £45 each! And shoes costs at least £40 a pair for half decent ones. (Which they grew out of within a few months!) And I had to buy 2 lots everytime, as my 2 are very close in age and were at the schools at virtually the same time (1 year apart!)

And you couldn't get the cheap blazers from Asda or tesco, as they insisted on the exact school ones. They ordered the uniforms for every child, and if the child was not on record as purchasing it from the school - (or their nominated supplier,) they wouldn't allow it. It was a fucking con actually when I think about it. SOMEone was making fuckloads of money from it.

It's a proper money-making racket school uniforms I tell ya. Loads of people I speak to say that at some point during their kids school lives, not only did they have to pay multiple 100's for the initial uniforms, (and everything that went with going to school, like the school shoes, and all the sports gear and so on.) But also, they had to buy another (new) load of stuff for school, when the head teacher changed. (Or a new school was built...) There is really no reason on EARTH for the uniform to change when a new head teacher comes in, or they build a new school. None whatsoever.

As I said, it's a con, and someone is making a pretty packet from it, Especially when they are making you buy a blazer for £45, that costs £16-18 in Tesco and Asda. I mean the EXACT fucking blazer!

The whole system really does need an official enquiry.

When they introduced new uniform at my DC's school, new joiners had to have the new uniform but existing students had a 2 year grace period (and in the case of pupils who would only have 1 more year at school after the end of the grace period, this was extended to 3 years).
Most people were ok with this, the biggest concern being that there would be no stock of the new uniform in the second hand uniform sale for a number of years, and the second hand uniform sale was well used particularly for the more expensive items like blazers (private school with expensive uniform).

Do you not buy your children a new uniform every year ???? Please don’t send them in in the old hand me down uniform they will get bullied !!!!!!

In every school I went to new uniforms got you bullied.

I don’t have a tumble drier. Wash in the afternoon. Dry overnight on radiator or in airing cupboard with dehumidifier on.

If they roll new uniform from reception year on year, that is fine.

But expecting 300 students to get new uniform because the new head fancies a change is very frustrating.

Oh and the prices I am quoted were TEN YEARS ago.

I mean the prices I am QUOTING were 10 years ago.

And lots of the muck can be sponged off with a damp cloth or baby’s wipe. You don’t need two jumpers for every child, every year, particularly as you will be handing them down!

OP why don't you ask the Parent Governors and find out if it went to a Governor's meeting or not!

I'm Chair of Governors in an Infant School and I would certainly urge you to speak to Parent Governors or the Chair and make sure that they clearly understand the repercussions of the decision. I can't promise that it will change anything but you may be able to negotiate a sensible roll out. You can also ask about the necessity for the change, there may (or may not) be a good reason for it. But Governors should be your first port of call, that's one of the reasons they're there!

DD2 went to an independent primary / prep for a few years from middle of Year 1 following house move. We bought all her uniform from 2nd hand shop run by PTA. Saved hundreds of pounds. No qualms buying second hand blouses here - even barely worn football boots for the 30 mins a week she would need them for outdoor “games”. She felt she blended in better with everyone rather than turning up on day 1 in brand new kit. Annoyingly School changed blazer to a shapeless poor quality expensive jacket and summer dresses from easy to get on and off front zip tunics to very expensive complicated shapeless dresses (apparently designed by “fashion students” - over £30 a dress and this was a number of years ago) We were given a years grace on each and then had to conform to uniform rule. Two years later summer dress was changed again as gaping tops meant developing girls were inadvertently “flashing” their boobies and younger girls needed teacher assistance getting them on and off for PE. Annoyingly we weren’t allowed to go back to previous design but at least new one was easier to get on and wear without risk of exposure. New winter tunic also changed from easy to get on pinafore style with side zip to one with a back zip. Another nightmare for teachers who had to help younger girls before and after PE. So much for helping them develop independence.

When my kids primary took on an expensive new uniform with separate outfits for boys and girls my dd still wore ds old stuff. I was challenged but remained them teh uniform was not compulsory and they dropped it.

As I said, it's a con, and someone is making a pretty packet from it, Especially when they are making you buy a blazer for £45, that costs £16-18 in Tesco and Asda. I mean the EXACT fucking blazer!

Well how else do you keep out undesirables....

If only as much worry went into rescuing the three abismal schools round here as it did worrying about skirt length and skinny trousers. ..

Heads must be pissing themselves laughing at the lengths they can get parents to go....

Maybe if we all just stopped the game could finally be over

£350 quid is a bargain compared to some of the uniforms on here.

The dc's school used to be called xxyy school but they changed it 2 years ago to be just xx school. Plenty of the kids at the school still wear the old uniform including mine in part due to the very active PTA clothes room. The school have said that the old stuff can be worn until it wears out.

I wouldn't want to be sewing badges on the old uniform though. You will be able to spot it a mile away.

Same here OP but secondary school. I am going to have to spend approx £150-200 kitting out DS2 who is currently in year 9 with new uniform when we have plenty of the old one left from DS1 as I bought plenty knowing it would be used

I tried complaining along with many others but they deferred the timescale by which all pupils have to wear it by one term. So less than 18monthe and the new uniform will be mandatory for all. So he will be in the summer term of year 10 by the time it is compulsory

The jumpers at £18 each is currently the most expensive part of the uniform. Kids need 2 each year for so they want me to buy 12 jumpers at £216.

Plus summer dresses times 10 at £5 each £50.
Plus 4 pe kits at £20 another £80

So that is £350 minimum spend assuming no blazers and the pinafores and trousers stay the same colour.

Your exaggerating that cost, there's no reason why you can't pass the new uniform on between the two children. You can buy bigger jumpers and PE kit to last a couple of years. Are summer dresses compulsory? My DD never wore them.
Once the new uniform has been in place for a while then maybe a second hand uniform shop can be set up. I run one for the PTA we sell logo jumpers, skits trousers and dresses for £1, shirts and polo tops for 20p.

YABU. You chose to send your children to that school and must abide by the rules. However, most schools will offer a grace period of a few years for old uniforms to be replaced.

Your cist calculations are also ridiculous. At primary school my uniforms lated about three years. Some items like my D black, we I still fit in today.

, blazer

Here we go. The "you chose it" crap

Does it not occur to people there's no choice sometimes

And even if you chose it you somehow have to jump through multiple hoops that were completly unknown or unhought of by staff at the time of said choice?

I swear some people would shove their grannies under a bus if schools said so

When you write to the governors send them the breakdown of costs you quoted upthread. I initially thought you were BU (as we get most of ours from the supermarket) but then £350 is a massive chunk to many families.

Send them the breakdown and ask them how they are going to help you fund this, also mention that you are still paying off school trips. They have to consider that not all parents can afford this outlay.

I'm sure all the work looks lovely when smudged with all these stupidly oversized sleeves in the way .