Secondary school uniform

[Bumbelinadance]

AIBU to say I just kind of feel the focus should be on educating children not their appearance . Ds just started secondary school Who decided a fully buttoned up to the top button shirt and tie was required
...? He hates how that feels all day. Restricting !
He is in a regular state school , yet his uniform was so expensive my parents Kindly stepped in

Surely it up up to the children to decide what path they go down as adults surely ?They can suit it and boot it if they choose to go into a profession where a certain dress code is required .
Comfortable trousers or joggers / skirts if preferred at a reasonable price and a school logo jumper might shift the focus from appearance to learning

I am all for a ban on designer logos and trainers to avoid a haves / have nots scenario
But I really dont get the English uniform obsession

Also I feel hugely amazed by our teachers and support them fully , feel the profession like most of our key workers ( ambulance drivers, nurses , police etc) is underpaid and under appreciated
But I don’t think their job should be to enforce a terribly old fashioned view that an 11 year old should wear a blazer. I also feel very strongly my child should be allowed to express himself as he wishes with his hairstyle and dress PROVIDED HE REMAINS POLITE AND RESPECTFUL TO HIS TEACHERS / ADULTS and meets the schools expectations with academic effort and behaviour
If he wants tramlines in his hair how does that affect whether he gets an a or a d grade ..?

They are there to learn
Achieve their potential
Be told they can be an astronaught if they work hard enough
Not told their appearance defines them

It isn’t really accepted in the workplace so why is it happening in our schools ...?

Myfrei Ds in the USA send their kids to school in clothes they are comfortable in ,so they can focus on learning

People will whine whatever rule they are asked to comply with.

Some people will. That's just life. Doesn't justify the uniform craze in any way.

topcat, I don't think you understand what a straw man argument is.

A lot of the failing schools with ultra strict uniforms have got themselves caught in a cleft stick. They introduce new uniforms as part of 're-branding' and are then stuck with having to enforce them otherwise it will be another black mark against them come the next Ofsted inspection.

I know exactly what a strawman is thanks.

Misrepresting the amount of time spent enforcing uniform rules, in order to dismiss the arguments for uniform is a good example.

How would a dress code change the amount of time policing the shortness of skirts or the sagginess of trouser waists? How would you phrase it - no underwear, butt cheeks or genitals on show?

Ditto extreme shoes/hair/make up/ jewellery?

topcat, it's not misrepresenting, and it's not a straw man. Can you really not fathom that if, say, 20 teachers spend only 6 minutes a day faffing around with uniforms, that's 380 hours a year? And the reality is that it's much more than that.

Most sensible schools have a dress code that comes down to two basic principles:

1. Nothing indecent;
2. Nothing unsafe.

When teachers aren't having to check whether there's a tiny logo on shoes , or whether they're navy blue instead of black, their lives get so much easier and more productive.

Dd's school dress code is no sports shirts, no offensive logos.
That's it.
I'm not sure they need to police skirt length as the kids just don't bother wearing them, they wear jeans.
The short skirt thing is what happens in a school with uniform.