To think this is rediculous for school uniform!

[worriedwinfred]

Polo shirts for foundation stage children (all school children but how messy is foundation stage) have to be embroidered and cost £8 each! I was planning on sticking up on ASDA ones at 2 for £3 so as soon as we get a stain or fadeing DS will always look smart. Jumpers and t shirts are £8 each I just think that for a t-shirt is abit much. I will be buying them obviously but it'll be a struggle and I can imagine maybe others won't be able to afford new ones every time there's a stain.

Aibu to think school colours but not embroidered would be a better idea? They also expect £1 a week "voluntary" donation to school funds

I think you are going to have to use how smart you want your child to be at school. My children definitely have marks on perfectly serviceable uniform, faded logos etc. I treat now and again with stain removal but some black pen has never come out and I would definitely still be using that uniform. I buy from, the second hand stall and my DCs clothes go back on the stall/get given to another family once they have grown out of them!

I wonder who makes those £3 T-shirts, and how much they get paid? And how much education they got/get to access?

Sorry, £1.50 T-shirts.

YANBU, I think some uniforms are ridiculous. I think schools should all have uniforms that can be picked up cheaply in supermarkets or high street stores. Stupid colours and logos etc are not necessary.

Both my primary and high school (state) years back had “unusual” coloured uniforms and it was a complete pain in the arse for my mum to get hold of, and only sold in the one shop. Unnecessary.

Also when I have looked at the logo items they seem cheap and not good quality

You don't have to pay the voluntary donation - you can sit back and watch your child fight 24 others for the use of 1 glue stick. Or be issued the same reading book 3 times because there aren't enough in the pool for everyone to get a new title.

Personally Ive found that polo shirts costing more than £1.50 wear better and last longer and I hate the buy 'em cheap and chuck it away philosophy. Totally immoral for other peoples 4 year olds to suffer so yours can always look "smart".

I wonder who makes those £3 T-shirts, and how much they get paid? And how much education they got/get to access?

I wonder who makes those £3 T-shirts, and how much they get paid? And how much education they got/get to access?

Well this is a huge part of my problem with it all - the same people that are making the £9.50 logo'd ones. They aren't more expensive because they're better quality or made more ethically, they are expensive because it's a mini monopoly.

Buy one set. Once they're outgrown or worn out cut the embroidered part out and sew onto plain polo shirts. I've done this and no one noticed.

Well this is a huge part of my problem with it all - the same people that are making the £9.50 logo'd ones. They aren't more expensive because they're better quality or made more ethically, they are expensive because it's a mini monopoly.

Are you sure? Not the case in my kid's school. To buy similar quality and ethical standards without the logo actually costs more than the school offer.

I would hate to think someone else's child was in a sweatshop so my kid could look "smart" while accessing their free education.

It seems quite cheap to me, but I wouldn't be replacing them for being a little bit stained. If they're clean and they fit, they can be worn. My kids will alnost always have at least two black whiteboard marker stains on shirts by the end of the first term.

Our primary school has a ridiculously impractical uniform of shirt, tie, pullover/cardigan and optional blazer. The cardigans alone are £18 each. But they can't force people to buy them, and I'm not sure I'll bother this year.

Are you sure? Not the case in my kid's school. To buy similar quality and ethical standards without the logo actually costs more than the school offer.

Well, exactly - they aren't expensive enough to be ethical either. They are the cheap sweatshop ones with a logo added and the price inflated.

Dc’s in primary were:-

£12 a polo shirt (foundation/KS1, and summer KS2)
£18- V neck jumpers
£16- round neck jumpers (PE)
£10- PE T-shirt
£5- book bag
£5- tie (KS2)

And mine are now 14 and 19, so o idea the prices now. But they washed and looked a lot better, than cheap supermarket ones (we tried), so worth the outlay in my opinion.

that's a good idea.
i think the embroidery thing is stupid - it makes the T shirt then unwearable for anyone else (who doesn't attend that school) surely?

it should be just a plain t shirt, don't see any issues with that.
my preference would be black as it looks smarter for longer.

I would hate to think someone else's child was in a sweatshop so my kid could look "smart" while accessing their free education

So what do you send them in? It's a genuine question -- do you just not get logo and buy something else? Where are you getting ethical polo shirts? I think it's a real issue.

Well, exactly - they aren't expensive enough to be ethical either. They are the cheap sweatshop ones with a logo added and the price inflated. The £8 ones at our school certainly aren't. I've checked the company, and while you can't always trust these things, it looks good, and I have no evidence they're not doing what they say. Whereas £1.50 from asda? Not a chance they're not sweatshop. At least I'm trying.

OP, instead of buying loads of cheap ones, buy a couple of the quality ones. No one cares about stains/marks.

I know everyone on MN says just to send kids to school in stained clothes, but I really would not want to do this.

i think the embroidery thing is stupid - it makes the T shirt then unwearable for anyone else (who doesn't attend that school) surely?

When I started secondary in 1994 our PE kit had to have our initials embroidered on them. It was picked out at the end of the year when it was passed down to siblings.

Unless I’m missing what ‘embroidering’ means? For us it was initials in chain stitch which is relatively easy to do and can be picked out after.

So what do you send them in? It's a genuine question -- do you just not get logo and buy something else? Where are you getting ethical polo shirts? I think it's a real issue.

I spent a while googling 'ethical school uniform'/'fairtrade school uniform', until I found things that sounded like a good attempt, as much as you can trust these things. And I found that the brand the school uses for shirts is actually in that list. But trousers I struggle with, and again compromise. But I buy fewer items of good quality that are least likely to be made in the worst conditions. I don't count £1.50 from Asda in that.

I wonder who makes those £3 T-shirts, and how much they get paid? And how much education they got/get to access?

I'm sure those families living in poverty and relying on FSM and food banks will lie awake at night worrying about this. If you can afford to spend more on uniform then by all means do so, not everyone is as privileged.

@eliza it does not mean that. It means a machine embroidered logo.

Two polo shirts tend to last the whole year for us - so £8 isn't really that expensive.. Sure they get pen and other stains but so does everyone else's .. I don't really think this is a problem..

I'm sure those families living in poverty and relying on FSM and food banks will lie awake at night worrying about this. If you can afford to spend more on uniform then by all means do so, not everyone is as privileged.

There are degrees of poverty. I don't think finding things hard yourself is an excuse to stamp on others.

There is often help for those on FSM etc with the cost of uniforms, and schools will help with second hand items etc. I've been on benefits supporting children, I don't see that as an excuse to exploit those who are even worse off.

If sweatshops were adequately banned, those £1.50 T-shirts wouldn't exist. And we'd cope.

It really doesn’t matter if they are a bit faded or have a paint stain as long as they are clean and decent. They are at school to learn and experience and make friends and have fun, not worry about keeping their clothes pristine.

Here’s a story to put things in perspective.

My kids all attended a government primary school (K-Yr6). At one point social housing was being built within the school zone. Cue horror all round and a special meeting was called. Funnily, at the same meeting repricing of the compulsory uniform was agreed. Compulsory uniform had logo and could only be purchased from the school P&C shop.

I have used a currency converter (as we are not in UK) and the cost of school shirts suddenly rose to 39 pounds. High socio-economic area for those who own houses in that zone). When the social housing was finished and the families who moved in came to enrol, the first thing the school office did was give them the uniform price list and also the uniform price lists of surrounding schools (which were a fraction of the cost), along with compulsory and voluntary fee lists and tell them to go visit other schools, go home and think about it and then fill in the enrolment forms if they felt it was the right school for them. None did.

Yes, I was outraged but not enough to pull my kids out of their stable environment and friends (to be fair I had 2 with SN which would have been a faffle to transfer).

We also had expensive compulsory fees compared to other schools in the area and high ‘voluntary’ p&c fees. If your P&C voluntary fees were not paid the p&c kept sending reminders. Also everyone else seemed to be clued in to the fact you had not paid. I experienced this, not because I didn’t want to or couldn’t pay but just too busy to keep on top of stuff and then once they started I wondered how far they would go in pestering me. Paid it late in the year. Free government education my arse.