to wonder if school uniform should be worn

[manicinsomniac]

I know all the arguments about school identity and poorer/less fashion conscious children not being teased. And I've always agreed with them. Plus I just like uniforms.

But I've been helping with a charity over the summer (a clothing bank) because it does big school uniform events where people can come and get their uniforms for free. It was a really hot day when we did the first one and, due to a combination of the number of people who turned up and Covid rules meaning only 5 could come in at once, many of them queued for 2 hours!! It actually really upset me that so many people are in a situation where it is preferable to queue for that long to avoid spending maybe £20 (don't actually know?) in the supermarket.

All the children who came in had clothes. The only reason they needed the uniforms was because the schools say so.

AIBU to think that really, when families are struggling this much, uniform just isn't that important?
YABU - uniform is important
YANBU - I agree with you, it shouldn't be needed

If it was just the colour of jumper and trousers/ skirt as a uniform it wouldn't be that bad - you can pick those up for very little in supermarkets etc.

It's the school logo stuff - blazer, long sleeved PE top, short sleeved PE top, jumper, tie, etc etc. Plus football boots for the half term they do it in PE twice a week - that seems insane.

Yanbu at all.

Uniform is a terrible burden and well off people patronisingly claim it is affordable.

Only people who have been poor know how stressful uniform is.

You can buy excellent secondhand clothes for a fraction of the price. Or wear hand me downs

Getting secondhand uniform is very tricky. New uniform is expensive.

I despise uniform with a passion and I am of children in Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, etc. But Britain is a country wedded to the past, I can't imagine it changing.

I prefer uniform but i think all schools should allow parents to buy it from supermarkets etc rather than the expensive logo stuff. Even dds pe kit (including shorts, T-shirt and hoodie) has to have logos and the cost mounts up very quickly.

Even the generic supermarket stuff is an oppressive cost when you are poor.

I really believe it is not uniform per se that is the problem but the bells and whistles that make it expensive. So non branded skirts, shorts, trousers, polo shirts or plain white/blue/grey shirts and sweat shirt with or without the school logo all fine. Blazers are a pointless waste of money and impractical in winter. DDs (state) school had a different skirt logo for different year groups that Was only available in one local shop and was £36.

Uniform is really important for kids from low income families.

Provided that the school don’t insist on logo items uniform can often be bought cheaper than normal clothes. It can be worm for more days between washes, and in much poorer condition. Children who only have one or two sets of clothes would quickly be bullied if they have to wear the same thing every day. Uniform also means that their own clothes last longer.

I do firmly believe though that state schools should only be able to specify colours and types of clothing e.g. a red v-neck jumper; not a red v-neck jumper with particule embroidery or from a specific supplier. They also shouldn’t be able to insist on bespoke skirts and blazers etc.

I think generic school uniform is a good thing. It's very cheap, cheaper than most clothes eg white polo shirts and grey trousers for a couple of quid in aldi.

I think branded expensive school uniform is a bit ridiculous and don't understand why academies in particular seem to insist on it especially in deprived areas

Yes, they have clothes. But if you can only afford a few garments, then having cheap uniform worn 5 days a week for much of the year means you just don't need so many of everything else.

There's no stigma in hand-me-down uniform (just look at all the schools whose PTAs sell it as a fundraiser, and discreetly provide it free as well). And means that the weekend/holiday clothes last that bit better because they're not worn all the time

I never wore a uniform at school. There is a lot of nonsense spouted about the so called 'benefits' of uniform mainly invented in the marketing dept of Trutex, none of them have any basis in fact. To force people to buy extra clothes for their children when many people have lost their jobs and we don't know how long the schools will be open is ridiculous. Far better to allow children to continue to wear their own clothes rather than expect parents to buy clothes that might not be used.

I've had to buy additional uniform to normal! DS has to wear games kit to school on the two days a week they have lessons. I've had to buy tracksuit bottoms for him to wear over his games shorts when it gets cold, which had to be navy or black. Only £12 for two pairs from the supermarket but it all adds up.

@AuntieStella

Yes, they have clothes. But if you can only afford a few garments, then having cheap uniform worn 5 days a week for much of the year means you just don't need so many of everything else.

There's no stigma in hand-me-down uniform (just look at all the schools whose PTAs sell it as a fundraiser, and discreetly provide it free as well). And means that the weekend/holiday clothes last that bit better because they're not worn all the time

This is just not true.

People say this, but it is far cheaper to not need uniform at all.

Everyone's saying the supermarket stuff is really cheap but most of what we're giving out is supermarket stuff. It's still proving a worry for people.

One lady whose order I took was for twin girls in primary, an older boy in primary and an older boy in secondary.
6 X White Polo Shirts
4 X Navy Cardigans
2 X Navy Jumpers
2 X Grey Jumpers
2 X White Shirts
4 X Black Trousers
4 X Black Pinafore Dresses
4 X Black Shoes
4 X Navy Tights
4 X Black PE Joggers
4 X White PE T-shirts

That's not cheap, no matter where you buy it from!!

@OoohTheStatsDontLie

I think generic school uniform is a good thing. It's very cheap, cheaper than most clothes eg white polo shirts and grey trousers for a couple of quid in aldi.

I think branded expensive school uniform is a bit ridiculous and don't understand why academies in particular seem to insist on it especially in deprived areas

They do this imo to disadvantage and exclude.

There is no other explanation.

They could at least do away with jackets and ties. Very few adults really use them everyday these days, so it is unecessart torture. Besides they are difficult to wash frequently, which would be good in the current circunstances.

A local Junior school has a ridiculously fancy uniform... And it's not a well off area. We get a uniform allowance from DHs employer whenever we move locations... And it would have barely covered the blazer and jumper, let alone the skirts, blouses, tie, pe kit, shoes. Usually I manage the whole lot including a logoed jumper, but with a bit of a top up for shoes. Luckily DD1 won the appeal to attend the same school as DD2. And we aren't poor by any stretch of the imagination- but several hundred on school uniform would affect finances for a while.

I'm all for basic uniform. But keep it simple.

When schools were open for key workers I know that dc’s school, and a few others, were insisting on clean uniform every day. That’s difficult enough for many families but how the fuck are you supposed to provide a clean dry clean only blazer and tie every day?

If uniform if required (and I don’t have any objections to the idea of a uniform) it should be easily available and cheap. Perhaps have a distinctive tie if you want to show they’re from a particular school as they’re usually cheaper than a blazer or logoed sweatshirt.

I just kitted my dcs with uniforms are you thinking they wont be necessary then? Has any school said so? Im in england.

Actually, scrap the tie idea in Covid times. Sell sew on badges instead of logoed items?

YANBU. Uniform is completely unnecessary, and leads to ludicrous amounts of time being wasted by school staff who have to try to police it. Children all over the world go through education very successfully without uniform, I really don't know why the UK is so obsessed with it.

Blazers are old fashioned and ridiculous. But what is worse is the expensive school shoes that ruin kids' feet. Everyone should be able to choose their shoes, with the exception of heels which are bad for feet. That way struggling families could just have the one pair of shoes per child and not have to pay out for expensive but cheaply made crap school shoes. Ask a podiatrist about what passes as school shoes now. They're crap and offer very little support and not enough in wide sizes.

I think right now it should be scrapped.

Clean clothes every day and families who have lost jobs etc are not forking out for uniforms to attend schools they have applied before before all this.

I'm not a fan of the full on infirm anyway. I think sensible and set colours is the best way forward.

As an aside I always find it interesting that the independent schools seem to the best organisation when it comes to second hand inform!

I can understand the argument in relation to some of the ridiculous secondary uniforms, but for the basic primary uniform I am not sure it saves much money to wear your own clothes.

I live in a county that doesn’t have school uniform so it just means we need loads more of ‘every day’ that if they were wearing uniform Monday- Friday. You then have the added drama of deciding what to wear and what they like one day they refuse to wear the next. Not to mention the fact that none of the children wear the same 5 things to school every week in rotation, it’s far more noticeable when you wear ‘normal’ clothes so you actually need more.

I would much prefer to buy the list posted by a pp above and be done with it!

I just kitted my dcs with uniforms are you thinking they wont be necessary then? Has any school said so? Im in england

Oh no, I don't think there is any suggestion that they won't be needed.

I was just musing. Sorry.

At one point I had one in state and one in private. The state school uniform cost more than the private one. That was nuts.