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

@Terrace58

Uniforms can be a challenge for kids with special needs.

I don’t believe uniforms reduce bullying. Many students whose bodies don’t fit the ideal could choose simple, functional, but flattering clothing instead of trying to wear something that simply wasn’t designed for them.

It will increase the pressure for the child to fit in and the adult to foot the bill. Especially in high school where teens are more fashion conscious they will want the latest shoes or whatever their friends has. In that respect non uniform is worse.

Yanbu. Uniform in normal times means buying two sets of clothes - one set that you need anyway so you're not walking around in pants, and another set purely to access education. So it's stupid and an unnecessary expense from the get go. Once your kids are at secondary and you therefore factor in blazers, ties etc, it's stupid, unnecessary and genuinely is a huge chunk of money.

But now, when schools might be open all year, might not be, when the cost of this second set of clothing purchased solely to access education means that most parents won't be washing clothes after each wear and so will be forced to take fewer precautions than they do with their own work clothes even though their children's clothes are coming back from an environment which look at it however you wish is blatantly not covid secure, this dogged insistence on trussing teenagers up like Tom Brown's Schooldays is not only expensive and pointless but also adds a completely avoidable level of risk to schools returning.

I don’t mind a basic uniform such as shirts and trousers/skirts but do object to having everything with a logo such as PE kits too. Also logo blazers are expensive and look uncomfortable to wear all day.

Ours is expensive for state primary (trousers, shirt, elasticated tie, logo jumper, house colours pe t-shirt).
DS1 loves it though, especially the tie...he likes wearing it to play "daddy working" (he's going into reception).

I like uniform because the DC all look the same and you don't have to think about what to wear in the morning. I appreciate it can be expensive but in lots of European countries you have to buy all your own exercise books/stationery/text books plus the DC still want to wear fashionable clothes...so I think we've probably got things cheaper.

@Camomila definitely much cheaper in the uk. the compulsory bag alone sets you back at least (!!) £60 in my home country, and any child who doesn’t have the fashionable one will be made fun of mercilessly.

DS attends nursery at an independent school abroad so doesn't have to wear uniform, yet. He will have to once he starts Reception. We only have to get school tops, though. They have to have the logo on. T-shirts are about 12€, hoodies about 20€. He could also wear a school polo shirt or a shirt, a vest or a jumper. They generally have a choice of four colours for the polos and t-shirts. He can wear any trousers/jeans/shorts and any shoes. He does need PE kit, with the top costing about 15€ and the bottoms about 22€. I think it's ok because kids' clothes here cost more than in the UK anyway and he'll wear the stuff most days. They do have uniform sales at school quite frequently, though. The clothes are good quality so I don't think many people are bothered about their children wearing hand-me-downs.

It will increase the pressure for the child to fit in and the adult to foot the bill. Especially in high school where teens are more fashion conscious they will want the latest shoes or whatever their friends has. In that respect non uniform is worse

And yet many many mamy people post about in their country that doesn't have uniform that kids just wear jeans and t shirts or whatever.

When you wear regular clothes every day to school it stops being a novelty as you dont have just one mufti day to make an impression or show what you have.

You can't base the idea on what happens on the very rare mufti days.

Kids were wearing non uniform to school through lock down with few issues.

I never understood how we are supposed to teach our children to not be bullies . To not be judgemental. And to not be arseholes when we reinforce every day that theres something wrong with them or their clothes , or that they should hide the fact they are rich or poor like its something to be ashamed of.

What message do we think it sends our kids?

Maybe if schools collected in all the uniform that children had grown out of at the end of the year

Schools can't just force people to just hand over uniform that they've paid for though! People will keep theirs for younger siblings, give it to friends' kids or just get rid of it without thinking about it.

And yet many many mamy people post about in their country that doesn't have uniform that kids just wear jeans and t shirts or whatever. When you wear regular clothes every day to school it stops being a novelty as you dont have just one mufti day to make an impression or show what you have.

This. It's no wonder mufti day is brutal - it's your one opportunity to show off. When I've accompanied school exchange trips to Germany and France, it was noticeable how low-key the kids' clothes were and how similar they all looked - jeans and t-shirts all round.

When we had them back to visit our school, they were always absolutely fascinated by our kids' uniforms. They thought they were so unbelievably and hilariously quaint that they often said they'd like some to take home as a souvenir!

I'm still trying to get over the £900 on uniform.
My DS is in an independent.... and I don't think I would have ever spent £450 on him...
Yes he got new shoes in Clarks.... but i went to the outlet to get them cheaper... blazer, tie, pe kit etc, I buy when he outgrows them and always buy big so they last 2 years etc... I got him shirts and trousers (Tesco) as I don't see why I would buy from the uniform shop at inflated prices.... I also don't buy everything on the list as they never use it all. His shirt and trousers only get replaced when outgrown and if in decent condition they get passed on, either to another parent in the school or another child in other local school that needs these ....

I think what is needed is normalising schools having swap shops in order to ensure there is always plenty of accessible uniform to pass down.

It is in many schools. We have (or did pre Covid) regular uniform sales and they are popular with parents. During Covid the PTA have put together some age based bundles and sold those via social media, sold without being seen bar the odd photographs.

DD's independent primary school has a thriving second had uniform shop in site used by a wide number of parents. First year parents often bought new for starting school but soon swapped to growing the second hand shop. You could take in your child's,old clothes and choose to the either donate all the money from the sales to the school funds, or to have a percentage of the money from sales sent to you, with a percentage going to the school pta funds.

Guess none of this is free, but it's much cheaper than buying new.

My infant school has a dress code - so colours with some items of clothing and shoes deemed inappropriate for school. You can buy logo clothes via school or online but these are sll optional. The dress code is technically voluntary but the number of children wearing it has increased massively over the 10+ years I've been there. In a new year group we maybe have 1 or 2 per class who don't wear it. It's parental choice.

I wonder if that will change when we return though as the childcare provision was no uniform and clean clothes daily. though this has changed for September again I wonder if some will continue.

I think uniforms are good but not the extent of having badged only, purchased at specialist shops and the girls in god awful kilt type checked skirts they have in our high school.
It should be basic black and white or grey and white that you can pick up anywhere. Maybe with a coloured jumper to represent that school.
Secondary uniforms are a huge waste of money, I'm dreading it and will get second hand where I can.

See I really don't think people really understand just how much it can cost when they bang on about clothes being more expensive or uniform being a leveller or abkut following rules.

at least one grammar school here has fifty pound blazers. Thats 100 pound gone already for parents. Especially ones who actually wash their kids uniforms more than once a week.

Dds skirt is 18.50 so w if those sets ya back best part of 40 quid.

It absolutely could rack up to very high amounts. You need half decent shoes if your kid walks to school. Brogues are 30-80 quid. And over a 2 they cost more.

Have you seen the size of sone teenagers? They are in men and women's size shirts/blouses. Try getting a pack of 5 for 20 quid then.

One poster on here had to buy a specific blazer for 110 pound.

No sitting around smug you only spent 40 quid with secondary school uniform.

And that's before bus passes, dinner money and chrome books

I think the thing for me is that uniforms should be more basic. Branded optional. Trousers, skirts, shirts, blouses, cardigans, jumpers should be able to be brought on the high street.

If kids were wearing their own clothes for school, those clothes are likely to get worn/damaged/replaced more anyway so there's still a cost potentially. If you could pick up uniform for £4.50 (Lidl) instead of paying £8 just for a single cardigan, it would be less of an issue

Although I dont disagree with the reports of how no uniform works in places like France and Germany, it is worth bearing in mind that it's not always like this. My niece and nephew were at school in California til mid teens , and report that there every day was like mufti day. You had to have the right stuff, right styles, right brands for your group. Clothes literally defined you. My niece was actually happy to join a UK 6th form with uniform, she said it made life a lot easier.

If everyone donated their child's old uniform to the school, there would be no need for uniform poverty.

I understand the appeal for new uniform for the first day, but most could be re used from donations, older siblings...

Btw.... in the last few weeks.... I have also tried to give away 6 shirts and 3 trousers (uniform ones) and a pair of unworn school shoes on our local FB selling/hub pages before offering them to the parents in my DS school.... nobody even enquired... I woukd have dropped them up to their house too.. and I do live in a relatively deprived area.... and yes, I have been in the situation in the past where I would have struggled to pay even £20 for his kit...

If everyone donated their child's old uniform to the school, there would be no need for uniform poverty

Schools purposely make this difficult though. They have different coloured piping or trims or embroidered logo for different houses . They require names embroidered on the pe kits. Change of shirt color for yr 9 etc.

Makes it much harder to pass on or get hold of second hand

I like uniform but I’d definitely get rid of all the pieces with logos on.

Slightly off topic but I’ve just found out kids are now charged for lockers, the costs keep going up.

They also dictate what coat you are allowed. So you cant use the nice red waterproof one your sister passed down or wear the nice purple one from year six that still fits perfectly fine.

Nope you have to scale all the shops to find one "suitable" even if it sits screwed up in your 20 pound locker all day.

I think it depends on how strict uniform is. At my DD's school it is just simple items you can buy anywhere. Optional tie £3 from school. No more expensive than other cheap clothes, depending where you go. They ask you to use black school shoes, but they are not mandatory.

All this overpriced logo stuff, regulation jackets and blazers some schools have - nah.

@Roswellconspiracy not all schools dictate costs though. Neither of the schools my children have attended do, and I'm pretty sure it's not a thing round here. Even the new super academy that insists everyone has the same school bag and is super strict on uniform, let's the kids choose their own coat.

Its all plain black or navy blue round here.