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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Primary School closed bubble expected to wear school uniform at home for video calls

269 replies

BrainAyche · 04/10/2020 18:26

YABU - they should wear school uniform at home for video calls
YANBU -let them wear their own (appropriate) clothes for home learning

My primary age child's school bubble has closed. They'll be having some video calls/lessons with school, and he's just told me they will have to wear uniform for the video meetings.
AIBU to think that is a bit daft? Unnecessary? OTT?

While I generally agree that uniform for schools is a good idea, for us personally, it is a faff and not having to nag my awkward child to put it on and hang it up every day would be a tiny perk to the challenging two weeks that is ahead of us.

AIBU to think stuff it, and let him wear what he wants?

OP posts:
SahmedOut · 04/10/2020 19:45

Of course it's not necessary. My DC don't have a uniform, does that mean they don't ever do school work?
How can the teachers possibly tell if it's a t-shirt or a pj top anyway? Most of my DS's could be either!

Minimumstandard · 04/10/2020 19:48

Video lessons make sense for older children who can do them unsupervised. But many parents of younger children will have their own work commitments and will be unable to make themselves available to supervise video lessons. So I'm assuming video lessons will be voluntary.

chipsandgin · 04/10/2020 19:51

I think perhaps it is so that disadvantage is less apparent, which is essentially the point of school uniform, or at least in a lot of state schools with a diverse intake. It’s a pita, and slightly ridiculous under the current circumstances but still relevant -I get it, especially having been one those disadvantaged kids in the time of no school uniform..

Crunchymum · 04/10/2020 19:58

Good luck even being able to get my childen to have lessons as we have one laptop (my work one) and one tablet.

Uniform would be the least of our worries, I'll have to go back to alternating which child gets educated on what day Shock

Iknowthingsthatwillhappen · 04/10/2020 20:20

Turn your camera off (say its broke if they ask)

Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 04/10/2020 20:20

It's a fucking stupid HT up their own arse kind of idea, just the kind of nonsense our lovely but stupidly PR obsessed would come out with.

So many kids have no digital access at all, and people are bothered what those who do are wearing. Christ.

theBelgranoSisters · 04/10/2020 20:20

Holy hell, arbitrary and punitive. Imagine your boss suggested this to you!
Pedantic primary school jobsworths promoting the idea you cant possibly learn from home unless you're bound by the constraints of school uniform-absurd..then of course they're magically expected to manage it all from day 1 of secondary school or face equally arbitrary and punitive punishment with ridiculous amounts of timetabled crap and homework. Then by uni they are free as birds and suprisingly most struggle like hell with the concept of self-management. Radical overhaul of the education system is what needed putting kids first.

Ecosse · 04/10/2020 20:26

This is a great idea- it keeps everything as normal as possible for the D.C. and gets them into a work mindset.

The DC’s school ran full live lessons throughout lockdown and they were expected to be in full uniform at all times. Usual rules regarding top buttons done up and blazers on at all times etc were applied.

unmarkedbythat · 04/10/2020 20:29

...

Really? Oh my. How ridiculous. I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that level of preciousness.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 04/10/2020 20:30

My siblings kids all wore their uniform for home school through lockdown. It helped them focus & feel more like learning.

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2020 20:32

This can be a safeguarding issue, bearing in mind your child is being beamed into other people's homes.

Explain how seeing my child in pjs, which are T-shirt with legging or jogging bottom style, could present a safeguarding issue?

ohnothisagain · 04/10/2020 20:33

Imagine your boss suggested this to you!
I don’t know where you work, but we are expected to dress similarly to when we were in the office.
How dare schools suggest to help kids learning (and yes, being in uniform helps them to feel in learning mode). Schools can’t do anything right.
(Disclaimer: we‘ve done 12 weeks of very successful zoom lessons during lockdown - uniform was expected, and it worked great. But then I trust our school - I wouldn’t send my kids there if I didn’t trust them)

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland · 04/10/2020 20:34

I think perhaps it is so that disadvantage is less apparent, which is essentially the point of school uniform

It this..fucking this in spades. Baffled why people still dont get it. The poor kid might only have a threadbare jumper, & be wearing the same one every day, its horribly awkward when some children will be sporting a huge wardrobe of expensive stuff.

MitziK · 04/10/2020 20:34

@CountFosco

save issues with inappropriate clothes

I am struggling to imagine clothes that you could buy for a primary aged child that vould be described as 'inappropriate'. But most importantly surely they shouldn't have the children visible on calls anyway, my DC had all school lessons without video.

When I am at home all day, clothes are the only distinction between work time and home time.

But have you always changed clothes for the evening? That seems like a lot of effort for no gain. I've always worn one set of clothes all day (except for exercise), just like I did at school and university Confused.

Honestly? On the basis of some families I've known, it would be less inappropriate clothing as no clothing other than pants for primary aged children (and siblings running around).
Ihatemyseleffordoingthis · 04/10/2020 20:37

Elephant in the room being that those suffering most disadvantaged STILL, despite the fucking obvious, won't have access to hardware, data or wifi sufficient to participate in online video calls.

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2020 20:38

The siblings running around will still be an issue though, and surely the former issue is dealt with by saying the children attending online classes need to be dressed.

Jellycatspyjamas · 04/10/2020 20:40

I think perhaps it is so that disadvantage is less apparent, which is essentially the point of school uniform

Disadvantage will be entirely apparent by the most disadvantaged not being on the lessons due to having no digital access, regardless of what they might be wearing.

MitziK · 04/10/2020 20:42

@Jellycatspyjamas

The siblings running around will still be an issue though, and surely the former issue is dealt with by saying the children attending online classes need to be dressed.
You'd think so. But not according to some - particularly those with boys, but not always 'they are dressed for indoors' or 'it's his home, you can't tell him what to wear here'.
ineedaholidaynow · 04/10/2020 20:43

It's so interesting people on here complaining that the school are offering to do 'live' lessons and how the hell are parents meant to cope with this. How many threads were there during the summer term with parents demanding 'live' lessons! Schools just can't win.

melj1213 · 04/10/2020 21:03

DDs school has said that if any class bubble has to self isolate then they will be expected to continue their schooling as normal, that includes uniforms. I think it is a good idea as it helps keep a constant between classroom and home schooling - potentially bubbles may have to repeatedly return to home schooling for short periods throughout the year, expecting students to stay in the school mindset is definitely helped if they also have to follow the same rules, including uniform.

I'm not going to force DD to wear her full uniform if she has to work from home, as long as she wears her school sweatshirt even if it is over the top of her pjs and something on her bottom half even if it is PJ bottoms or sweatpants then I'll call that close enough.

Their timetable will continue as normal, their teachers will be teaching lessons remotely and everyone is expected to be in attendance. The only exceptions being things that cant practically be done at home (PE/science practical etc). In the case of PE the school has said they would encourage students to use their PE periods doing some physical activity - whether that's a yoga session, routine workout or a walk around the local park - and science classes will be rejigged so that they will continue with the written/theoretical work and then catch up on practical when they're back in the labs.

Kids at DDs school already all have a tablet that holds their textbooks etc - children who had their own tablets were sent the PDFs of the books at the start of the term and children without them either rent the tablets from the school at a highly subsidised cost (thanks to PTA fundraising over the last few years) or if they receive Pupil premium then their rental comes from that pot, so every child has a tablet that they can use for their school work,so the only barrier would be internet access and I'm sure the school will have a contingency built in for any child where internet access isnt available.

rookiemere · 04/10/2020 21:05

It's a bit silly, but just be grateful your DC is getting structured teaching from home.

newmumwithquestions · 04/10/2020 21:21

I definitely wouldn’t be happy teaching kids who were in PJs, upper end of primary girls in little Shorts and vest tops?? No way. Some boys might just sleep in boxers! Yes, 5 year olds in full length pjs might just look like they’re in a tracksuit but there’s DEFINITELY potential for inappropriate clothing there.

Boxer shorts are not pjs! And by pjs I’m thinking of the ones my DDs have. Long sleeve tops with full length trousers. How is that inappropriate or a safeguarding concern? Whereas a school dress or skirt worn by a fidgety young child that gets up and down, climbs on the table, etc (mine do) would definitely be inappropriate. So surely parents should just be warned that children will be on video and to make sure they are dressed accordingly.

All that said I’d be delighted if our school were even considering video contact, or if they had done anything last lockdown. Great teachers in the classroom but were awful in lockdown. I hope we don’t lock down again.

LindaEllen · 04/10/2020 21:34

School uniforms are a pain in the arse, why would they want to make things any more difficult than they already have to be? They WON'T feel like they're in school whether they're in uniform or not, because they're not, and that's that. It seems silly to me to make them wear it, so long as they're smart and clean.

pointythings · 04/10/2020 21:36

My camera would be 'not working' in this scenario.

I wear work appropriate clothes for WFH, but I am not required to wear a uniform - smart casual dress code and that means I can be comfortable. Also I'm getting paid.

Honestly, the British obsession with uniform never ceases to amaze me.

Smellbellina · 04/10/2020 21:38

Unless you’re trying to teach your child that he can ignore rules so long as he feels they’re daft

To be fair, that pretty much is what I am trying to teach my kids.
As a teacher and a parent I would personally ignore that rule.