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

[BrainAyche]

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?

The thing is though @HollywoodHandshake we might choose to send our children to a school when uniform is required. Ok fair enough. But the deal never included wearing uniform out of school as well. So saying “you signed up for this, just suck it up” is incorrect because wearing school uniform at home was never part of the deal or expected. Who cares what they are wearing (at home) as long as they are learning (at home)? Frankly all the challenges facing education right now will not be helped one bit by making primary school child wear a tie or school jumper when at home.

They may also have to ask children to leave the lesson if they don't think what they are wearing is appropriate

As it happens, my dh is on the senior leadership team of the school my dc go to.

of course he is

@Comtesse

The thing is though *@HollywoodHandshake we might choose to send our children to a school when uniform is required. Ok fair enough. But the deal never* included wearing uniform out of school as well. So saying “you signed up for this, just suck it up” is incorrect because wearing school uniform at home was never part of the deal or expected. Who cares what they are wearing (at home) as long as they are learning (at home)? Frankly all the challenges facing education right now will not be helped one bit by making primary school child wear a tie or school jumper when at home.

well, no one knew we would all to "homeschool" in some way, that was never the "deal"... None of us had signed for that!

No one cares what they are wearing in the privacy of their own home... but we are not talking about that, we are talking about a zoom meeting with teachers and possibly the class.

The argument about uniform stay the same. If you don't agree with them, chose another school. Otherwise, put the right jumper , why wasting so much time about it?

If you are against uniforms in general, you are as always free to campaign against your own school or the whole education system to change the requirements. Wasting teachers time (and other parents time ) about it is a bit childish.

weird hill to die on @HollywoodHandshake

It wastes no-one's time. (Actually except mine if I need to provide grotty small child with washed and ironed white shirt and tie every day ) It actually wastes a whole load of energy to insist.

Also, you really can't choose or change schools at whim, unless you pay for them.

Waits for the calls to deregister my children.....sigh

As it happens, my dh is on the senior leadership team of the school my dc go to.

of course he is

Well yes, he is. Feel free to search my user name. I'm pretty certain I've mentioned it in various posts on other threads. Or feel free not to bother and just keep posting your snobby, ignorant, thick-witted claptrap. It's all the same to me.

If you don't agree with them, chose another school.

tell me, where in the uk can you actually chose your dc school? apart from paying for private school it's not really a choice in most areas ime.

I just can't believe how worked up some people are getting over this.

Many DCs effectively had no teaching over the last lockdown. Provided they are getting an education who cares what they have to wear, it seems like a ridiculous hill to die on.

just keep posting your snobby, ignorant, thick-witted claptrap. It's all the same to me.

i love it when posters run out of arguments and start to get nasty because they know they are wrong. You have a lovely day

the ones who don't agree but think they have to make a stand to show their own importance, waste everybody's time and make a fool of themselves. Children don't tend to do that well as there's no support for what really matters, parents thinking they know best and everybody else is an idiot.

What really matters is what colour of jumper a child wears or not? You’re saying that’s what really matters in school? Not the standard of teaching, support for SEN, not that you’re child has a good relationship with staff and pupils, not the support to reach their potential? Not critical thinking? Those are the things I support and my children are doing very well thanks. Absolutely nothing to do with what they wear in their own home.

@Rewis

Seems unnecessary to me, but then again I don't really get school uniforms in general.

School uniforms are imperative, for three reasons:

1. It prevents the child's regular clothes from becoming stained and/or damaged

2. If a child plays truant/does something wrong and is wearing uniform, it's easy to identify what school they're from. Conversely if a child goes missing whilst in uniform, it helps narrow things down a bit to be able to say which school uniform they were wearing when they were last seen.
   & 3) Most importantly, it makes all children appear equal from an economic stand point.
   If all children just wore their regular clothes from home, then the disadvantaged children stand out like a sore thumb. This puts them at an immediate disadvantage socially whilst at school. This has been proven.
   Yes you can argue that uniforms are an added cost to already disadvantaged families/those living in poverty. However there are provisions to help to provide, or in most cases provide all required uniform for families in need/those who are on a low income. As well as most (if not all) schools having a stash of donated, good condition uniform that's been worn and is no longer needed.

You know Jellycatspyjamas I have been in schools with or without uniforms, I haven't got a very strong stand either way. They are just a cheap and easy option for school wear, it's the lazy option for us.

Now if the school you chose for your child has a uniform policy, it's their and yes, you should follow it - or go against the requirements in the right way.

I do find it more than infuriating that in times where we struggled to put our kids to school, some of the parents have been and still are the biggest obstacle for a proper education.
Moan about video or zoom meetings, moan about the inconvenient timing, moan about having to put an appropriate outfit on their child for the zoom meeting - what do they want? No contact with the school at all for everybody else?
If it's such a drama, blame lack of internet and don't join, and stay in your pjs all day. No one cares. The children (and their parents!) who wants to have a link with school will put the damn jumper on for a couple of hours and get on with it. I am sure even the most snobbish family will survive if little darling has to be separated from their football top for 1 hour. They would have during a normal school day anyway.

Read the endless complaints on this forum only during the lockdown about the lack of contact with schools. When they FINALLY organise something, parents still moan, encourage their children to disregard the rules and are a pain in the arse for everybody else. That's what annoy me - I really don't care about the uniform itself, but it's the general attitude.

@Smellbellina

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.

If what you've said is true and not sarcastic, then that is utterly disgraceful parenting.

i love it when posters run out of arguments and start to get nasty because they know they are wrong.

It's not really a case of being factually right or wrong is it? They're called opinions. And in this case yours appear to be considerably more unreasonable, less informed and probably less experience-based than mine. I don't see many other posters agreeing with your attitude either, whether or not they are coming out in favour of school uniform at home.

However there are provisions to help to provide, or in most cases provide all required uniform for families in need/those who are on a low income. did you get lost and find yourself under a Tory government your user names suggest you do know it’s not 1998? @BrainAyche

Now if the school you chose for your child has a uniform policy, it's their and yes, you should follow it - or go against the requirements in the right way.

My children go to school, and they wear the appropriate uniform, in school. I’ve already stated this.

I’m replying to the pp suggesting that uniform is “what matters” in school - there are so many other things about school which actually do make a quantifiable difference to a child’s education but uniform isn’t one of them.

What does matter is the school thinking they can tell me or my child what they should do (wear) in their own home. Similarly schools should be happy the kids have digital access and equipment that allows them to turn up for online classes and focus on teaching them, not whether they’re wearing the right colours to do so.

School uniforms are imperative, for three reasons

Not in lots and lots of other countries. How do they manage without?

Most importantly, it makes all children appear equal from an economic stand point.

not imo
better off children wear well fitting items, sometimes from more expensive department stores as opposed to supermarket. and get washed out, too small, torn items replaced when needed.
others might wear ill fitting hand me downs with barely any colour left after x children and loads of washing.

School uniforms are NOT imperative.

I am broadly in favour of simple, affordable, comfortable, plain school uniform. Imperative, no. There is no proven causality to improving learning outcomes, and sadly, the way they are implemented causes excessive economic hardship.

"However there are provisions to help to provide, or in most cases provide all required uniform for families in need/those who are on a low income."

This really isn't true.

@pinkbalconyrailing I don't know whether that is necessarily the case. Whenever there is a discussion on here at the beginning of a new academic year and people ask whether everyone is buying new uniform just because it is the start of a new year, the people who say no, aren't necessarily the ones who have very little money.

@pinkbalconyrailing

Most importantly, it makes all children appear equal from an economic stand point.

not imo
better off children wear well fitting items, sometimes from more expensive department stores as opposed to supermarket. and get washed out, too small, torn items replaced when needed.
others might wear ill fitting hand me downs with barely any colour left after x children and loads of washing.

it's actually the complete opposite around here.

More wealthy families - and their kids - really don't care about school uniforms and have no issue with hand-me downs from siblings, and the primary kids are not bothered about a normal play on playground or in fields. Parents don't seem to think that the uniform is a reflection on their own status at all.

Struggling families are really keen to look "the part" and ruin themselves in trying to get pristine uniforms.

The kids don't seem to even notice if someone is wearing a brand new jumper or a faded one. They do notice if they are not part of the cool group and haven't got the right personalised branded uber-expensive sport top however.

Regardless, you would think parents are happy for the school to try to keep schooling going and not waste any more time and that if it makes it easier for everybody to wear their usual top, so be it.

State schools tend to have classes of 30 kids.. how hard to focus on the important subject, not for 30 parents and carers to write an essay and demanding an answer on why: rules don't apply to them, their own children are a special exception etc etc..

It's a very good lesson teaching them not to be a slob on "official" video meeting. It's not hard to wear a top and the school jumper.

Yet all over the world adults who have never attended a school with a uniform have managed to work that one out. How would you account for that?

Most importantly, it makes all children appear equal from an economic stand point.

That one is only going to work on a video call if you also make it compulsory that the background is a blank wall.