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?

Haha our school tried this during lockdown
9/10 my daughter was in pyjamas 🤣
She has survived

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..

I don’t be writing to anyone, I’d simply present my child for online lessons and if the school want to take issue they can. In saying that, they won’t because they would never have such a ridiculous rule in the first place.

I wonder if people realise that video lessons are recorded

@ineedaholidaynow my dc have live lessons over teams ( high school) or zoom primary.

I wonder if people realise that video lessons are recorded

I assume the recordings are held by the school and only viewed for review or training - so by qualified staff so I’m not sure why that would impact what children wear? I also assume parents have given permission for their child to be recorded?

Ultimately i think parents should be given a choice in situations like this. Do they want their DC to attend a school with high expectations and high standards?

If so they have a duty to play their part in upholding these standards- if the head tells DC to wear their uniform, they wear their uniform.

If they are not willing to support the school, headteachers should absolutely be free to manage out uncooperative parents and direct them towards a school with lower standards.

I don’t be writing to anyone, I’d simply present my child for online lessons and if the school want to take issue they can. In saying that, they won’t because they would never have such a ridiculous rule in the first place.

we get that, rules do not apply to your child. If the school is sloppy enough to be happy about it, then you chose well
🤷

@AldiAisleofCrap I mean as the lesson is taking place. Also due to Government funding (or lack of) not all teachers have a school laptop, so if WFH they will have to use their own personal laptop. I am sure they won’t want images of pupils in pjs on their own laptop.

A child still won’t have the structure whether they are in uniform doing their school work or Pjs.
In these difficult times is that what is most important a child’s appearance at home...honestly!

@MoonJelly

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?

completely irrelevant. Each school still has rules - and a dress code. It's about keeping it consistent, how hard can it be?

I am all for teaching your child to stand up for themselves and never putting up with anything that is or feel wrong, but what lesson is there in "don't bother with school jumper requested by the school if you can't be arsed"?

The whole point of asking children to wear uniform when doing lessons at home is to emphasize the fact that where the child is doing schoolwork, they are a part of the school.
If the teacher is teaching from home, as sometimes happened during lockdown, I am sure parents would be shouting complaints if the teacher decided to teach from the bedroom, wearing pyjamas.

My kids had "video" lessons for a couple of months after initial lockdown and they were told to keep cameras off at all times, they only used the microphone.
Even the teachers were not on camera, the presentation or whiteboard or whatever material they were using for the lessons was the only thing on screen.

"we get that, rules do not apply to your child. If the school is sloppy enough to be happy about it, then you chose well"

The problem it is not a rule that school is in a position to make. I don't accept the school has authority to tell my kids what to wear in their own home.

In fact, at both of my elder kids secondary schools where expectations are very high in terms of attitude to learning, there has been significant relaxation about rules on uniform even in school to make things easier for everyone.

If my youngests's primary were insisting that he wore a shirt and tie, at home, to take part in online lessons I would simply think they had lost their marbles tbh, together with any sense of perspective about what actually matters.

I can't for the life of me think of one valid reason of why you would REFUSE to wear a school top. I get you might find it silly or pointless, fair enough, but putting your foot down whilst it won't impact your child negatively in any way shape or form is beyond me.

The petulant "I don't accept the school has authority to tell my kids what to wear in their own home." is the problem. It's not in the privacy of your home they have something to say, it's for a class or teacher zoom meeting... The way you would have something to say about a teacher IN THEIR OWN HOME on a call to your kids, or your neighbour wearing a top with inappropriate pictures or language on same zoom call.

Funnily enough, the schools around here who all imposed full uniform and strict timetable from the start of the lockdown are the top-league private schools whose kids have flew by whilst the rest was muddling through. State primary are currently assessing and catching up, private are going ahead with the next steps...
None of the parents had an issue with any of it, I wonder why?

The pupils are being taught by the school, with technology within the school, and teachers employed by the school, with material provided by the school. Whatever homework will be marked by the teacher, employed by the school.

Let's think of an example - if a teacher decided to mark your child's homework during an evening from home, would you expect the teacher to still subscribe to the marking policy of the school or can they just do whatever they want because they are not in the school building? You access work emails from your house, using a work computer, do you feel free to watch porn with a work computer because the rules don't apply in your house?

Get over yourself. There are much bigger fish to fry at the moment. Just get your kid to wear the uniform.

"we get that, rules do not apply to your child. If the school is sloppy enough to be happy about it, then you chose well"

The school is far from sloppy, they just understand that there are more important things to worry about. And that they aren’t in a position to impose rules in my child’s home. In that sense yes, I did chose well. The number of parents prepared to accept schools overreaching their authority is quite something.

I think your solution is sensible. Just pop on the polo shirt with normal trousers.

Seems a bit heavy handed. When we had lockdown gone schooling, they were asked to wear appropriate clothing and be clean and tidy for any video calls. E.g. no swimwear, crop tops, shirtless! T-shirts and jeans were fine. Why get them changed for the sake of 30 minutes talking to the class?

Let's think of an example - if a teacher decided to mark your child's homework during an evening from home, would you expect the teacher to still subscribe to the marking policy of the school or can they just do whatever they want because they are not in the school building?

No, that would be the equivalent of my child deciding she isn’t going to follow accepted rules of spelling or grammar, which isn’t ok because it actually impacts her education. What she’s wearing while doing her spelling and grammar doesn’t impact her education any more than the teacher in your example wearing pjs or having a glass of wine while doing said marking.

@Ecosse

Ultimately i think parents should be given a choice in situations like this. Do they want their DC to attend a school with high expectations and high standards?

If so they have a duty to play their part in upholding these standards- if the head tells DC to wear their uniform, they wear their uniform.

If they are not willing to support the school, headteachers should absolutely be free to manage out uncooperative parents and direct them towards a school with lower standards.

If your theory was correct Silicon Valley wouldn’t have existed. Your clothes don’t change whether you learn or not. Officious leadership might correlate with exam coaching. So if that’s your definition of success, go right ahead. However I expect much better for my children. Learning to know their worth and standing up to bullies is absolutely part of that.

The way you would have something to say about a teacher IN THEIR OWN HOME on a call to your kids, or your neighbour wearing a top with inappropriate pictures or language on same zoom call.

I assume the teachers working day will be spent largely online working with a variety of classes across the day and she’d dress for her workplace. My child might be online for 30 mins/an hour at most. So they’d be getting dressed to get changed out of their uniform when the class ended - times 2 for my two children, while I’m also trying to work from home. For me, that’s time better spent elsewhere given it has no quantifiable impact on their ability to engage in the online lesson. If others feel differently and that’s fine but to impose a rule is overreach on the schools part.

@Jellycatspyjamas

Let's think of an example - if a teacher decided to mark your child's homework during an evening from home, would you expect the teacher to still subscribe to the marking policy of the school or can they just do whatever they want because they are not in the school building?

No, that would be the equivalent of my child deciding she isn’t going to follow accepted rules of spelling or grammar, which isn’t ok because it actually impacts her education. What she’s wearing while doing her spelling and grammar doesn’t impact her education any more than the teacher in your example wearing pjs or having a glass of wine while doing said marking.

so you would be happy for the teacher to held the meeting in their own pyjamas, or your kids' friends to wear tops with (what you think is) inappropriate slogan or pictures? They are in their own home too.

I assume the teachers working day will be spent largely online working with a variety of classes across the day and she’d dress for her workplace. My child might be online for 30 mins/an hour at most.

you are ridiculously clutching at straw now.
How long does it take to put a top on!

I didn’t wear a uniform at all in primary school. Somehow I managed to gain two different professional qualifications including a Masters. God only know what I’d have achieved if only my school had forced me to wear a shirt and tie aged 9

or your kids' friends to wear tops with (what you think is) inappropriate slogan or pictures? They are in their own home too.

I really don’t care what other children wear, I’m fully capable of teaching my children about different views, lifestyles and why I wouldn’t buy them the same clothes, use the same language etc. If it’s inappropriate the school can address it but I don’t have control over what others do. In terms of the teacher, as a paid professional she’s responsible to her employer who is very able to deal with dress they consider inappropriate. She also holds professional registration and has a duty to uphold professional standards in her work. The teacher is paid to work to those standards, my child is a child.

None of that impacts my child’s ability to engage in online learning.