School uniform

[Dobby101]

My DD (6) goes to a run of the mill primary school.

Their school uniform includes a shirt / blouse. They are not allowed to wear polo tops.

The shirt / blouse they are required to wear is 65% polyester. DD comes out of school looking uncomfortable most days, and has sweaty armpits. Sometimes her neck & chest looks a little irritated. She was completely fine over lockdown and at weekends wearing cotton tshirts.

AIBU to think they should give an option for wearing natural fabric rather than the synthetic polyester. Even the much cheaper polo tops are 100% cotton.

Need to know whether I am U before asking school to consider a change and embarrassing myself. Thank you.

Can they not buy any old blouses/shirts? Ours specify the colour but not where to get them from

Would anyone notice if you bought a cotton shirt instead or do they have a logo or something on?
Would a cotton vest underneath help?

Put vest underneath?

Uniform in primary is not legally enforceable. So I would simply not buy the recommended shirts and tell the school why.

However you are being entirely reasonable asking for a change too.

IMO school uniform is bullshit full stop, but I went along with it a bit in primary - I never bothered about logo stuff or whether trousers were grey or black. What is anyone going to do? Nothing.

They are not allowed to wear polo tops What will the school actually do if she did wear one? Usually when push comes to shove the answer is... nothing.

Just buy cotton white shirts, they're hardly going to check the label to see if its the the right ones. Mine wear short sleeved ones so they don't get dirty cuffs

I had to ditch the logo cardigan back in sept for my daughter. Was 95 polyester and she was coming back with rashes (eczema) I spoke to the head who said I could just buy a non logo cardigan which was 100% cotton! Haven't had an issue since.

If uniform is not legally enforceable does that mean I can send my DDs to their Catholic school in trousers even though it's against school policy? They hate wearing tights!

My dd doesn't ever wear tights. She wears over the knee socks instead even as a teenager
Why are trousers banned for girls? Crazy policy

Yes a cotton vest helps a little bit but it's the areas not covered. I could try a tshirt underneath.

It's also strange that she gets sweaty arm pits age just 6 in this fabric. But when at home in normal clothing doesn't.

The school shirts are not white, not quite as easy to source. I can't find any that are cotton. School couldn't recommend any either. They seems only to recommend the (expensive) uniform shop.

What colour are they?

School uniform is a sea of polyester, often with toxic coatings too. There are companies trying to provide more environmentally friendly versions - eco outfitters, Cambridge baby. I find it difficult getting pure cotton with no coatings for my dds , and their shirts are white, so I sympathise. I found plain cotton ones in John Lewis, and M&S have the skinkind range, the shirts from eco outfitters are lovely.
What colour and style is the blouse ?

My dd doesn't ever wear tights. She wears over the knee socks instead even as a teenager
Why are trousers banned for girls? Crazy policy

It keeps the Muslim kids out. Or that was the unwritten but well known reason at my school.

OP

Just tell the school they need to make a reasonable adjustment and that is your DD wearing a polo shirt or a cotton shirt and that they have no basis in law to object - maybe phrase it a bit less stridently.

Buy plain white and dye them? Dylon works well.

I'm quite sure it's against equality law, and/or human rights law to make girls wear tights skirts or dresses, or to refuse boys the right to wear the same items, or to insist that anyone wears anything that causes them irritation/rashes.

Ditto not letting girls wear trousers.

Yanbu. Assuming it's a logo top so you can't buy a 100% alternative. One of my kids is a sweaty mess if they wear the polyester shirt's so I have to buy cotton.

You can get 100% cotton school shirts at Marks & Spencers, John Lewis, Next and I'm sure there are other places too.

Trousers in cotton are even harder to find than blouses, and summer dresses too, which seems crazy. Polyester is an environmental disaster.

Make it the schools problem

Buy her a cotton white or blue or whatever shirt or polo. If school kick off tell them if they can find a cotton eczema friendly shirt in the right colour you will buy it.

As the parent to 2 "itchy" kids you have my sympathy op

I agree with raising it with the school. Skin conditions that are irritated by certain fabrics are not a rarity.

Don't ask, tell them your daughter needs an alternative. Perhaps look one up first to say "I'm buying this one" or experiment with a long sleeve 100% cotton or silk shirt underneath.

You're not unreasonable to speak to the school. I hate that school uniforms are a sea of single supplier polyester.

If you go in with the problem and then 2 or 3 reasonable alternatives, then it's up to school to be reasonable or dig their heels in. The schools I've worked in have made uniform adjustments for those with more serious skin conditions or sensory issues. This has included some students wearing dark tracksuit bottoms in the appropriate colour instead of school trousers, polo shirts instead of shirts.

@Notquitesureaboutthis

If uniform is not legally enforceable does that mean I can send my DDs to their Catholic school in trousers even though it's against school policy? They hate wearing tights!

there ahve been many cases where schools have been challenged over no trousers for girls. If it is a mixed school, and boys can wera trousers, they would lose th elegal challenge.

It might be worth researching the legal precedent and then writing to school and explaining that they would lose a legal case if challenged and ask them to amend the policy.
Harder if it is an all girls school though. And secondary is not same as primary

Unfortunately M&S /JL / Next don't sell the right thing.

The school has a v mixed demographic, lots of less well off (financially) families, it's one of the poorer schools in our town so I'm surprised they're not going with the polo tops like most primaries here do, which are more affordable, easier to get hold of and not made out of polyester!
Come to think of it, we're the only primary in town going with traditional shirts / blouses.