To think schools shouldn't be making an income from uniforms

[Mountaingoatling]

I buy my nephew and my niece their school uniform. I pay for it and take them Back to School shopping. They are 9 and 7.

I have found out that for each item I buy (we have to shop at their official supplier), the school receives 50p per item. It's £1 for a blazer.

One part of me thinks, this only means me contributing to the school about £25 a year. It's a state school.

Another part thinks this is really dodgy! The school aren't upfront about it and the official supplier is expensive. Not all parents can afford this (the reason I buy school uniform is my brother and SIL can't easily afford it).

Is this the normal??

YABU - it is normal and not a big deal; schools need the money

YANBU - parents shouldn't have to subsidise the school unless they want to voluntarily and these deals don't help parents

I think most Uniform suppliers offer this sort of deal, and I don't think there's an option of charging less and not passing some on to the school so if the school want to use a supplier for logo items etc I'm not sure they have a choice.

Personally, I think schools should be moving away from logo items/single suppliers. The items I've had to buy from these suppliers for my DC have always been poor quality and/or difficult to wash (in my opinion hand wash only clothes are not suitable for school uniform!) and expensive.

It’s not right imo, but it’s very normal sadly

I think YABU. Schools need the money.

I think it is normal, if unpalatable.

I used to be very pro school uniform, but so much stupidity and ridiculousness has sprung up around it that I would now prefer to see it abolished.

Ahh it’s just one thing in a long line of ways schools make money. Their funding has been slashed over the past decade so they’re struggling to make ends meet. I think it’s worse in academies. My DC attended a council run school in our previous town and they didn’t insist on logo jumpers for example, you could just buy a plain red one. The school they’re at now is an academy and it has to have the logo so you have to purchase as the uniform supplier. They’ve also made logo PE shirts mandatory from September. It’s £6 per shirt compared to the £6 I usually spend on a pack of three white T-shirt’s for them all.

It feels endless tbh. They’ve asked for sponsorship money this week and 60% of the proceeds go towards the school. Over lockdown this year they asked us all for suggestions of books our DC like to read because they were going to buy some new books for the school library. I thought they were spending the funds we had raised during non uniform days or whatever but then they set up an Amazon wish list and asked us to buy the books!

How did you find out if the school isn’t “upfront” about it?

If you begrudge paying, just tell the shop you’re unwilling to pay the extra 50p and £1 for the school and ask them to reduce the prices accordingly.

Though if you knew how much schools provide in terms of uniform and equipment for children in low-income families, you may feel it’s not worth making an issue over.

Primary schools having blazers is unnecessary and OTT.

There is a cost to school ordering, storing and distributing the items. The staff take time to do this out of their day, it's completely acceptable.

It’s totally wrong in my view - but I’d like all exclusive uniforms banned, especially for primary age children. Schools should be forced to specify generic items that can be purchased in any supermarket or department store - eg grey trousers/pinafore, white polo, navy jumper. The logo is totally unnecessary and a racket.

At 50p an item, assuming two blazers at a £, that suggests you’re buying 46 items of uniform a year between two children. That seems like a lot!

I'd bet you money that you'd spend more money on clothing if you didn't have a uniform. It's a decent one off upfront cost true, but you aren't realistically going to be wearing the same 5 tops and 2 pairs of jeans throughout the entire year.

@Pazuzu absolutely correct.

I wonder if the school use the accumulated credit to subsidise uniforms for students who would otherwise struggle?

Btw none of my DC’s schools (1 x primary, 2 x secondary) coordinate uniforms. Parents order direct from the supplier with home delivery. Primary use Mapac and secondaries use two “local” suppliers (one is 20 miles away, the other 21 miles!)

“I'd bet you money that you'd spend more money on clothing if you didn't have a uniform. It's a decent one off upfront cost true, but you aren't realistically going to be wearing the same 5 tops and 2 pairs of jeans throughout the entire year.”

Agree and that’s a good argument in favour of a uniform. Not necessarily an argument in favour of a logo uniform from exclusive suppliers at ratcheted up prices with kickbacks to schools.

And I bet parents wouldn’t have to struggle with uniform costs half as much in the first place if they could just buy a two pack of trousers, a two pack of jumpers and three polos from Asda or Tesco for about £10-£15 instead of a single logo jumper for that price.

It's sadly normal, and schools are seeking as much income as possible so also understandable.

But a breach of the current uniform rules, which state there shouid not be single suppliers. There is however no policing of this, nor any penalty for transgressors

I think it's a good idea actually, all schools should do it. As long as the money collected benefit the entire school, and doesn't just subsidise uniforms for parents who can't be arsed to buy them.

Where I live there is a thriving second hand market. People regularly give away good condition logo & non logo uniform items completely free or charge on the local buy/sell page and the PTA do a uniform sale too. Its incredibly cheap, there's really no excuse at our school to not have the basic uniform.

@Deadleaf29 haha. My maths is awful! My point wasn't really about me but in the area a lot of parents struggle. It is a small annual sum. I'm pretty torn myself but as a non-mum I was genuinely unsure what was normal!!!

Ps most schools will have a single supplier of logo items as set up and bulk discounts make it inefficient to have two or three - it would actually cost more not less. But you can get non logo jumpers easily & cheaply at any of the supermarkets, as well as trousers/skirts/dresses and shirts/polo shirts.

At our school there's plenty of second hand uniform available. The only thing most people buy new is the book bag because a child will have the same one for a few years and they get battered/decorated so aren't fit to pass on, not to mention they are sold very cheaply at our school.

Some of the companies will ship to the school for free, but there's a cost to have it delivered to home. If the school is willing to take the deliveries and distribute them, it seems entirely reasonable that they get a cut.

I've got the whole uniform shebang soon as my dd is starting school. I see various items in Asda and think they're good value but have no idea if you can mix or match or if everything needs to be bought from the supplier 🤷🏼‍♀️

But @Pazuzu and @QwertyGirly you still have to buy clothes for after school and weekends; I normally buy DDs clothes for summer and winter in one go so I know how much I spend on her clothes in a year but now she’s going to school I’ve spent far more than I would normally.
I disagree with schools earning from school uniform as I’ve seen a lot of parents really struggling with this and quite simply £11 for a polo shirt with a logo on is ridiculous

So a little money is taken to help the school buy books and pencils and pay for staff? If you can afford it I honestly don't see why you are complaining. It will go towards all of the children in the school and their education.

There should be something in place to support families that need uniforms subsidised but other than that, I can't see the issue.

I'd much much rather the schools made a profit than some monopoly business selling stuff at vastly inflated prices. The owner of our local uniform shop has a fleet of exceedingly fancy cars. Single uniform supplier to 40+ schools in the local area.

@Bksjshsbbev2737 I see where you're coming from but from stories I've heard from friends with kids at non uniform schools, the pressure on kids to go in with brand names is huge.

@Pazuzu I'd bet you money that you'd spend more money on clothing if you didn't have a uniform. It's a decent one off upfront cost true, but you aren't realistically going to be wearing the same 5 tops and 2 pairs of jeans throughout the entire year.
That’s not true at all , firstly 5 tops and 2 pairs of jeans are cheaper than school uniform and secondly all the other clothes that a child already owns that isn’t uniform can be worn.