Primary School Coat?!

[Toomuchtooyoung01]

Am looking for a school coat for DD who starts primary school in September, was obviously wanting to get her one that’s warm and at least showerproof, and have found a really pretty one but it’s quite expensive (for me anyway) at £60. A friend who I was chatting to about this told me not to get a “nice” school coat as most children’s school coats get ruined or lost/stolen. I obviously get that young children can get their clothes muddy etc, but if it is very clearly labelled, will her clothes really get lost? And stolen?!
Is this a thing?!
So my question is basically, do other people buy cheap school coats for these reasons and am I being ridiculous to be thinking of buying a pricier one?
Thanks!

Never lost an item yet (mine are in secondary).
I always bought them Trespass / mountain warehouse coats in the sale.

I used to sew a name label and write in black marker on the inside collar.

My DS has always had a Boden coat, they wash well. He hasn't had anything trashed or stolen yet and he is in year 2.

Today 19:34 CecilyP

My son had 3 coats stolen at school 😡

Blimey, where was that? DS went to primary in an area considered rough but never had anything stolen.*

South east London so pretty rough 😂

DD never lost a coat or had anything stolen at primary. This is definitely not universal.

Gloves on the other hand - we must have been through hundreds of the things.

Yes people do steal coats from school. I’ve seen other parents purposely put the wrong coat on their child because it’s a bigger size or it’s newer and better quality than their own coat. If they’re challenged they insist it’s their coat! Not to mention that kids yank on sleeves, get caught on fences, roll in mud, and the coat ends up ruined. Stick to supermarket coats or cheap shops like H&M.

We haven't lost a school coat yet but wouldn't spend £60 on a coat that'll get grown out of fairly soon (I wouldn't spend £60 on a coat for me to be fair!)

I have been lucky at times and picked up good quality almost new coats in the charity shop.

Havnt had anything stolen but had good ripped off and pocket ripped. In an overactive game of tag

Good= hood

I’ve generally gone for Regatta/Trespass ones - between £20-£30 and really good in the cold and wet

Kids lose stuff at school constantly.
Our lost property at school is insane. Just get something cheap and warm from Primark or a supermarket.

£60!!

But then I spend £30-£40 so it’s whatever you want to spend. However work on the basis it may get lost and it may spend a fair amount of time on the floor of wherever they leave their coats.

Also it’s a school coat. It doesn’t need to be pretty.

@Sirzy

I wouldn’t send anything into school that you aren’t willing to get lost/damaged

This

We had Boden or Gap and never lost one. They seemed better designed than the cheap coats and lasted two or three years. So even though the initial cost was eye watering it evened out ok.

I always get good coats and shoes.Ive got ds 7 a hugo boss coat for September,it'll wash on delicates and will last him hopefully through all autumn and winter.

@LittleBearPad

Also it’s a school coat. It doesn’t need to be pretty.

Also this

We’ve had a lot of H&M ski jackets, which are ideal. Water, water resistant, brightly coloured, reflective. They were about £30 when I last bought one, a few years ago. Good enough quality to hand down too, if not stolen/lost/damaged.

Depending on where you live, bear in mind that the better the quality the warmer it will be. My DD feels the cold and her school send them out in all weathers. I have found it difficult to source a coat from supermarkets that are both warm and properly waterproof. I have horrible memories of being constantly cold in winter at primary school!

What I do is buy second hand off eBay and now is the time to look. So this winter my DC1 has a polarn O pyret one and DC2 has a Boden ski jacket. I paid about £15 for each and they would probably have originally been about 60, probably more for the pop one. The quality is excellent though. If they get trashed or lost, I won't be that upset. We have never had Much of an issue with losing stuff though tbh. I think it depends if your DC are reluctant coat wearers and would leave them in the playground. My kids tend to keep theirs on!

Chatting to some school mums boys seem to loose more coats... They use them as goal post markers for football... And then forget about...

We normally get them back at our school... Jumpers less so.

Never had any issues with this. Sometimes the coat gets a bit muddy but nothing a machine wash can't fix.

I have had 3 kids go through primary in quite a rough area.

We never lost a coat.

BUT

1. the coat had a sewn in label AND was marked in permament marker written on to the inside of the coat
2. They had a good strong hook sewn in so they could be hung up and not fall down
3. I wrote our name on the inside of the sleeve, so out of sight but couldn't be removed
4. Every single day, no coat they get sent back in to find it.

If your coat is not labelled very well, it will end up in lost property. Certain parents see lost property as a free second hand box.
And sewn in labels work weel for the teachers to get it bakc to you, but once it hits the lost property nox it can be cut out, hence to writing on it in permanent marker too.

All of that applies to school jumpers too. I used to help out in school, and out of 30 class jumpers/cardigans about 3 were labelled clearly, the rest were constantly lost. Parents moaned like mad, but never labelled properly

The only thing my dd lost from yrR to yr13 was one glove.

But the nice coat.

Never lost a coat at school or had it ruined.
Lost plenty of PE kits though ..

Make sure it is labelled and if the hood can come off label that too (we lost a hood for a few weeks but it turned up). Mine often came home in a coat identical to theirs but in the wrong size! I wouldn't spend £60 on a child's coat but I know people that do. We have had a few from next which were reasonable. 2 of mine are older now and never wear a coat 🤷🏽‍♀️

Mine have never had a lost or stolen coat (year 1, reception and pre school). I bought Boden coats as they are weatherproof and warm, and I love the bright colours.

I agree with pp- if they are sent out of the class with no coat, I would send them back in to get it. But the teachers have always been good at making sure they’re sent out with their coats on.