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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How can they justify this

37 replies

Rosebel · 21/08/2021 10:30

Old subject I know but how can the cost of uniform be justified. A jumper that barely lasts a year costing £26. Two sets of PE leggings costs over £40.
School insist the kids must be in proper uniform from September. We are lucky that we can afford it but I imagine (considering we live in a deprived area) there will be many parents who can't.
What do you think? Surely as school insist they must be in logoed uniform it should be more affordable or at least last a couple years.
Is the cost of uniform reasonable?

OP posts:
JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 21/08/2021 10:58

I totally agree. The quality of the uniform sold at the shop we HAVE to buy from is dreadful.

Cheap nasty fabrics that wash terribly. I'd never dare put any of it in the tumble dryer. I have to treat it all like the finest silk to make sure it stays looking half decent.

It's such a rip off Angry

nonotmenotI · 21/08/2021 11:01

I wouldn't mind paying it if the stuff lasts. White polo shirts go grey after just a few washes, the PE kit is awful and the jumper bobble. Don't even get me started on the blazers.

Hundreds of pounds plus top up uniform each school year and the quality is just crap for the extortionate price.

We're similar prices for uniform, I don't know how families afford it with multiple kids in school.

Original poster
Rosebel · 22/08/2021 10:43

My daughter's jumpers look awful. Holes in them, fraying at the cuffs and bottom and bobbly. It's a joke. I only got them last September so they've barely been worn but just don't las8.

OP posts:
DismantledKing · 22/08/2021 10:44

It’s a scam. I really don’t know why it’s allowed.

Baystard · 22/08/2021 10:46

Why do you need to buy from there (genuinely curious)? I've bought most of the school uniforms from M&S for the past few years.

Original poster
Rosebel · 22/08/2021 11:22

It's the only place that sells logo uniform which school insist on. In primary school I got everything from Asda and Tesco. Unfortunately they seem much stricter at secondary.

OP posts:
sst1234 · 22/08/2021 11:38

It’s a scams schools must be making money out of this. Not to mention the local shops (look like something out of the 1850s) that no one would step foot in if they didn’t need to buy the uniform.

fourminutestosavetheworld · 22/08/2021 11:45

From autumn schools will have to comply with the new law about uniform affordability here

CrimeJunkie01 · 22/08/2021 11:51

@fourminutestosavetheworld

From autumn schools will have to comply with the new law about uniform affordability here
Actually, that is only guidance I think. It just means that they have to procure the uniform contract more often. It's a disgrace. Our secondary make you even buy logoed socks and trousers, even though you can't bloody see the logo. It's a disgrace. I've complained to my MP but no one does anything. They put the kids in isolation if they don't have the full logoed uniform too!! MP wrote to the school who said that some parents have set up a swap shop for those who can't afford it.... Only you can't swap because not only does it have to be logoed, but each year has a different colour associated with it, so for example, one year has green ties and green piping on uniform and the next year yellow!!!
InpatientGardener · 22/08/2021 11:56

Absolutely bonkers. I didn't have a school jumper when I was in primary, we couldn't afford them even then. My granny knitted me a cardi in the school colours instead. I guess that wouldn't be allowed these days.

Thethreecs · 22/08/2021 11:58

You wouldn't want to live in Ireland. Alot of our schools are crested. Secondary school €50.00 crested jumper Boys and girls. Crested boys Polo shirt €14.00. I buy the boys trousers from Dunnes €20.00. Girls school skirt €45.00. Crested girls shirt €17.00. Crested PE jumper Boys and girls €25.00, I buy PE t shirt and joggers from Dunnes, total €15.00. Crested school jacket Boys and girls €75.00. Dds special needs school, crested jumper €30.00, crested polo shirt €17.00, school trousers €20.00.

This is for one set, they need multiple sets. Dds (special needs) needs clean uniform every day, I have to buy multiple as they just don't dry in time if I buy a couple as the materials are fairly heavy.

That's not taking into account shoes, trainers etc. Then as mine seem to grow alot every year so they need new, plus nothing can be passed on as it wears out. Plus going to different schools means different crests, and then you get some years where the school will decide to change the jacket, usually the year you think you're getting another year out of the old one. School's are getting sneaky and having crests built into the materials, in the beginning I use to buy crests and sew them onto cheaper products. I've 5 kids, so it all adds up. Thankfully one finished this year but we bought college clothes for them, it actually would have been cheaper to buy uniforms.

TimeForTeaAndG · 22/08/2021 11:59

Can you remove the logo from an old one and sew it onto a better quality jumper? Even if it's fully embroidered it would be possible.

CovidDoesNotExistDuh · 22/08/2021 12:04

Poor quality uniform that can't be passed on and doesn't last a year is environmentally poor too. Uniform should last.

Original poster
Rosebel · 22/08/2021 14:37

Isolation for my kids too if they're not in full uniform. They are supposed to wear logo trousers or skirts but since you can't see them I don't bother.
I have also told the kids to call me if they get isolation for incorrect uniform because I would love to tell the school how ridiculous their policy is and how stupidly expensive the uniform is.
Parents signed a petition and MP was contacted but no one cares.
In theory I agree with uniform but it should be like primary school. White shirt, black bottoms, jumper of a certain colour and maybe a tie. No logos and certainly no bloody logo PE kits and needing two different PE kits depending on what sport they are doing.

OP posts:
fourminutestosavetheworld · 22/08/2021 21:37

"Actually, that is only guidance I think. It just means that they have to procure the uniform contract more often. It's a disgrace."

No it was passed as law in April, with it being a statutory requirement for schools to ensure uniform costs are affordable to all families and provide the best value for money, with contracts competitive and transparent. I don't know what it will look like in reality but surely a step in the right direction.

Original poster
Rosebel · 22/08/2021 22:24

If it was passed as law in April then how are they still getting away with charging so much? I suspect what the government consider affordable might not be the same as me.
Or is it a weak policy without saying exactly how much is affordable?

OP posts:
Seashor · 22/08/2021 22:34

I never understand that people don’t understand that children are money pits. Everyone surely knows before they have children that they will need clothes that they will grow out of and destroy and these clothes cost money! I’ve never found it expensive and I’ve had one in private school and one in state.

anyoldname76 · 22/08/2021 22:37

I agree, it shocking. My ds in primary school had cost around £22. My ds in high school had cost the following ,£24 x 2 for trousers, £36 for blazer, £15 for skins, ,£13 pe top, £6 for shorts, £5 socks. £13 rugby top , £25 for hoody. It's an absolute scandal and the new law hasn't made a scrap of difference

CrimeJunkie01 · 22/08/2021 22:43

@Seashor

I never understand that people don’t understand that children are money pits. Everyone surely knows before they have children that they will need clothes that they will grow out of and destroy and these clothes cost money! I’ve never found it expensive and I’ve had one in private school and one in state.
Well aren't you the lucky one. Probably, if everyone could afford private school then no one would worry about the cost of uniform.

Children are money pots, obviously they grow and need new things.... This is why I don't buy my kids expensive clothes for at home, so I'm not sure why I should have to pay extortionate prices for a school uniform when I could get then much cheaper if the school didn't insist on logoing everything.

WTFisNext · 22/08/2021 22:44

I've just spent £130 updating DD1s uniform, not because she outgrew it but because she's gone up a year and the colours change!

We had a growth spurt this year, as 14 year olds are likely to do so had to replace everything in May. It all still fits but all has to be replaced.

I'm beyond angry to be honest. Fortunately we've managed to reduce spend a little by not buying new for DD2 who can still fit in the updated uniform we bought her to go back after lockdown (she grew even more than her sister in lockdown!) but it's utterly unfair. Plain non-logo uniform should be allowed without punishment of the child. How pathetic are schools to punish children for their parents financial situation!?

WTFisNext · 22/08/2021 22:45

@Seashor

I never understand that people don’t understand that children are money pits. Everyone surely knows before they have children that they will need clothes that they will grow out of and destroy and these clothes cost money! I’ve never found it expensive and I’ve had one in private school and one in state.
My daughter neither destroyed nor outgrew her uniform. We've had to replace because of the colour change in changing year.

Wonder your neck in and have some empathy that this is shit for many families.

Hankunamatata · 22/08/2021 22:50

I'm lucky out primary logo polo and jumpers wash amazingly and last years, they get handed down many times so for me it worth paying the bit more.

Hankunamatata · 22/08/2021 22:51

Check out the grammar school pe kits on northern ireland. Most are kukuri branded and cost a fortune

Hankunamatata · 22/08/2021 22:53

@Rosebel

Isolation for my kids too if they're not in full uniform. They are supposed to wear logo trousers or skirts but since you can't see them I don't bother. I have also told the kids to call me if they get isolation for incorrect uniform because I would love to tell the school how ridiculous their policy is and how stupidly expensive the uniform is. Parents signed a petition and MP was contacted but no one cares. In theory I agree with uniform but it should be like primary school. White shirt, black bottoms, jumper of a certain colour and maybe a tie. No logos and certainly no bloody logo PE kits and needing two different PE kits depending on what sport they are doing.
Logo skirts seem a bit mad. Son high school is just blazer, tie and jumper which doubles as jumper pe top too.
Pellewsmate · 22/08/2021 23:14

Is there any chance of neatly cutting around logos/crests and stitching onto cheaper replacements?
I have 2 at private school and regularly do this onto standard kit bought from M&S or supermarkets.