School uniform policy

[CuntyMcBollocks]

I'm interested in people's opinions on this.

A couple of years ago my niece got into trouble at school and was put into isolation for taking off her school blazer. It was in the middle of a heatwave and she took her thick blazer off as she was too hot. The schools policy is that students must wear them at all times, which I personally find ridiculous for reasons such as this.

I understand that the school wants students to look smart and abide by their rules, but surely a bit of common sense should be used also.

It’s a couple of years ago. Why ask now?

Couple of years ago and it’s your niece and you’re still worrying about it?

Ffs! I'm not worried about it or losing sleep over something that happened a few years ago. If you read my OP I was just looking for people's opinions on whether they think school uniform policy should be adhered unconditionally, or maybe allowances could be made (within reason).

I imagine there’s more to it than you are lead to believe. Some schools make students ask to take their blazer off but I’ve never heard of a blanket ban on taking them off

Same policy at my childrens school thick blazer to be worn too and from school plus during unless permission is given to remove it. Ridiculous totalitarian regime.

@Mcginn you may be right, but even needing to ask permission to take it off during a heatwave seems excessive to me.

It is, but you can thank countless education secretaries wanting ‘rigour’ and academisation leading to people being promoted well above their capabilities and having power trips about little things like this

Same at my daughters school have to wear blazers and thick black tights in a heat wave it's ridiculous

Well considering we are in for a very warm spring and probably a hotter summer, i think your concerns are valid if DD is at the same school still.

I'm betting the school doesn't even have air con so surely they can't expect students to sit there melting!

I'd be chatting to other parents and seeing if others feel the same and get some sort of complaint lodged with the school.

@Mcginn

I imagine there’s more to it than you are lead to believe. Some schools make students ask to take their blazer off but I’ve never heard of a blanket ban on taking them off

I used to work in a school where there was a blanket ban - I kid you not ! The deputy head must have been on a real power kick because he chose the day that he deemed it hot enough for blazers to be removed . As classroom teachers we used to let the pupils secretly take them off in lessons but they had to put them on as soon as they left the room . Madness !

My daughter's primary school (yes primary) had blazers and ties and were meant to wear them at all times. Even in summer heat waves.
I once attended an assembly which was in one of those halls surrounded by windows so it was like being in a boiling greenhouse.
The head was there. I was a bit marmite about him even then but when he went "gosh it's warm in here" and took his suit jacket off I lost all respect for him and the stupid uniform rules.
He isn't the head anymore and the school still has blazers and ties but thankfully they are a little bit more flexible now.

I agree and I've never been able to understand why so many parents accept it - they say things like the blazer pockets are really useful and their kids love them. In primary, kids are able to take their jumpers off whenever they feel like it, or not go in one at all. You would think in secondary, the children/young people would be given more responsibility and agency but it seems the opposite. I think the idea with the strict blazers type of uniform was to emulate private and grammar schools but what they fail to realise is a) they had top quality wool blazers, not cheap polyester ones made out of plastic bottles
b) children then were given agency, they could choose which uniform to wear up to a point and a blazer was just one option.
I wonder if things will go full cycle again as they tend to, and the better state schools will tend towards a more casual uniform.

My kids school is the same and the blazers are made of recycled plastic. Sweat machines. The good thing now with covid is that they remain cold with all the windows always open, so keep em on. But come the summer, it's a nightmare, they even have to walk with there planners in their hands or pulled up. Just something to be on there case over, let alone the price of it all, all being extortionately priced. My boy is 6' 2" at 14. Built like an orang-utan, long arms and legs, but dead skinny. Small size clothing, 30" waist. To fit his arms he needed a 42" jacket and a XL trousers for length. Looked like he was wearing someone else's clothes. I had no choice about the jacket, but got own stuff for PE, they pulled him up a couple of times, I kicked up blue murder. You should be able to just buy the patches and get clothes elsewhere and have it sewn yourself, but guess what, they don't do that. They want to charge extortionate prices, where they have the monopoly. It's a joke.

I always feel like this is one of those things where everybody's respect for the rules and rule-makers/enforcers decreases the moment they are proved to be lacking in common sense and the ability to adapt to circumstances, which seems counter-productive if the idea is to instil respect.

The fact that the teachers can wear cool clothes and be comfortable seems very unjust. I'm not blaming the teachers by the way, as I'm sure most of them find the rules just as ridiculous.

I think strict uniforms are utterly stupid. They don’t teach us anything useful, they’re used to stamp out individualism and as a tool for draconian punishment.

Detentions for the wrong socks
Isolation for highlighted hair
Rulers to measure the length if skirts

It’s fucking stupid.

The sooner people stop equating ‘strict’ with ‘good’ and ‘effective’ the better.

As a teacher, I also hate these rules! Constant arguments about blazers, coats, the wrong scarves, the list is endless. But we have to follow the rules too or face disciplinarians for not not enforcing school rules.

@Mcginn

I imagine there’s more to it than you are lead to believe. Some schools make students ask to take their blazer off but I’ve never heard of a blanket ban on taking them off

It's depressingly common. Too many jumped up SLTs high on the power of forcing teenagers to wear unsuitable clothing in all weathers.

I always gave blanket permission for blazers to be removed in my lessons, I couldn't be doing with repeated disruption of pupils asking to remove the daft things.

My ds secondary school had a rule that may half term until end of term there was no require,ent o have your blazer even in school. They could also wear tailored knee length black shorts.

But they were one of the sensible ones around.

Other local schools do uniform injections before entering each class.

I still can understand their argument it's to support learning. Being in the classroom not queuing up to enter would support it better!

The obsession in the uk for uniform is bizarre!

@user1471443411

I agree and I've never been able to understand why so many parents accept it - they say things like the blazer pockets are really useful and their kids love them. In primary, kids are able to take their jumpers off whenever they feel like it, or not go in one at all. You would think in secondary, the children/young people would be given more responsibility and agency but it seems the opposite. I think the idea with the strict blazers type of uniform was to emulate private and grammar schools but what they fail to realise is a) they had top quality wool blazers, not cheap polyester ones made out of plastic bottles b) children then were given agency, they could choose which uniform to wear up to a point and a blazer was just one option. I wonder if things will go full cycle again as they tend to, and the better state schools will tend towards a more casual uniform.

This 100%

I work at a private school and a good London one at that.

The boys have whatever have they like, shoes are just ‘black’ - no one cares about logos or being ‘too trainer like’.

I see them bombing around the corridor with just shirts, ties askew etc.

No one cares.

I hate this. DD doesn't have to wear a blazer but a nice polycotton jumper or cardigan unless the head decides it's hot enough to take them off.

It's an old building without airconditioning. Teachers (female) wear short sleeve dresses, male teacher do wear jackets and ties but according to DD, leave the jacket in the staff room.

One of the many reasons I don't believe in school uniforms.

I can't see how having such strict uniform policies will enable or encourage students to learn any better. Something needs to change.

If my kids school was that stupid (they're not), I'd challenge the rules on health and safety grounds. And they would have to backtrack one way or another, because the position is legally untenable.

I'm a teacher and a parent of secondary school age dc, and I'm not a fan of uniform at all, especially draconian uniform rules which serve no practical purpose.

However... if I had a pound for every student who claimed to have been put into isolation for 'just' taking off a blazer or 'just' when actually they did something else worse too, or gave a load of attitude when politely reminded to follow the rules, I'd be a very rich woman.

Nope. It's ridiculous and unpleasant. I was a secondary school teacher before DS and in my classroom I did not enforce rules which made their experiences unpleasant, unless they were there for their safety. Luckily, we were largely left alone by senior management and we managed it by very much maintaining the line of, "these are the rules in my classroom, you do other teachers the courtesy of of following their rules in their classrooms" with the students. It seems to work ok. I know that won't sit perfectly with everyone but teachers and students are also humans beings. Teachers have to be allowed to use their discretion and in my experience the students coped well. Where students had additional needs, we adapted to that.