To think the mandatory logo school items need to stop?

[BagelwithPhiladelphiaz]

Exactly this.

I have just paid £76 for the mandatory PE kit for my DD’s senior school. Including items such as striped rugby socks, which are mandatory for some reason for all PE lessons, rugby or not.

This is before I spend £44 on a blazer, plus the uniform items that she actually needs as well as shoes, bag etc

Next I will order the mandatory items for my primary school children. Cheaper at £14 for a jumper (need a few though to wash, and they also tend to disappear in school despite being named) and £5 for PE t-shirt. This school isn’t so strict about it being mandatory but nearly all the DC have logo ones, so ones who don’t stand out, and they are needed for sports day/school photo day anyway.

None of these items are especially good quality. With secondary, we are restricted to one local supplier and the man who owns the shop is bloody rude, which adds insult to injury.

The blazer, perhaps fair enough I think as they look quite smart, but is £44 really the best price school could find? The other items.. especially the PE kits where we could easily buy very similar items without the logo, are they necessary? Especially as we have a winter coming where some people won’t be able to pay bills.

(The secondary did have a “free second hand clothes rail” for all, at some point, but when I phoned to ask they were very vague about when it would be. I have a friend whose children are on pupil premium- no subsided option for them -
and she managed to find out what day this was but went to find the second hand uniform she found some shabby items that weren’t in her DC’s size, and no PE items.)

@DimitriMendeleev

That’s why coats and bags should be compulsory logoed items in my view. All pupils at the DCs’ school have the same school bag, coat and PE bags, so there is no competition there.

It is for people who don’t have £500 to spare.

cost of uniform should not be a factor when choosing state schools.

I think it's because when a school is failing they can stick it with an academy chain, reopen as Caramac Academy with shiny new signs and a fancy uniform and pretend that the underlying issues will magically disappear.

Absolutely no need for logo-Ed items.

in fact to get round the competition thing they should be strictly plain black/plain navy.

4 pairs of shoes for one child? Shouldn't it be two pairs?

@Florenz yes £500 is too much in fact even £250 is pushing it; if you have a NMW job and 2 children it should not be possible for state schools to exclude children on the basis that parents can't afford uniform or its replacement £500 per child is £10 a week, that is more than some folks food budget per person, just look at threads about feeding a family of 4 for £40ish

having parents on benefits or on NMW should not exclude you from even applying to a decent school and not being able to replace it if stolen or damaged for fun by another kid should not see you in detention or internal exclusion until your parents can beg or borrow the money to get you back in the classroom because you had the wrong socks or your trousers are too short or you are wearing trainers as your shoes split as they could only afford ASDA ones to start with and now can't even afford ASDA relacements

one decent waterproof jacket £30, a decent pair of shoes £50, a pair of trainers £30, 2 pairs of school trousers £15, 3 white shirts £12, 2 jumpers £25, 5 pairs of socks £10, school tie £5 PE joggers £15, pe Tshirt £5 is almost £200 that is a minimum at ASDA price and for those on some benefits a clothing grant might cover 50% add on stationery, a school bag maybe an extra jumper or needing 5 shirts and it's £250

Thankfully, local charity shop here has second hand uniform, plus on the local Facebook group some parents kindly offer second hand uniform for free.
it all helps.

I really don't mind the stuff for my son's school.

It's a very diverse area and I think it helps that all the kids have essentially the same clothes.

Even better the school have made sure the stuff is really good quality. His jumpers from this year still look brand new. It's all gender neutral as well so DD will be wearing all of it when she starts next year.

The PTA also run a second hand swap if any family needs it.

I’ve seen schools demand black school shoes, indoor gym trainers, outdoor gym trainers and football/rugby boots.

It absolutely sucks. I bought dds uniforms and even the school skirt has to come from the uniform shop, no other navy pleated skirt will do.
The PE kit is all logoed. I can understand if dd s were in a team, but they’re not. Why can’t they wear T-shirt, shorts and own socks to run around in?
With all the uniforms coming from the specific uniform shop it’s adding up to near £400.

A bag is not just a bag though. One suitable for walking a shirt distance able and able to carry folders and musical instruments or pe kit, wont necessarily be of use to a kid who cycles and needs a bag big enough to hold everything.

If you have a long walk to school you want one that's waterproof and distributes weight evenly.

Like fuck should schools dictate bags amd coats
As if kids like mine who walk over a mile and a half have the same bag and coat needs as someone who gets dropped off by bus or car

Yes it's totally ridiculous. It should be back to all plain items and schools distinguished by a single school tie. Nothing more is needed.

It's an absolute scandal of a money spinner for the friends of the academies and a total waste of money for the parents.

Uniform is just BS. I thoroughly disagree with it. In the 80s at state primary it was not compulsory and we managed to learn.

This last term with the heatwave DC were able to wear own clothes by school decree and the children learnt as usual (well maybe not with the heat but you see my point).

Secondary school uniform is a bugbear. Thankfully ours is reasonably inexpensive and I bought some non branded PE items and nobody said anything but blazers? Why are they needed? To get them ready for work? What nonsense, most offices are going casual, universities are casual.

I helped start a used uniform shop at DC's school. If we have to have it then at least make it super cheap, raise school funds and help reduce waste. We have made it clear to the HT that if a family is in need, we will make a uniform parcel, no questions asked.

I think school uniform teaches an important lesson.

There are loads of jobs and professions where you have to wear certain clothes. Either for safety, cleanliness or branding. Sometimes you have to wear certain things in certain situations.

It's the shoe thing that gives me the biggest rage.

People complain kids are lazy and don't walk enough. They complain about pollution and traffic around schools as parents drop their offspring at the door.

Meanwhile schools are forcing horrible, stiff formal shoes onto kids feet. Encourage them to wear trainers and walk/run to school.

DS has the most awkward shaped feet. He's worn cheap black non flashy trainers to primary school for the last 2 years.

I've just spent : full days trying every pair of Clarks, Start Rite, M&S, supermarket shoes. Most of them won't even get on his foot due to his ridiculously high instep.

@Twizbe I don't buy that line of thinking.

DH, who grew up without uniform overseas and now works in a profession that requires a uniform, has managed to adapt without problems.

Often professions that require a uniform require a number of years of university study. Said students do not wear uniform except on placement perhaps.

It's a ludicrous, outdated concept. I cannot see any advantages. Children know who has money with or without uniform.

I've just spent : full days trying every pair of Clarks, Start Rite, M&S, supermarket shoes. Most of them won't even get on his foot due to his ridiculously high instep

I hear you. Dd2 inherited my wonky feet. She does better ( we all do) in ankle boots. More support. Less chance if ankles rolling so much. I'm secretly hoping that when we get our referral to the physio therapist they will suggest boots might be better and we can tell school where to stick their shoe rules.

Although I doubt I'd be that lucky. We are a family with awkward feet. Who fare much better in ankle boots than shoes.

Try Geox shoes for awkward feet

...but the £500 isn't to ensure the quality of the school , or the education your child receives.

If you choose to pay for private school you pay for (often, but not necessarily) smaller classes, or better ratio of staff: pupils, better range of clubs etc, newer or better range of facilities and (probably) networking opportunities.

With state school you are often allocated the nearest school without it being an active choice. A state education is free that is why its not OK to effectively exclude some lower income families by having unnecessarily expensive uniform.

And whilst it's good that lots of schools have 2nd hand sales or sell on fb market place, that should not be a family's only choice of affording a uniform. It's often pot luck (and time consuming) to find each item needed, in the right size, from a place that you are able to get to, to collect from....when it would be a lot easier to pick up a correct size pair of trousers or polo shirt from matalan or the supermarket.

very few countries in the EU have any school uniform at all though there are some dress codes and requirements in Scandinavia children go outside unless below -25C so they need proper warm and waterproof clothing and footwear, in france there are rules about religious attire, Germany, Austria and Italy has been anti uniform of any type for schools since WWII,
we really do not need anything at all other than a colour scheme and sensible dress code

I just don't see the fuss.

I spent less over all on clothes for DS since he's started school as he doesn't need so much. Being in uniform 5 days a week is a huge help for that.

I'd be more pissed off if I had to buy expensive but bad quality. But as it is, when DD starts she just needs a bag and a tie from the branded bits.

I've got friends who are at schools with more lax uniform and they have to buy way more uniform because a lot of the unbranded stuff from supermarkets just falls apart or fades.

When my dc were at primary I always bought their grey uniform from M&S. Superb quality that would often last 2 academic years if I bought a size up. The logo jumper I bought from the PTA shop for £16 bobbled after a few washes.

God. How do people in countries without uniform cope when they grow up and have to wear safety equipment or uniform? It must blow their unprepared minds and cause psychological trauma.

Some people come up with some right bullshit to justify uniform. Its either a tool to use on a power trip over kids or a tool to stop the riff raff applying.

DS can wear either logoed or unlogoed tops to school. I buy both - partly because he is self conscious about it and partly because I can't afford to fork out on just the branded stuff with the state he comes home in after school.

The supermarket polos and jumpers last longer and don't fade as much as the logoed stuff which he wears in equal measure. Thats the thing that really pisses me off. The logoed stuff really isn't better quality and is extortionate. If you were getting the quality to match it wouldn't be so gaulling.

Not unreasonable at all. I hate uniform. If you want them in uniform you provide it. Any workplace that wants staff in uniform provides it so schools should be no different. All this rubbish about how it stops bullying etc it doesn’t. You can spot the kid wearing a jumper that’s been through four other siblings first a mile off.