To think this was inappropriate work attire?

[Catchyouontheflipside]

Dc’s school (not my place of work).

One of the teachers (year 1) was wearing a very short skirt and tights. The skirt barely covered her backside.

Nothing wrong with the outfit for outside of work, or a different work environment but something about it just seemed wrong in a primary school.

AIBU to think this isn’t really suitable for the classroom?

No, I'm not making huge personal assumptions, I'm remembering the Head getting visibly annoyed at an induction event when a new teacher was wearing jeans and trainers and every other new teacher wore smart outfits. The Head said 'This is a professional environment and as such, we dress professionally'. I would not turn up to school wearing a strappy top displaying my midriff even if it were very hot, for example, because that is inappropriate (I don't think it's just my opinion). We are encouraged to wear 'business wear'. In a nearby private school, this means wearing a jacket outside of the classroom. This was also the guideline in a local state school.

You say you were involved in devising a school's dress code: I would be interested in reading what this entailed as a union rep. I have never worked in a school with a formal dress code-tricky to enforce, possibly? Sane rules eg no flip-flops/open sandals in the Science labs was one fairly strictly upheld guideline in one school.

Where does the OP say that underwear was visible, let alone the colour and style of the underwear? Why are you jumping to conclusions with your weird misogynistic agenda? How can you say a standard style of underwear is not wholesome? Vile

Totally inappropriate behaviour!
I hope this teacher was able to teach wearing a skirt ffs 🤦🏽‍♀️

How short are we really talking here? For eg my mum would say any skirt is showing your bum but actually it's just average length for a shorter skirt than a midi. So I'm curious as to whether it was actually at bum length. I do think if you've opaque tights on a shorter skirt is fine if it comes halfway down the thigh for example.

I’m a teacher and if it really was that short then no, not appropriate work wear.

How infantile.

Oh come on. There are plenty of lower paid roles where professional attire is expected.

Yes totally creepy and why did you think it appropriate to ask a man if your skirt was too short anyway!

How old are the children? Do you seriously think they are going to be sexualising their teacher? What about 60s fashions and mini skirts?

OMG! I'm old but it really seems we are moving into a Neo Victorian era. A few weeks ago there was a post about a woman who was outraged that a man had spoken to her!

@200degrees Thong wearers have more genital warts and yeast infections than average. With skirts so short, any passerby can see their underwear.

60s minis were generally not quite as short as the barely arse covering ones of today. I went to primary school in the 60s and although some of the female teachers did wear short skirts they were no longer than three or four inches above the knee.

You say you were involved in devising a school's dress code: I would be interested in reading what this entailed as a union rep. I have never worked in a school with a formal dress code-tricky to enforce, possibly? Sane rules eg no flip-flops/open sandals in the Science labs was one fairly strictly upheld guideline in one school

I was the union rep, and sorry, since I'm retired I deleted everything (just had a look) so will have to work from memory. The science lab footwear was easy, but footwear eventually covered heel height and a ban on slip-ons -OHS concerns, all backed up by numerous accidents evidence. Clothes had to be very carefully worded so as not to discriminate ever between men and women. This is crucial. Also never to make part of the policy objectives a link to pupil uniform, the two completely separate.
Shoulders covered, no see-through, no slogans on T-shirts. Can't remember how they got round the cleavage issue, but it can be done by stipulating no tops below a certain level chest, etc. Again, care to avoid gender-specific clothing names. No denim of any kind. All clothing clean and in good repair (no ripped stuff). Skirt length not mentioned at all. Too long is as much of an issue as too short.

It takes ages to get right, but well worth doing to make it stick. A dress code, properly devised is a perfectly reasonable school requirement in my opinion. Lots of consultation because of the limits of "commonsense". Enforcing it? it would be entirely an SLT issue, never at HOD/HOY level.

Nothing wrong with the outfit in itself but what it suggests about the person.

Wholesomeness is a good thing.

@BellePeppa
'...I find myself keep coming back'?
Hmm, it's 'I' not 'myself'.
I wish people would use "myself' and "yourself' in the correct context.

We have glamorous teachers and bag lady types. I prefer the former. A teacher who looks like they slept in their clothes really don't inspire confidence either

That depends what you mean by wholesome. It has two quite different applications, one about health, the other about morality.

Neither is anyone's else's business.

I don't think I've ever worked in any office where that would have been ok. And working with younger kids I would think it could be really inconvenient as well.

You can get away with a shorter skirt with thick opaque tights, but not that short.

One post and then whooosh! Off you go @Catchyouontheflipside and don't submit any more posts! Nothing to see here.

Oh you sound fiercely jealous. That's all.

Difficult to bend down with such a short skirt. Not suitable for a working environment. I know plenty of women teachers and they don't dress like that for work. A skirt just above the knee is fine, or trousers.

Our school had a dress code that ensured that when bending over low tables, we remained decent (though it wasn't put in those terms). So no low neck tops and no short skirts. Other than that it was quite liberal. We could wear jeans for instance.

So yes, a skirt barely covering the bum when standing up is, tights or not, going to be revealing when bending over a primary school table. So yes, unprofessional.

Also surprised by responses - fwiw I personally wouldn’t care at all. But if a teacher came on here saying someone called her short skirt inappropriate, all the replies would be YABU

yuck - which thong wearer hurt you for you to post such nonsense?

it’s not possible for “any passer-by” to see through someone’s clothing and detect their underwear. The skirt might be mini length, but it would still cover the thong by virtue of being a layer of clothing sitting over the underwear. You seem to have a weird complex here and I hope you seek therapy and get help x

Teachers wonder why they aren't respected as professionals. Then they come to work wearing miniskirts. Parents say it isn't professional. Teachers say it's none of the parents business what they wear.

Primary school teachers need to be able to sit on the floor without showing their knickers.

Year 1. It was in the op

🙂