To think school uniform has had its day

[Grumpybutfunny]

Okay I'm northern like this poor kid, tho not that close to the Scottish border. Is it unreasonable to say, when schools start saying kids should wear an inappropriate coats, just because it is school uniform that its time for parents to fight back.

I've left for work at 7:30 and it has been minus 2-3 all week. When I'm scraping ice off the car, a kid shouldn't be walking to school in a summer fleece with a rain jacket over the top. I've been freezing in my duvet coat.

Uniforms were a great leveller, but in the age of social media they still see what kids are wearing outside of school or what car the parent does the school run in. Surely what's more important is that they are comfortable and warm.

www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/jesmond-park-academys-uniform-policy-26016890

Oh God, the business attire rule, beyond stupid. Either keep them in uniform or don't. Not everyone is destined to be a business person.

Shirts and ties are ridiculous.

The “no coats inside” thing is a safety measure. I’m not into overly strict uniform rules - as long as they are identifiable as part of the school when inside - but I do agree with secondary kids not wearing jackets indoors.

Poor kid. It's horrible to be cold. Schools suck. Their rules are ridiculous. I understand the levelling aspect, but they need to be more accommodating.

School uniform is not leveling though. The kid with the brand new uniform every term is not the same as the kid with the hand me down uniform which is too small.

I feel as though I'm dressing kids in costumes every morning, buttons that are fiddly to do up, a tie on a 4year old! Itchy tights, dresses, cardigans, silly ballet shoes not suitable for the rain. IMO it should be smart looking uniform tracksuits, with some kind of trainers, if there is such a thing, so they can dance, run, toilet themselves easily, and be comfortable. Then the teacher wouldn't have to waste time with changing 20+ infants for half an hour of PE. I think the Chinese do tracksuits.

I love uniform.

My child's primary is pretty relaxed, jumpers don't have to be logo ones. The polo shirts and trousers are cheap in multipacks. There's no argument about what to wear every day. It washes fine and no one really cares if it's perfect.

I appreciate I may change my mind at secondary but for now long may uniform continue.

They do

How is it a safety thing?

school uniforms stink of communism

Brilliant 😂

Very happy with with our schools uniform policy. It's practical and comfortable. All the kids wear much the same so they aren't worrying about what they are wearing. I don't have to think about what they are going to wear during the week and it also means their non uniform clothes don't get as much wear and tear. There are many, many careers that involve having to dress in uniform and present yourself a certain way so school uniform prepares for that as well.

I work in education. Two things happened to me today which reflect on this:

1. I was in a room for a workshop with FE kids today. A load of girls in skirts the size of belts were the main part of the group. It was a tiny room. The only way they could form discussion groups was by crawling under the tables occasionally to reform, otherwise they would have had to move the desks themselves to be able to create a circle of people for discussion. The whole issue of uniform and their silly skirts was as inappropriate as the room.
2. I have just watched the Undercover Ch5 documentary tonight on female harassment. The whole initial part of the programme was about the connection between girls' school uniform and sexual harassment. On that basis alone it feels to me like it needs to go...

I take your point but the difference would be even more obvious if there was no uniform. The kids with the band new uniforms would be in different outfits everyday of the week, multiple pairs of shoes/trainers. Whilst the kids in the hand me downs would be wearing the same things over and over and over.

I know the school, I'd rather home my kids than send them there and I despised lockdown for that very reason Just because it's Jesmond doesn't mean it's decent

So is branded and designer clothing expensive but parents don't worry about buying that.

I don't know any schools where uniform isn't a thing where kids turn up in branded & designer stuff.

YANBU, school uniform has had its day. If scjools want to keep anleveller they should do whag my school did and just say everuone has to wewr plain blue and white with no liginor brand name but what exactly you wear is up to you. Easy, practical. Why the fuck are teenage girls in ties and they can’t wear warm coats in winter but have to wear plastic-fibre blazers in a heat wave

Ridiculous. Britain is crap at looking after children.

It’s funny how old-fashioned school uniforms always look when compared to normal everyday attire for adults. When do girls wear ties outside a school environment? (Come to think of it most men don’t either, these days, unless at a shrinking number of very formal social occasions.) And hats - I‘m thinking of the school boater of my teens which nobody ever wore because, being flat on top, it fitted nobody.

I’ve noticed how nurses’ uniforms have evolved from dress and apron with hat, tights and lace up brogues to versions of scrubs - not smart, but very practical. Why shouldn’t schools take the same approach?

They make it easy to see that everyone in the building is a member of the school, just like all school staff need to wear their badge at all times.
I’ve seen - first hand - pupils of rival schools/members of the community coming into school grounds to fight with someone. Maybe not as big a concern for smaller schools where staff would recognise passing pupils, but in large schools it’s a definite concern!

I'm a fan of school uniforms. All the kids at local schools wear coats.

I hardly ever wore a decent coat as a teen.
I now drive to work in a minimum of 5 layers.
Ds has a half hour or so walk to school. He wears a shirt and blazer. If it's pissing down, he will wear a jacket.

I don't think we should entirely lose uniform, but the blazer/tie/shirt combination is bollocks. I like to wear a blazer and will give up heels when my knees give up. But I recognise that I'm an anomaly.

I take your point but the difference would be even more obvious if there was no uniform. The kids with the band new uniforms would be in different outfits everyday of the week, multiple pairs of shoes/trainers. Whilst the kids in the hand me downs would be wearing the same things over and over and over.

I disagree, I think when kids grow up wearing their own clothes at school there is less emphasis on what you are wearing.

Agree with you OP. It's additional expense and the kids grow so fast.

What this is really about is headteachers of shit schools trying to make the school look posh.

How any adult can confiscate a winter coat from a child who’s recovering from Strep A and flu, while wearing a thick winter coat themselves, is beyond me. What total scum.

Its a myth that non uniform schools have an inequality problem. America mostly has non-uniform schools, Europe mostly has non-uniform schools, I went to a non-uniform school in UK and it wasn’t a problem. No bullying about clothes. It’s a myth promoted by thick people who don’t have the balls to admit “but I think making my son wear a tie makes me look posh.”.

Schools need to focus more on teaching and the welfare of their students rather than the colour of their coats.