Is uniform in Girlguides compulsory?

[GirlGuidesUniform]

8yo DD.

I work on Brownies night, so I get her from after school club (who feed her for me), then she takes off school cardigan and wears the Brownies hoodie on top of her uniform for the meeting - she then has a clean school uniform the next day.

She does have a tshirt she wears for weekend events and camps and also a cap she uses for school. Also if a message comes out for full uniform, for example at Christmas when they sang in town or in summer when they did a walk around town I always try and work around it (e.g. the walk around town I asked if she could wear her school trousers and asked the TA running ASC very very nicely if DD could change into her tshirt and hoodie before I picked her up but they can’t do this all the time as the club is open until 6pm and is packed until then so they can’t be changing 50+ kids clothes all the time)

Brown Owl is now saying DD needs to be in proper uniform from after Easter. I asked what this meant and she said brownies tshirt (either long or short sleeve), brownies hoodie or gilet and either brownies trousers or brownies shorts.

I am happy to buy shorts and/or trousers for events but if she has to wear full uniform every week she’ll have to give up, which seems unfair as she absolutely loves Brownies. This is the only group that I can get her to, as it starts at 6pm, I finish work at 5pm and then have 30 minutes commute on public transport, then a walk to the school. If we went home first to change we’d be late for Brownies which I’ve done a few times when unavoidable but DD hates being late.

I’m a single parent so no other help. I drive but don't currently have a car as due to COL I just can't afford it.

This is the only out of school activity DD does due to me working so much so seems a shame to make her give it up.

Is the uniform compulsory? I always thought that the way we did it was fine, but happy to be told wrong

Crikey … when I was a Brownie we had to wear full uniform and have the correct items in our pockets, including a clean handkerchief in an envelope and a 10p for the telephone… and we were inspected! Occasionally we could wear our own clothes if it was a particular event.😏Sorry, I know that’s not helpful to the situation.

There are GirlGuiding branded uniform and stuff from David Luke that’s made under licence. I’ve found the David Luke stuff comes up much smaller and better proportioned than the GG stuff.

Alternatively an alteration service to take them in?

Established brownie packs will often have a small supply of spare uniform as parents kindly donate it when their daughter has left. They don't get much wear and even less so over the pandemic so could you ask if they have any? Also, there are often used and like new ones on ebay. It's lovely that your daughter enjoys brownies (I used to be a leader) and I am sure that there will be a way to get her kitted out at little or no cost and that she could change at brownies rather than be late. Perhaps another parent could help out with transport? I hope leaders are understanding and she can carry on having fun there

She's 8, unless she's got SEN, she should be able to get herself changed into Brownie uniform in the toilets?

Brown Owl here. Speak to your leader. They might be able to source smaller uniform. If they aren't aware themselves the information is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-for-volunteers/running-your-unit/uniform-and-clothing/inclusive-uniform/

Alternatively, buy the leggings in the smallest size and take in the waist (or ask someone else to) which is what I had to do for my daughter.

Your after school club sound really unhelpful. She doesn't need supervising at 8 and they know who she is even if she's not in the school uniform, what happens on non uniform days, their argument is illogical. Could she change at school when you go to collect her if there's no toilets at the hut and the ASC are so inflexible?

That seems quite exclusive and disappointing of brownies. Surely inclusivity and enabling children to attend is more important than the colour of their t-shirts.

We tried both of those - her polo is David Luke and she can get away with it, but the arms on the hoodie were ridiculous (to the point we couldn’t even roll them up or anything 🤣) the leggings were too big at the waist and also for length - to get the length to fit, we had to hold them to her armpits. It’s a significant difference!

Seems odd that they only start at size 7, tbh!

Ask Brown Owl about second hand uniform if the cost of leggings is putting you off. If she doesn't keep any then one of the other units in the district certainly will.

Once the summer comes she'll be in a t shirt rather than the hoodie anyway.

It'll take 2 minutes for her to slip on stretchy trousers and a t shirt, and they won't have to worry about getting her school trousers dusty.

Please don't make sweeping generalisations.

As far as I can see I am the only actual Brownie leader currently on this thread and I have said that it isn't a huge deal. It's generally a much bigger deal in Scouting. However, we are a uniformed organisation and therefore we have a uniform and Brownies should make an effort to attend in it.

The shortest length are still at least 15cm too long.

When I spoke to the leaders they said they’d look into it and I’ve not heard back yet; but I’m going to contact them via that link as she is definitely more than 5cm under the smallest size. Thank you!

Mine do guides and beavers. The only part of the uniform they’re expected to wear is the jumper/hooded top. I’ve never heard of the trousers, seems like an unnecessary expense. My kids do have the t shirts but lots don’t have them.

Non-standard sizing: Go to the guide shop and ask them to put in a special order: they can get extra small and extra large sizes especially made. Your leaders won't be able to help you with this, but the shop manager will. Be aware that the shops are often manned by volunteers who don't know all the details, but should be able to get the manager to call you to discuss. The non-standard size won't cost any more but unless they are expecting a shipment anyway you might have to pay a postage fee.

Whether you're a uniformed group or not. The issue is that a little girl already doesn't get as much extracurricular activities as many others her age. Her mum works really hard to keep the bills paid and her daughter happy.

She doesn't have time to do a uniform swap - so why anyone would enforce this is beyond me. There should be a policy that allows for individual cases. I'm not saying all leaders have the same view, but there's clearly a problem if the OP is being made to feel guilty for not being able to change her daughter's trousers from one pair into another.

It misses the whole point of socialising - the uniform makes zero difference. The workers showing compassion and understanding is much more impactful for young people.

My DD used to do ballet then straight across the road to Brownies! It took me seconds to stick her Brownies uniform on her - we would just use a quiet corner of the hall. Surely they would be ok with that?

I always thought only the t shirt was compulsory
I was lax as a Brown owl on this

As a former leader I'd never have pressured the girls to wear full uniform. The top or hoody would suffice and we would have helped with funds if that was an issue. My daughters both attend guiding units and neither is in full uniform and never has that been suggested! Again just the tops if possible. I'm very surprised about this.

I was a GGuide over forty years ago, and I remember falling out with the unit Guider because I was wearing a royal blue skirt when it should have been navy blue. My parents couldn't afford to buy me a navy blue skirt that I would only wear for two hours per week; the royal blue skirt itself was secondhand. We argued because I felt it was (1) close enough to the colour and (2) surely Guiding is about what you do and how you act, rather than what you wear. I didn't win the battle and my parents backed me leaving. (Tbf, they were always mightily p'd off at having to wait until 9:10 for me to come out because the Guider "couldn't tell the time" and ran things late.)

when I was a Brownie we had to wear full uniform and have the correct items in our pockets, including a clean handkerchief in an envelope and a 10p for the telephone

Yep. The tunic and little velcro fastened necktie thing. But the required items were in a purse that looped onto the belt, not in pockets. I remember having to have a needle and thread in there too.

I know there has to be some modernisation and wotnot but I do think the new leggings and hoodie stuff looks shit compared to the proper old uniform. Would love DD to have been in the old one.

I do Brownies and Scouts. Both are uniformed organisations but I’m afraid I’m very much in the camp that it’s really not a big deal for weekly meetings, especially bottom half. I’d rather the kids turned up and joined in wearing civvies than did t turn up at all or didn’t enjoy it.

Ive just looked on the website and they now stock the hoodie from size 3-4! When I checked before (in December) the smallest size was 7! Yay!

OntheNosecco I’ve found the uniform, definitely the hoodie, shrinks if tumble dried 🤦‍♀️ so could you try that - or ask your Brown Owl if they have any shrunken second hand stuff?

Ah cross posted!

Please don’t pull her out for this reason. Speak to brown owl. Any decent guide leader will help you come up with a solution.
Where do the brownies go to the loo during meetings? 3 minutes late cos she’s getting changed is also not a big deal.

The old one was horrid looking. Granted, the colours for brownies are definitely bottom tier colour choices, but I’d much rather my daughter wore something practical to allow her to do the activities comfortably than something designed to look “smart”