Being expected to wear blazers today

[AskMeMore]

DDs school have said they still have to wear blazers to school today. It is very hot here. I have just told her to take it off if she wants to. No way am I indulging the school in this level of ridiculousness.

It's rules for rules sake. Absolutely no logic and no regard for what is best for the student. It's outdated and makes no bloody sense.

Climate change is happening. Summers are going to be hotter now. Schools need to get into the 21st century and introduce climate-appropriate uniforms which are conducive to learning.

It's bonkers. My work is strict - no strappy tops, no denim, no open toe shoes etc but when it's really warm they relax it to dress down (anything goes except offensive t shirts, football shirts and open toes)

Same at my kids school. Kids are allowed to remove them in class if the teacher allows which is 50/50 whether they will say yes or no, but have to put them back on while walking around the school which is being heavily policed by teachers and prefects in corridors 🤨

For once our school have been sensible about it and they've not had to wear them

I wish there were schools within an hour of my area with no uniform. I would absolutely send my DC there instead.

I come from a country where most schools have no uniform. There is far less bullying than in the UK. Children are able to dress for comfort, as they should. Weirdly, they grow into adults who can correctly wear a uniform for work if required...

Bloody waste of resources, money, teacher time, and individuality.

I do wonder if most of the 'they need to get ready for the workplace' folk have been inside many workplaces recently.

I always found ”the need to get ready for the workplace” opinion a bit ridiculous even more when there are countries that somehow manage with sensible dress codes for children yet the UK can’t and with some schools even being unreasonably militant about uniforms.

I think it’s cruel.

Most work places need smart attire. Give your head a wobble.

I do sometimes wonder if these kinds of comments are made by people who’ve actually worked in an office environment in the last 15 years.

Smart casual seems to be the default.

sorry, I basically just parroted what you'd already said.

Ha ha one like mine! His blazers drag down because he puts all his equipment in the pockets as he can’t be bothered to open his bag.

His school said on Monday DC don’t need to wear blazer or tie all week and I’m glad they’ve got some common sense as opposed to older DCs school who would only let them take blazers off when sitting in lessons.

Youngest’s school also used to let them wear PE kit to school and keep it on on PE days which was great as DC didn’t have to get changed in front of others and on hot days, they stayed cooler in shorts, on cold days warm in joggers and fleeces but parents complained as they didn’t want to wash kit so they stopped it.

If enough parents complain, the school may change their stance on keeping blazers on in hot weather OP.

😁It bears repeating!

Corporate environments that are interested in their staff performing well tend to try to make the workplace comfortable...

I used to work in several city banks and DD has recently worked in a big 4 accountancy firm and now a law firm, no one wears blazers or ties anymore unless there’s an high level meeting with clients, most of them are remote anyway and they’re wearing pyjamas/jeans/shorts on their bottom half!

I completely agree. Even in many barristers chambers, which used to be incredibly formal, the only people wearing suits now are those in court that day and the clerks. The barristers are all casually dressed. One chap I know favours shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and deck shoes most days.

So does the third making the choice to wear school jumpers when the actual summer uniform is an open necked, short sleeved, pure cotton blouse. And yet they still wear them.

At the last school I worked at, boys would turn up wearing shiny plastic puffa jackets, insisting they were cold. They were sweating like fish in a binbag. So jumpers and blazers (which would also prevent sunburn, if you try to look on positives) seem tame by that reckoning.

Lots of workplaces have uniform that has to be worn, doesn't matter how hot it is.
Me and DH have to wear long trousers and long sleeved tops.
DH is working outside in it. I'm working inside and outside. We have air conditioning but it's been broken since the hot weather last year! So it may well be shit for the kids but also might prepare them for working life.

It's almost inverse as I see it.

Professions that pay well get staff who dress comfortably and act autonomously.

Jobs that rely on downtrodden task drones who they boss about tell them what to wear and what to do.

It's very unaspirational to target the latter.

That seems perfectly reasonable @ErmWhatever. If a particular classroom is exceptionally warm, a teacher can grant permission to remove blazers. Otherwise, it is right that full uniform is expected.

Yes, because it’s a race to the bottom.

It would never do for schools to model considerate and considered behaviour because perish the thought the children might grow up to be considerate and sensible employers.

Why is it right?

WHO guidelines suggest an upper limit of 24c for a workplace environment but the UK doesn't have a temperature upper and lower limit providing steps are taken to mitigate the cold or the heat. (Just read that on a teaching union page) The 30c talked about on this page, are they actual classroom temperatures? Can the students bring in battery fans? Do the windows open? Obviously clothing should be the first consideration. I would be asking the school how they can plan for the extreme temperatures we experience because we are not set up for them especially in the poorly constructed school buildings.

I'm not sure 'teenagers are irrational so adults responsible for them should get to be as well' is that strong an argument.

I agree with this . A few years since my DC left school now - but I always thought secondary uniform would be better more similar to primary school - maybe a polo shirt and v neck sweater - still quite smart. I felt lucky that DS's school didn't have a blazer, just a sweater, and they could buy the badge separately to sew onto the sweater if preferred, rather than buying the embroidered one. They were always allowed to remove the sweater when it was hot - but the other high school in our town which does have a blazer made the students keep the blazers on, no matter how hot.

Even though most workplaces don't wear 'office' clothes anyway, the logic of having to dress that way at school because you will be required to wear it in future is nonsensical. At age 18/21, I don't think young people would find it a devastating adjustment to have to put on a suit for the first time at that point, just as the young adults in almost every other country seem to cope with the change.

I wasn't really arguing for it, it was more an observation that despite having one of the most relaxed enforcement regimes in the area and a uniform planned to take account of extremes in weather, a significant proportion clearly aren't at the point of expiration, as they have chosen to wear jumpers in 28 Celsius + heat.

I do think the majority of places that have this rule are big chain academies where it's all about power; most of those have a blanket All Staff Must Wear Blazers At All Times rule as well, though. Another place I worked at had that rule until three staff passed out and one threw up at the Parents' Evening after four hours in the conservatory-like sports hall. The rule for both was swiftly abandoned after that.

The DCs’ school have a very fair policy- if the temperature is above 25C, individual class teachers can give permission to remove blazers if a particular classroom is exceptionally warm.

If the temperature is above 30C, permission is given by the headteacher to remove blazers in the canteen, corridors etc.

It is consistent and works well.