Teachers should have to follow the same rules

[RhaenysRocks]

Just seen yet another fb post about a schools banning skirts. Cue lots of comments about teachers shouldn't be allowed to wear them then either. Ditto make up, nail varnish etc. AIBU to think this just shows how ridiculously petty and narrow minded many adults are and that if that's the message coming from home then it's not surprising the behaviour in schools is so poor?

This isn't a debate about if skirts / make up should or shouldn't be allowed but the level of thinking that ends up with those comments. Can adults really not appreciate the difference between professional, qualified adults having latitude in what they wear (and many schools are actually very strict about dress code for staff) and children following a uniform code they've agreed to when they join?
So, YABU it's a valid comment
YANBU It shows a lack of maturity and thinking skills in parents that contributes to discipline issues in school.

the skirt ban may be for upskirting. But i do feel that if there is a ban on skirts, there must be a ban on skirts for everyone.

Agree with pp that if a school wants to say "no make up because it leads to behaviour issues in pupils" that is fine. No yoga pants for pupils? yeah, no yoga pants for anyone.

If schools have reasonable rules for pupils it is no issue. But this entire "preparing for the world of work" is bullshit and they know it.

To be fair in 25 years I have never felt the need to wear a skirt so short you can see my arse cheek. Hence why I should be trusted to wear what's decent.

I think the move to trousers for all is wrong, but some girls do wear their skirts ridiculously short - this is not about disrupting boys but about wearing what is appropriate for the situation. Wear things as short as you like in free time but work/school/ formal situations need a more respectable approach.

walking up the stairs behind a girl when you can see full thong is not a pleasing experience - even as a woman I am almost scared to speak to girls about this as the mouthful of abuse (from
some) about being a 'perv' or 'nonce' is career ending.

Teachers are in the workplace , kids are in school.

I am a primary teacher but did some phonics tutoring in a secondary school for a couple of years. When I first arrived and was sitting in reception I was level with students’ legs and I did not know where to look! The skirts were so short and it was indecent.

I could not agree with you more

I think it's a fair point. Whilst there may be differences some principles should be led by example. At my daughter's school they aren't allow to wear branded socks (of all things). But the PE teachers do. They aren't allowed a skirt above the knee, but teachers are.

I fully support things like no phones (when of course it is reasonable for a teacher to have one) but some of the rules they have are petty and hard to justify when the adults dont feel they need to.

I think this is reasonable if the reason for the rule can be justified ... but often the rule isn't. Im not sure we should be encouraging blind following of rules ... critical thinking is good too.

As long as they are teaching well...
Adults going to work will have a different set of rules to children. This is not dependent on whether Jonny Xs mum thinks he or she is a good teacher FFS.

Me too.

Ex teacher

all the schools I have ever worked in have had a dress code for teachers and if you repeatedly broke it you’d be having a conversation with your boss.

one school brought in house hoodies which honestly I loved as every day I wore black trousers, plain colour T shirt and house hoodie. I effectively was wearing the school uniform.

unfortunatrly we got a new head who wanted blazers etc and the house hoodies got banned.

This was actually stated in an email to parents from our head teacher. Following uniform rules is shown to increase educational performance. I agree children do have to learn to accept rules they don’t like, but there are plenty of those without worrying how long your hair is.

This would really annoy me , if 'unnaturally' coloured hair not ok for a kid for a special occasion why is multi coloured ok for the teacher , under the same roof , simply unfair .
I cannot stand stupid petty school rules regarding uniform , safety issues ie multiple piercings, long false nails, heels (does anyone wear heels now !) yes but others ... schools need to choose their battles and concentrate on teaching not punishing when a kids shirt isn't tucked in.
As regards trousers for girls, not so many years ago it would have been skirts only allowed !
Although i get enraged with the aforementioned i do agree that gobby parents who mouth off to the school and /or in the press mostly do come across as lacking in intelligence and with little strength to their argument.

The dress code for the academy chain I worked for, forbade open toed shoes in summer and cardigans at any time. We had to have a jacket on the back of a classroom chair ready to slip on if we had to meet a parent or visitor

So you believe it’s more important for Mrs Jones to have blonde hair than to be a good teacher?

As a teacher, I hope if I wore a skirt with my bum cheeks hanging out, or walked around with my shirt untucked looking scruffy, my line manager would have a word with me. I hope if I couldn’t afford proper shoes or a jumper, my SLT would pick up on it and provide items for me to wear. These are the usual ‘oppressive’ uniform policies people on mumsnet complain about.

Teachers can also vote & have to pay taxes. Kids don't. It's a daft argument to compare kids and teachers.

Teachers are adults who were also subject to the same uniform rules when they were kids themselves at school. 🤷‍♂️

The kids who don't like uniforms will one day grow up & not have to wear one either (unless their job specifically demands it e.g police). Some may even become teachers...

It just always seems so ridiculous & infantile to say teachers have to abide by the same rules as the kids they teach.

If you’re a teacher and think a teenager will have ANY respect for you if you discipline them for - say - having blue hair whilst sporting blue hair yourself you are displaying the characteristics of a bully and a hypocrite who should be nowhere near the education of young people .

Leading by example is the most important way decent people influence those they have the privilege to teach .

We don’t ( rightly ) allow teachers to smoke nor drink alcohol at school despite them being ‘adults who can do those things ‘.
One reason being it would model / normalise those behaviours to young people .
My own kids fwiw went to school in Europe where mutual respect was maintained between teachers and students without a uniform in sight .
Everyone managed to wear comfortable, weather appropriate clothing .
Educational outcomes were excellent.

If that is true, the message we are giving our daughters is that their choice of clothes must be made to protect themselves from boys breaking the law. I.e. it’s a woman’s responsibility to stop a man from abusing them. How the f”!k are we still
here in 2026?

The reason to have the same strictness (not same specific clothing) for teachers is because the argument given to the pupils is that uniform us required to prepare them for the workplace (even though it actually more about conformity). So if the person telling you that is at work at that moment in more relaxed clothes it makes an immediate liar out of them, and that undermines trust and everything else they say….

Personally I hate seeing girls in trousers at school - that's just me. But equally I see the reasoning - the way they wear their skirts is ridiculous.
At the school DH teaches at the skirts are made in such a way that the length can't be altered. The girls look very smart.

I don't think this follows, we wouldn't allow teachers to smoke or drink alcohol in school, in front of the children, because they're supposed to set an example.

If there is something wrong with short skirts, or make up then the teachers shouldn't be wearing them either. If not then no need for a rule.

I never was a fan of rules for their own sake to learn to follow the rules. I think it helps form the opinion that rules are arbitrary, not there for a good reason, which breeds, in fact, a lack of respect for authority.

I absolutely respect and value education. And teachers for that matter.

I think teachers have earned the right to wear what they want by virtue of adulthood and professional exams.

I expect them to dress professionally but not uniformly.

The new government guidance which is about uniforms will make more schools pick fewer options as they are only going to be allowed to specify a certain number of items.

I don’t think the uniform rules are to prepare for the world of work. They are to create an equal environment where pupils can concentrate on learning, instead of worrying what they are wearing.
It’s designed to create an element of equality. It’s supposed to be a professional environment. It’s not saying ‘this is what you will wear to work’. It’s saying ‘this is a school, we are here to learn. It’s not a nightclub or a beach or a gym’.

It also removes the issues of bullying or name calling if you aren’t wearing the right ‘brand’ (which I can remember from school, and happened to DD at primary). It removes the issues of pupils wearing inappropriate clothes (eg underwear on show). I don’t want to see pupil’s pants thank you (boys or girls).

I am aware other countries don’t have uniforms, and manage fine. It would be a nice idea if we could do that too without the issues above.

And the uniform rules don’t apply to teachers because they 1. They are adults and don’t behave like children and 2. Most schools do have a dress code for teachers anyway

Schools shouldn't have uniforms, both pupils and teachers should be held to basic standards of dress, with some differentiation between adults and children.

Teachers in the UK are completely weird about uniform. Modernisation is long long overdue.

ETA: banning skirts is ridiculous, IMO.

I don’t think the uniform rules are to prepare for the world of work. They are to create an equal environment where pupils can concentrate on learning, instead of worrying what they are wearing. This is just nonsense. Uniforms are about controlling young people.

Students in other countries without uniforms have no concentration issue.