Uniform restrictions for girls vs boys

[Wwfan]

Are most uniform restrictions weighted towards girls?

We’ve received the following email today. They don’t say girls but from what I can work out it’s only girls (or those who identify as girls) who wear the items listed.

I fully support uniform and don’t show an inch of eye rolling to my kids! They know the rules are the rules.

But when I get these sorts of emails I think it really highlights the disparity.

I’ve just realised too that when I click on the uniform link (that I’ve removed from the cut and paste below) that the school trouser girls can wear must have the school badge on (so school uniform shop) whereas the boys trousers must be grey from a school supplier (eg M&S etc)!

Dear Parents and Carers,

We are writing to remind families of our school uniform expectations and to seek your continued support in ensuring that students attend school dressed appropriately and in line with our published uniform policy:

REDACTED

Recently, we have experienced increasing issues with students wearing non-permitted items, particularly black leggings and flared trousers, which are not part of the school uniform.
As a result, we are reaffirming that leggings are not permitted as part of school uniform. Students should wear standard school trousers or skirts and change into appropriate PE kit for lessons.
Trousers and Flares
We would also like to remind parents that flared trousers are not allowed. Trousers must be of a traditional school style and fit appropriately.
Skirt Length
Skirts must be of an appropriate length, in line with our uniform policy. This expectation is in place to safeguard both students and staff, ensure comfort and dignity and maintain a professional learning environment.
Half Term – Time to Make Corrections
To support families, we expect that any required uniform corrections are made over the half-term period. This will ensure that students return to school on Tuesday 24th February dressed correctly, allowing learning to begin promptly and without unnecessary disruption.
From this point onwards, uniform expectations will be consistently enforced in line with school policy.
We appreciate that uniform conversations can be challenging, but consistency between home and school is vital. Your support helps us maintain high standards, reduce disruption to learning and ensure that expectations are applied fairly to all students.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and support.

Girls push the boundaries of clothing more than the boys

I would agree that girls should be allowed to wear standard m&s // Asda trousers although you may find it tricky to ge simple trousers with a female fit

I don't believe that legally they can have "boys" and "girls" uniform.
So just buy grey school trousers from an official school selection (like M+S).

God, why are British schools so obsessed with uniforms! French and Canadian and American schools cope without. Off the top of my head.

Safeguard students and staff... 🤨

Locally, I see boys coming home from school in shirt sleeves, minus tie, jumper blazer etc. I see girls wearing blazers or jumpers, with a skirt short enough that the blazer is longer than the skirt. Today, I saw a girl with tights that were more rips than tights.

I agree that girls push the boundaries of uniform more than boys. Supermarkets and high street stores need to stock trousers that are suitable, both for school and for the female form.

Girls try to bring fashion into school uniform whereas boys transgressions don't change much over time.

First response nails it.

Are you sure you haven’t misinterpreted the requirement for girls to wear school branded trousers? The excerpt you’ve pasted says ‘students should wear standard school trousers’ which doesn’t differentiate/ discriminate between boys and girls as indeed it shouldn’t.

I can’t see anything wrong with what they’ve sent. At our school, it’s nearly always the girls pushing the boundaries of uniform.

It’s corporate branding.

They pretend it’s for more reasonable reasons like discipline etc.

Also it’s fairly impractical- too hot for summer, too cold for winter.

YABU. You are fussing over nothing. They are re-iterating the uniform policy. No leggings and no flared trousers.

So if you have a child that wears flared trousers or legging then get them the correct uniform.

I had a Y11 tutor group a couple of years ago and they were moaning that the uniform policy was sexist as it's too hot to wear trousers in summer. I pointed out that no where on the policy did it state only girls could wear skirts, so they were more than welcome to wear skirts to school in the hot weather as long as they met the regulations. 6 of them did indeed come in wearing skirts!

As I said, I support uniform policy and my child does not have flared trousers or leggings. However the letter and the uniform policy seemed to me to be weighted towards the girls.

That said I can see that girls may push the boundaries more.

With reference to your anecdote, this schools has a girls and boys list for uniform so boys would not be allowed to wear a skirt.

Well yeah obviously it’s weighted towards girls because girls have more options than boys i.e. choice of skirt or trousers and in this instance are clearly violating the trouser policy in a way the boys aren’t in that some girls are wearing leggings/flares but I’m sure if they had boys wearing joggers they’d call that out too. They want standard school trousers or a skirt of a certain length which seems fair enough.

This letter doesn’t differentiate between girls and boys but the uniform policy , (I redacted the link to provide an element of anonymity) does differentiate.

To quote what the policy says specifically about trousers.

Boys

• Charcoal trousers purchased from school supplier

Girls

• Navy blue full-length trousers with school logo purchased from school supplier (not skinny, 3/4-length or boot cut)

I agree with the comments about girls pushing boundaries more.

I can see the link now.

(Also when I’ve looked again the uniform policy on the website is quite literally twice as long for girls than boys!)

Yeah, that was the bit that jumped out at me 😧

I think school supplier means the official school supplier, not M&S, Tesco etc as you have interpreted it.

The official school trousers with logo should be compulsory for boys and girls. I don’t see why boys should be allowed to wear generic trousers.

They don’t. It’s been questioned before. They can wear from M&S etc. My son does and has done and there is no note back when uniform inspections take place.

Yes, there I agree. My son had two pairs for about £16. My daughter’s were £23 for one pair.

They’re definitely more weighted towards girls at our schools but saying that our dses aren’t allowed wear anything other than shirt and jumper in the summer and if they wear anything other than fully black shoes they get sent home!

Its directed at girls because girls are the ones constantly pushing the boundaries, not the boys who generally couldn’t care less.

Trousers should be able to be purchased from any store with the right size and shape, not just one supplier. I would make it law not guidance about which parts of school uniform can be bespoke to the school, and trousers would not be one.

I agree about leggings, only because they are one of the most awful items of clothing ever invented.

Yeah, I didn’t really understand what they meant by that.

yep! Girl’s uniform is usually the most uncomfortable, in my school girls are required to wear more branded items than boys, girls are more often punished for uniform issues, some uniform rules are designed for men (skirt length) and it’s misogyny.
this is one of my most frequent rants

It’s not misogyny to expect girls to dress professionally. It would be totally inappropriate to walk into a work environment with a skirt that’s excessively short.

Not a hill to die on.