To not want to (or be able to afford to) buy the school's logo sweatshirts?

[123andaway]

DS2 and DD attend our local state primary school. In the last few months they have started taking a rather draconian attitute to school uniform.

I completely agree that children should wear uniform, however my gripe is that the school are now insisting the children wear their logo sweatshirts (at £15 each) rather than the equally suitable plain ones from asda/tesco/matalan (at £2 each).

The DCs have always (they're in years 2 and 4) had one logo sweatshirt each, which usually only lasts a day before heading to the washing machine (and I make sure they have for trips so they can be identified if they get lost!) and the rest are made up of the cheaper alternatives - which are much better quality and last far longer!

The school have now said that after xmas, any child not wearing a logo jumper will have their jumper (of cardigan) taken away and be given a logo jumper to wear for the day. A note will be sent home, and the child will loose merit points.

I don't have £60 to buy them new sweatshirts before the start of next term (and I don't see why I should), but I also don't want the DC's to be penalised.

Im pretty sure that primary uniforms can't be made compulsory - is this right?

AIBU?

You're right, primary uniform isn't complusory, but you might have signed a home school agreement to say you'll provide it for your children

I'm fairly sure schools are not supposed to make a profit on uniform sales and allow uniform to be sourced from cheaper suppliers.

What an awful time for the school to decide this as well - there can't be many parents who'd have the cash for new uniform at Christmas

I thought that - that primary schools couldn't insist on uniform. I wonder if there's anywhere you can check that out?

does the school sell used uniform? Some do and it can be cheaper.

I suppose you could go in and say "look, how do you expect me to afford this?" but that would be just too humiliating.

I also heard that uniform was not compulsary.

I do not know if this is at all possible where you are but here there is a shop that does have the patent to saw the local school uniform logo on clothing which means that you can still buy Asda/Tesco tops and then get them embroided there for £3 per item which makes it still much cheaper than the £15 in school.

I do exactly like you though, 1 logo shirt for school trips and school pictures!

Is there a second hand uniform rail that you could get your children a sweatshirt from each, until you can afford new ones ? 15 quid is outrageous, but I do always feel sorry for children who aren't wearing the logo'd sweatshirts, as they do stand out.

I think the school are being unreasonable.
By insisting on expensive uniform, they are effectively making you PAY to attend school.
And taking off merit points is punishing the children for something that is totally outside their control.

I don't see why it would be "humiliating" as Heget thinks to go to school and explain the maths. Why should you be ashamed of not having money to waste?

The school must have a store of spares, probably old lost property or children who left, I'd suggest they should sell those at a large discount.

Depends how you are. For me it is too humiliating to admit to people that I can't afford stuff. I have my mum's voice ringing in my ears "It's one thing to be poor, it's another to be seen to be poor". So I put on my best poker face and pretend prices are ok when inside I'm screaming.

I have always assumed nobody wants to shout from the rooftops that they don't have 2 pennies to rub together.

happy to be corrected. It's not a nice feeling. Nice to know it's not everyone who feels it.

we had this with youngest dd this summer shes in s3 and they have after years of no uniform brought full strict uniform in we told school we weren't buying £19 cardigans that cost £7 in local shops and school were fine as long as she wore the tie, we have found out that since the new head started in November that any child not wearing the logo cardigan or jumper has to take them off in class its a bloody freezing school in the best weather never mind now.

YANBU. Our primary school has a distinctive gold cardigan with the school logo, it costs £12 and washes poorly. DD has a grey (rest of uniform is grey) cardigan, great quality, and most of the time she wears that, although I must say she stands out as most parents send their children in the logoed cardis/sweatshirts. Unfortunately, we do not have the choice of supermarkets and Matalan as nobody stocks gold! So far, nobody has said anything, I think they take a fairly relaxed view as perhaps our colour choice is odd?

You have my sympathies, £60 is a lot to stump up for your sweatshirts.

Have a look on on freecycle or ebay? I took a batch of old jumpers to my local charity shop.

The whole uniform issue makes me so angry. At my DCS school you have to buy it from the 1 uniform shop in town or you can buy an embroidered logo from one supplier (who only do mail order) and sew it yourself onto a jumper of your choice (obviously in the right colour). The logo is not much cheaper than buying the overpriced logo jumper so its eff-all of an alternative.

Punishing the DCs for something they have no control over is outrageous.

I would be furious. dd1 infant school sold logoed polo shirts/sweatshirts, even coats, but they were entirely optional. I bought two polo shirts and one sweatshirt in the first year, never bought any more, always bought Asdas.
Now DD1 has moved up to primary (same school, different uniform) they have no logos apart from on the blazer, which is optional too. I think my DD1's blazer is about third hand and she has worn it a handful of times.

What a horrible situation. i definatley understand the money side of it, especially this close to christmas.

my son wears non logo'd sweatshirts but thast becasue hes so tall that the ones that fit him in length could fit at least 2 of him and in look ridicualous, for soem reason the school uniform ones are really wide but short?

When ds1 was at primary school he had 2 log'd sweatshirts and i took them off them as soon as they got in school, that way if they were clean they were folded to wear the next day or if dirty i could wash and hang on the radiator ready to wear next day if need be. so is the purchase of one more sweatshirt not a possibility?

otherwsie i second what people have said and ask the school if they have a second hand uniform sale.

I hate this "you must buy this uniform from us" stance. My dd is now at secondary school and it gets worse. Fortunately, round here there are a couple of "alternative" embroidery companies doing all the school logo tops for considerably cheaper so we go there. Ask around the playground and you might get to hear of one of these cheaper places near you?? Maybe?

That's a bit crap. I get two sweatshirts with a logo for £15, plus there is a regular second hand sale.

Maybe the school should get the PTA to organise a regular second hand sale before penalising children for their parents being short of £30 at Christmas.

I think £15 is a rip off for the sweatshirts. My DS is at a private school and the logo sweatshirts are £9 and also the school run regular second hand uniform sales.

I would ask the school about second hand sales and I would have no problem telling them that £15 was expensive for a sweatshirt - it is! Perhaps also you could look in the lost property for clothing that is otherwise knackered but still has a logo that you could cut off and sew onto an Asda jumper.

I would try to get one sweatshirt with logo for each child. If you have a tumble drier you'll only need one as you can get them washed and dried in an evening. If not, you can babywipe marks off them so that they can be worn again.

I wouldn't mind paying for the Logo sweatshirts if they lasted. Ours don't. The colour fades and worse still they shrink in the wash and cease to fit over the DCs heads.

I also think a plain John Lewis v neck number looks better over a tie..looks odd to me wearing a shirt and tie and covering it with a sweatshirt.

Our school Sweattops only cost about £8. That is really expensive. We also have logo polo shirts. However, I habe purchased plain ones which I use in emergencies. No one has ever complained.

I had this with my youngest at our (then) local primary. She was in Yr.1 at the time.

Our school brought in this logo'd sweatshirt policy too.

I refused plain and simple to buy a sweatshirt.
A) because of the cost £12 each

B) because we were posted and I knew we would be moving house out of the area within 5 months.

And also
C) I had abundant supply of pristine hand me down proper M&S wool-mix V neck school jumpers (from my eldest DD who was at a different school but still a predominantly Navy uniform).

I considerd my DD to be wearing sensible, smart and practical school wear. I was doing my bit of "recycling" and why the hell should I pay a load of money out for something we would have to get rid of in a few months time?

Well DD came home with a letter in her book bag one day telling me I was breaking school rules and spouting some rubbish about the sweatshirt being practical!(confused to see how they would be any MORE practical than a navy V neck knit that dries even quicker)!

I went straight into school the next day and TOLD the head that I would not be spending any of my money buying school sweatshirts when my DD was already wearing sensible, practical school clothing. I also told her that if she felt so stongly on the matter and she wished to purchase the school sweatshirts on my behlaf I would ensure that my DD would wear them. I left it by saying to the head - its up to you. You decide and get back to me - but in the meantime she is wearing what she has on today!

The head never came back to me and that was the last I heard of it!

I think any school that penalises small children on uniform issues - are totally in the WRONG!! Different with teens who are known to adapt pieces of uniform and push the boundaries but with little children its just WRONG!! IMO!!

£15 is an extortionate amount to have to pay for a primary sweatshirt, ours are £7.50 and last for ages-we can tell because we have changed the logo a couple of times over the past 6 years (long story, school changed name!)and children are still wearing the original ones which have been handed down ( and surplus stock of which we currently sell for half price!). But children are also allowed to wear any other sweatshirt of the same colour ( red, so not too difficult to find) if they prefer. The same goes for polo shirts and fleeces. School uniform can be expensive and we look to ensure our parents have options as cheap as possible!

i would point out that i will be willing to pay out for their jumper if it was made of good quality fabric and lasted/washed well.

although, it is a stupidly large amount of money to pay out at this time of year.

iwould also tell them that they cannot enforce the rule about merit points. primary uniform is not compulsory.

OMG 15 pound we have a small school there are only 15 children in my ds class our logo sweaters are better condition than asda or tesco and cost just 6pound.
YADNBU money grabbing swines.

I don't know exactly how much they are at DS1's school, but I think they're around that price. However, we have a second hand uniform sale every term, and at this they're £2 I think. I bought 3 new initially, and now try and get 3 or 4 more at each uniform sale (they disappear, even with name tapes in). Lots of them are tatty now, and don't wear nearly as well as much cheaper supermarket sweatshirts (they're horrible synthetic material rather than cotton).

Our logo sweatshirts are £8.00.

IMO school is bring totally unreasonable. I am a parent governor at a primary school and although we encourage uniform compliance we do not take any sanction against non compliance. For instance the head who removes childrens sweaters and leaves them without is totally unreasonable and cruel especially in this cold weather. Unless your children are at a private school uniform is unenforceable in primary. Can you write to the chair of governors and ask them to explain this policy and how it is in accordance with current legislation.