When the kids go to school, can we relax uniform a bit

[GreenGlassVase]

Just this, when the kids return to school, lots of us are in a precarious financial position.
Can schools please relax the rules.
Senior kids don’t need to swelter in blazers anymore.
Uniform won’t fit, and shops have been/ are closed

That would be amazing but sadly I doubt it. I know the primaries round here will be relaxed. Either because they have sensible heads / MATs or because parents will tell them where to shove it.

Secondaries I think it is unlikely . The two local ones are very strict on uniform. There is a third much more sensible one which is more relaxed in everything, not just uniform. I wonder if they will relax the rules. Somehow it is always the one that is over subscribed and the kids seem happiest .

Really hope I am wrong. There will be some good things that come out of this shitty situation and it would be great if that could be one of them. Especially the blazers. In fact if there is ever an argument for protecting mental and physical and financial health by keeping uniform but relaxing the strict rules it is now.

Unless the shops are open fully, there won’t be much option than not relax the uniform, I know for a fact that my 2 will need some new clothing after resting/sleeping/eating their way through lockdown.

My daughter needs summer uniform but also leaves in July, would love them to say it’s own clothes for half a term.

Perhaps they will actually relax the rules while they have no choice but then as soon as suppliers can open again they will enforce them. I can see detailed home measuring guides sent out and students already have a list of rules for uniforms.

Of course if any common sense was going to be applied then the time to do that would be during a pandemic! The blazer thing has never made sense so if that could go it would be wonderful. Now would be the time for parents to tell schools where to go about uniform but there seem to be so many who actually want a a strict uniform and agree with the rules so I’m not sure there is the appetite for it. It wouldn’t require much effort, just simply saying no en masse to kids fainting in the summer from keeping their blazers on.

Wouldn't it be nice if this lead to people worrying about what they need to worry about, rather than pointless rules about lengths of skirts or having to wear blazer on hot days.

Totally agree OP. I wonder if any of the controlling headteachers on here will agree with you though.

There's another aspect to this too - cost. If people have lost their jobs or had their hours reduced, they can't afford expensive uniforms. Can we go back to straight-forward uniforms from the supermarkets please and none of these expensive bespoke items.

Mine are going to need shoes I just know it

there seem to be so many who actually want a a strict uniform and agree with the rules so I’m not sure there is the appetite for it

I'm not sure there is. You get the virtue signalling brigade (with plenty of money) who say "why did you have children if you couldn't afford their uniforms" but I rarely come across anyone who thinks a really strict uniform is a good idea. Uniforms yes, but not nit-picking rules.

puffin, I suppose I am basing it on all the newspaper articles on uniform when you then get the comments calling for stricter than strict rules, bring back national service etc. I’ve never got over one of my friends who I thought was sensible being told by her DCs’ school they they went out of their way to be strict on everything. She thought this was a good thing. The same conversation would have horrified me.

I hope you are right though. I’m actually a huge uniform fan, just not a fan of the petty strictness. Huge financial issue too as PP say.

"why did you have children if you couldn't afford their uniforms"
Aarghhh this is one of my MN pet hates. The ones that think you should have financially planned and saved for every school trip/uniform and expense before TTC ....because obviously circumstances (and uniforms) never change....

I think perhaps if any of you worked in schools you’d know the affect that non-uniform days have on behaviour/low level bullying.
I’m with you on the blazer thing though!

I have always said I am pro-uniform. It’s the overly strict, inflexible nature of secondary uniform that is the problem. Primary gets it right. Basic uniform, variety of options for different shapes / sizes. Loose / no rules on shoes. Available in supermarkets.

Secondary loses the plot.

I am pro uniform. I've seen the effect of non uniform days in secondary schools. Behaviour changes might calm
down with time, but the judgement of peers based on clothing choices would remain. It's a wide open gate for children who cannot afford the latest trends to stand out.

However, I'd like uniform to be more washable- so no blazers. Our secondary blazers take so long to dry that they can only be washed at the weekend. They are synthetic and make young people hot and smelly. Especially now, I feel that all uniform should be clean every day is possible- not so with blazers.

Agree with uniform but blazers should go. They are wrong in so many ways

It's only been 6 weeks not 6 years surely they haven't grown that much!

It would be so helpful if they don’t need shoes until September.

It's only been 6 weeks not 6 years surely they haven't grown that much

My 3 year old has gone up a clothes size and at least a full shoe size since February so yep entirely possible.

We would have an issue with shoes and haircuts if went back in the next week or so.

If we need shoes we will order some online- next and Marks & Spencer's delivering and all well...is that not a possibility for everyone saying they need will need shoes?

IME having a school uniform is infinitely easier and cheaper than not.

There is a hygiene reason why they shouldn’t wear blazers in classes, the same reason doctors stopped wearing long coats which is a combination of better more thorough hand washing (which can extend up the arms if necessary) and cuffs being rife for cross contaminated. Bare below the elbows should be what the schools insist on.

Kanga, of course you can order shoes online but it is an unnecessary delivery and if you are not sure what size will fit you (say you have a child who has grown a lot) then have the reality of buying more than you need and sending the others back, so you have tried them on, then need to go to the post office and send them back. This is a hassle in these difficult times and terrible infection control.

The alternatives cost money. You keep the shoes that don’t fit or you use a shoe shop that does socially distanced fittings. The ones doing that round here are £££ plus j am not convinced about the infection control round that either.

It is also one more massive hassle for parents in the middle of a hugely stressful time. I’m lucky. My kids are in primary. If they go back before September one of mine will need new shoes. I’ll just tell school I am not buying any yet and she will go in what fits her. As I think lots of parents will and it will be fine. No way what would work in our local strict secondary school.

Lucked YES! The bare below the elbows thing could really be the way to get rid of compulsory blazer wearing. Seriously needs to be a national campaign. It worked in the NHS and absolutely infection control needs to be key now.

My DDs both had blazers at independent schools and they were expensive. They were more like short coats. I never washed one nor expected to. Everything else was washable but DDs didn’t do anything to their blazers and I sold them on in perfect condition. I do wonder if clothes are better made from good fabrics and cost more, whether DC look after them a bit more?

I do agree that some heads go too far with extreme enforcement of rules and some schools need to step back from this attitude. Shops are open on line. So unless there is panic buying, everything should be available.

Blazers not worn in school. So no harbouring of germs any more than a normal coat.