School Uniform

[spawley]

Hi, my name is Sarah and I am currently training to become a teacher.

As I am not a parent myself I am unaware of the effects of School Uniforms in regards to pricing, whether they are a good idea for children nowadays or a bad one.

I am constructing a report about School Uniforms as a whole and if they should stay in place or be banned. I would greatly appreciate any opinions you have at all, as they would help escalate my report!

Thank you very much for your time!

Sarah :)

Primary uniforms r usually cheap, as can buy for 2 quid at local supermarket, secondary r much more. Pro's being safeguarding, sense of identity which helps.self.esteem and those with identity issues. Non uniform may cause bullying peer pressure etc for those families who can't afford designer labels. Personally as an adult (nursing) I prefer wearing a uniform as I don't have to think or worry bout what to wear etc, saves time in morning!

Stay in place for me. Cons tho, cost of secondary ones, loss of individuality which may be important to some. But I think safeguarding outweighs, and if they r in a uniform they can be spotted easily and outsiders spotted easily. And safer on trips out etc.

School uniforms are absolutely excellent IMO.

It means that you know what you're going to be wearing - no wasting time choosing clothes etc, no wondering what should have been washed. You just know that mon-fri, you need to wear uniform.

Uniform promotes belonging at primary level as well. You can easily identify children.

There is often problems with the cost of logo items. I think that sweatshirts should be logo'd, there should be an option for polo shirts to be logo'd (thinking summer school trips where kids not wearing jumpers).

Uniform needs to be

1. Reasonbly priced
2. Hard wearing
3. Easily washable and tumble dryable
4. Plain ish, but at least reasonable looking so pupils don't feel embarrassed wearing it.

My friend's son attends a non uniform primary and she finds it really difficult because she has to buy more home clothes and she would just prefer to buy a bunch of uniform.

I think the main cost problems arise when schools say that you can only get items from one particular shop and those items are very expensive and distinctive. Effectively a monopoly which upsets parents.

go, they are more or less only a dress code anyway (apart from fancy private schools).
would enable parents to buy good quality cheap black jeans for example, that don't break as easily as the flimsy trouses fabric.

The cost of uniform is outweighed by the cost of buying own clothes and the pressure to buy labels which would cost much more.

Uniforms are cheap. Once you are a teacher they can be the bane of your life ( fasten that top button etc) but non-uniform days are a nightmare, IMO behaviour is not as good. As a parent I am all for them, I'd rather she has cheap clothes that it doesn't matter if they get stained (art) burnt (science) etc.

I like school uniforms. They make life easy as a parent as there is no debate on what to wear. I think it is a good leveller that income disparities are not so obvious with school uniform and it fosters a sense of community.

On a personal note - I tend to dress more formally for work than is strictly required as it helps me make a distinction between being in work mode and being in home mode.

I like cheap uniforms but not pretentious expensive ones. Personally, I think it would be just as possible to keep children safe and well behaved without them- most other European countries manage it- but if of the really cheap economic kind, they do make life easier for the parent.

A vote for no uniform from me!
My kids would rather not wear a uniform, so I'd prefer if schools didn't insist on them. Can't say they make my life easier - every now and then we mysteriously run out of clean uniform jumpers or white shirts, even though I try and make sure they have plenty, so for me it actually adds to the stress of getting everyone ready in the morning. Plus you still have to buy them other clothes, so by buying uniform I'm probably spending more, rather than saving - even if it's really cheap.

Definite vote for uniforms here.

DD's is expensive but worth it - lasts for ages.

Huge savings on buying "mufti" clothing.

Pinafore drip dries - no need to iron - same with blouses.

Good quality cardigan that she has worn now for 2 years (I buy big)

School has a good cut-price second hand uniform shop.

Also - much more time efficient in the mornings and cuts out all that nonsense about dc wearing designer clothing and trying to outdo one another. Also allows children to completely focus on work and not on frivolities.

Oh yes, and cultivates sense of "belonging" "being in a team"

As a parent, they save other clothes beening ruined by day to day wearing. The uniform takes all the battering.

As a teacher they stop some of (but not all) the bullying and one up manship about clothes if they have to all wear the same.

It also is invaluable on a school trip in spotting your darlings amoungst the rest (great H&S aspect!)

The few teachers - secondary - I know like school uniform .
But as a parent of DS at big inner London comp that moved from no uniform to sweatshirts to full uniform ,I hate it .
I'm afraid that I feel it's just a shallow way of seeming to enforce discipline .
It seems just like legitimising bullying to me - we're in power and can punish you for petty things ,tie incorrect ,blazer taken off ,wrong shoes .
I don't get this " sense of belonging " - my DS doesn't belong to the school ,or me for that matter .
And as for sense of pride in school - you need a uniform to feel proud of your school ?
Strange value system.

My DC have had uniform since they were 4. Their primary introduced a much stricter uniform about half way through because of misinterpretation and many items that didn't quite meet the rules. Much much better when they did and the children all looked much better turned out. My son's school has a fairly simple, blazer, white shirt, tie, black trousers affair (and huge amounts of sports kit). My daughters pretty much the same. The most expensive items are the blazers at about 100 but they last for years. I don't think overall that uniform is expensive and believe that the advantages outweigh any disadvantages (although I can't think of any). I wouldn't send my children to a school that didn't have a uniform. Certainly wouldn't send my son to a school that didn't have a collar and tie because I think it sets the bar for expectations, ie, no collar and tie no expectations of the children entering the professions. What I do believe in strongly is that teachers should be good role models and if the children have a uniform that is strictly enforced then no teacher should be working in leisure wear and there should be a professional dress code for the staff.

I'm sorry but I think that has to be the nuttiest justification for school uniforms that I have ever heard. There is no link between wearing a tie at school and career choice I think that is entirely your own prejudice. I do agree about double standards though.

I used to be fairly pro basic uniform (the logo'd poloshirt / sweatshirt types) until my children moved from a school with a uniform like that to a non uniform school, and I realised that all the things I'd told myself about uniforms were just not true.

The non uniform schools have just as good an ethos and no discipline problems. Children don't get lost on school trips (one of the non uniform schools asked all the children to come on trips with a particular colour t-shirt, the other one didn't seem to worry too much). I've not seen or heard of any bullying based on clothes - all the children wear very similar jeans and t-shirt most of the time and I don't think that uniforms hide the trend shoes or the second hand clothes in any case.

I'm certainly not sad to say goodbye to the poor quality of the teflon trousers/skirts. My children are now more likely to grow out of their clothes than through them. Getting them dressed for school takes no more time than it used to, and as they can wear what they like we don't have any panics about missing cardigans etc anymore.

My memories of wearing uniform are from secondary school mostly. My uniform was uncomfortable and badly fitting, and I was often told off for looking scruffy. It made me resentful and was a totally unnecessary source of friction between pupils and teachers IMO. Oh, and it's put me off wearing blue ever since

My kids have hardly ever wreaked school uniform. Mainly by paints/dyes/pen on white blouses/polo shirts. My teens actually like their Blazers (which are machine washable unlike the old days).
I also went to an effectively non-uniform school and can tell you there was a lot of discrimination based on clothes.

I have also worked in a school where the uniform rules were biased in favour of the girls. Girls were allowed skirts 4 inches above or below the knee, I could never judge what 4 inches was so never told a girl off for that one. They also had loose blouses without ties, so didn't get told to tuck in or adjust their ties. Boys on the other had, naturally tend to be scruffier and were always being told to tuck in or adjust ties.

I don't like polo-shirt and jumper senior uniform because it always looks scruffy.

I do also know of one non-uniform school near here which has a sweatshirt just for its junior school on school trips. And I do think it helps.

We have to buy our school uniform through a uniform shop in the school. So we all have the same school dress and the same polo shirt and the one of three jumpers. It is a state school but not in the UK.

This way nobody has anything different really, no sparkly hearts on our gingham dresses!

You can get things that are school uniform in the ordinary shops but mostly in the run up to the start of the school year only. So you can get a polo shirt without the logo on, but most people don't.

I agree with others on here - if you are going to have a uniform then best if the school enforces it properly and not half-heartedly. Worst of both worlds if not.

And nothing worse than dc protesting "why can't I wear that?. X and y wear them every day!"

Having said all that, I don't really like seeing 4 year olds in collar and tie! In maternelle over here (up to 6 yrs) they wear easy fastening ordinary clothes (elasticated trousers, shoes with velcro) with a nice overall/apron type thing over the top. It's only at 6 that they graduate to uniform wearing - and even then - no ties!

Where I live now no schools have uniforms. I work with a lot of parents and my children have a busy social life, so we know a lot of parents that way too. I've never heard any conversations about children and clothes. Not once. We have a whole bunch of teens and pre-teens at our house most days and apart from when they are showing off new clothes it's not really a topic of conversation. The school rules are fairly straightforward, no spaghetti straps and no heels, trainers to be worn for PE, and ds thinks that there are rules about looking like a gangster (one of his buddies got told to take off a leather jacket on Halloween).

I'm not sure why it should be considered to be a good idea for a school to be constantly nit picking about minor uniform infractions. Surely teachers have better things to do with their time? As parents one of the first things you learn is to pick your battles. Enforcing uniforms seems to me a totally artificial battle with no real gains involved for anyone.

A firm no to uniforms here. So many countries in Europe that do better in education than the UK does seem to manage just fine without them, and as for preventing bullying - pfff, children will always find something to pick up on (in the case of my DCs being tall/clever/having curly hair - the list goes on).

As for these school monopoly suppliers - with the government we now have, why won't someone legislate to abolish this practice, as it contravenes the powers of market forces?

Schools should move to a sensible dress code and leave it at that.

School uniform if it is the generic sort is far cheaper than normal clothes. However the special items (eg. my daughter's skirts) do cost more.
In Europe most countries have a de-facto uniform of Jeans.

I prefer uniform but would quite happily send my kids to a non-uniform school. It isn't a deal breaker. (Although some Uniforms are so horrid, or don't work, that they might influence my decision.)

I love school uniform. There is no debate over what to wear in the morning and there is no competitiveness about wearing designer clothes.

I did however find the cost of the uniform shot up dramatically for Secondary School, which I thought was unnecessary.

I like the idea of school uniform.....but refuse to dress ny children in teflon coated cancer inducing clothing! The choice of material is poor and I have to dress two of my children in cotton due to skin problems-which can be really hard at times. Secondary is worse as they demand more logo'd products which are invariably more expensive, made from terrible materials and dd feels bad, as with permission she has to wear slightly different things. We have tried some of the prescribed uniform but it aggravated her skin so badly she ended up having oral steroids to help her skin recover.......so I am now beginning to sit on the fence as I can see various arguments.
I remember ill fitting uniform that made me feel uncomfortable and out of place.....

I think they look utterly ridiculous, particularly the little girls in ties and blazers.

As for 'creating an expectation of going into the professions', I've never seen a med student wearing a suit and tie in lectures, in fact never seen any docs under the age of 40 wear a tie! And somehow the US and Germany produce quite good medics, engineers etc without dressing up their kids in daft clothes.