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 :)

DS goes to a special school and does not have a school uniform - most ot the pupils have a disability and it is more practical not to - due to issues over comfort and being able to get it on or off easily.

I do buy DS school type trousers and polo shirts from the supermarkets/chain stores but equally he will wear jeans and t shirts if I run out of clean stuff!

There are optional "uniform" items with the school badge on which are available through school only, once a year (not a big enough school for it to be in the shops). It isn't particularly cheap although it does seem to last well - I'll get DS a couple of polo shirts and zip fleeces.

DS loves wearing his uniform items!

In my country of origine, there is no such thing as a school uniform and when I came here (pre Dcs) I thought uniforms were awfull as all children lokked the same etc...

Now I am really all for it and cannot imagine going back to non uniform.

I love the fact that :

-it is cheep (a bit more expensive now for Dd1 in HS but I am sure still less expensive than "designer clothes)

-there is no loss of time in the morning deciding what to wear

• most items are easy to wash/dry and a lot are non iron as well

• it gives the children a sense of belonging to the school

• children are easily spotted on school trips

Very much in favour of reasonably priced uniform made up of items that can be sourced anywhere (like M&S, Tescos, Sainsbutys, Asda) etc. I am not a particular fan of expensive branded items. For example my children's school has a sweatshirt with a logo on. It costs £12 a time. A plain one in the same colour costs £3. Fortunately, the school will accept anything provided it is the right colour and that is the right attitude IMO.

I don't understand the advantage that uniforms convey when it comes to washing. My children generally wear jeans and a t-shirt to school, plus a hoodie in winter. None of these require ironing. They can wear what they like, so no arguments, and once they got used to the novelty of wearing their own clothes they really don't care very much, they tend to wear whatever is clean and easy to hand.

Another plus is that they can wear highly visible coats which means that they are safer in traffic (many school uniforms specify dark coats, or include dark coloured blazers) and also dress to the weather. I've seen a fair few threads here about how to keep children warm in the winter when they have to wear really thin school uniform trousers etc.

Non uniform person here.

I don't like the cheap fabrics, I don't like the dreary colours, I don't like the lack of individuality.

I don't think it helps to stop the differences between rich and poor because the rich have better quality, new stuff as soon as the old is grown out or worn out, if there is any choice of garment they have all the options etc. etc.. At the sixth form level that all disappears and they all wear scruffy jeans.

I can't see how it helps on school trips at the primary level - dozens of little girls in the same style of either red or blue frocks from tesco.... how does that distinguish between schools?

Have been put off bottle green for life - even though the colour suits me.

I afree with school uniforms and the cost is cheaper than more expensive jeans and trainers. It avoids the problem of what we are going to where today.

OP what do you mean "escalate" your report?

School uniforms are great and prevent a lot of peer pressure and bullying over the clothes you wear. Also gives a sense of pride and identity.

I think schools should be carefull not to make the uniform too restricting on where you can buy from though, i.e. our secondary school uniform is only available from one shop and so they can chanrge whatever they like (£20 just for the tie. Secondary schools need to have uniforms more like the primary schools i.e. you don't have to have the jumper or shirt with the school logo on as long as it is the right colour and style. That way you can still buy the uniform from supermarkets at a relatively cheap prices.

Collars and ties - in our city that would limit us to two primary schools and one private school.

Only 1 in 10 people wear a tie to work. Very few doctors, engineers and scientists wear ties. Some teachers do. No women do!

At primary level, a simple sweatshirt with school logo is good. They seem to cost about £8. Personally, I would prefer no uniform but that isn't an option in our area. All primaries have a simple sweatshirt uniform and most of the secondaries do too, with a couple having ties.