I'm 'against' school uniform is anyone else??

[zazas]

Recently at my DD and DS primary school the majority of parents voted to introduce a uniform. Unfortunately I am in the minority! Is there anyone else who feels strongly about this subject.....I don't want to loose perspective but I really don't want my children wearing a school uniform! Give me your views please.

I went to a primary school that had a uniform with an option of not wearing uniform (I think it was there for very poor kids). My mother didn't like school uniform, and sent me to school in kilts. It was horrific. It would never have been my choice to wear a kilt in any case, let alone a kilt handed down from my two big sisters, worn with my brother's hand me down grey socks, and my mother's bowl style haircut. Now I would have stood out at school anyway, but I really don't know what my mother was thinking of. I don't see why I should have had to express her personalty! At secondary school we had a nasty polyester uniform, which didn't fit me, and I was endlessly in trouble for looking scruffy. So I think I see things both ways. I hate silly uniforms for little ones, with ties and hats and blazers and complicated buttons and stuff. Those are designed to appeal to parents, not children. But a simple uniform of grey trousers/skirt/dress, which can be polyester or not, and a school polo shirt, sweatshirt or cardigan seems to me an excellent idea. My children wear a nice bright red top, and it suits them well. It is relatively cheap, cheerful and hassle free. In the evenings and at the weekend they can express themselves as much as they like, and it marks the difference between the week and the weekend. I don't wear uniform at work, but have done in the past, and didn't find it a big deal, and at present I have work clothes, and weekend clothes. My individuality has nothing to do with my clothes. It's about me!

Exactly nooka - I think those that object just overanalyse. Wearing a uniform at school, does it really quash a childs individuality - er, I think not.

I'm not analysing anything GDG. I don't need to. I just have a gut reaction to feeling the static on the polyester and feel a heavy heart at watching small children in raincloud-grey.
It's not right.
I can understand it in secondary school when hormones need to be kept in check - but for little ones? No.

I think parents who want to force kids to wear grey and bottle green should do it themselves to show willing.

I do agree with you on polyester spidermama, but uniform does not necessarily = polyester, especially at primary school where you generally get more choice about brand/style etc. I have to say I'm not sure that children (at infant level anyway) actually care that much about what they are wearing, so long as it is comfortable and doesn't get in the way of playing. Oh, and I do definitely believe that teachers at schools with uniform should follow a smart dress code too - ie at least shirt and jacket for male teachers (and equivalent for women) if there is formal uniform for children.

no I don;t think I am overanalysing (says HC, analysing )
I just don't like to see children dressed in gloomy versions of building society uniforms
my dds will NOT wear black shoes a day before they need to
and yes I did object to wearing a dreary black suit day in day out for years.... and effectively dressing like an eighteenth century man for professional reasons. that's mad too. but at least I was getting paid for it.

My dd's school has a uniform and I like the fact that it does, saves having to make sure she has plenty clothes to last the week, keep up with the latest trend etc.
Her school uniform is grey skirt/pinafore for girls grey trousers for boys. White shirts, school tie and a grey cardigan or jumper. girls are allowed to wear trousers in the winter if they want although that has recently been extended to all year round so long as they are not fashion trousers. On the list you get when the child starts school a blazer is listed but not compulsary, I don't see the point of blazers personally I remember mine as being hot and itchy so Dd has never had one.
In the summer the girls can wear blue and white gingham dresses and the boys can wear shorts if they want.

All of these items are available in supermarkets, children clothes shops etc and are easily affordable to all. Weather you choose to buy budget or expensive is up to you but they all look lovely and smart lining up to go into school in the mornings. The school recently started selling grey jumpers/cardigans with the school logo on them which are available to buy if you wish but again not compulsary. The problem is they are pricey and they don't wash well or last as long as items bought from supermarkets, kids shops etc. Many mums have stopped buying them.

I think one problem with uniforms comes in when schools choose a uniform that can only be bought from a specific shop and it costs an arm and a leg to buy and doesn't last long. Dh's cousin went to a private school in Glasgow and her uniform could only be bought from one shop and she needed a new school skirt two or three times a year as the quality was so bad they would fall apart in the wash and it was an expensive skirt to buy.

zazas I agree with a previous suggestion on this thread, suggest polo shirts, bright jumpers, jeans or black torusers. Uniforms don't have to be drab, lots of schools are going for brighter uniforms nowadays and polo shirts are a big thing. A school in my area has yellow polo shirts and green jumpers and the children look lovely in them.

OH NO! is blue 100% cotton ok?!

I am totally pro uniform but with one personal exception - DS1 is at the 6th form at the local grammar school which has a uniform (every other 6th form centre in the area is uniform-free); the boys have to have a black blazer at £50+ (big rows if not worn) but the girls can wear any old black jumper.

Should go to Govs meeting and stress about it but have missed both now.

Thanks for uniform suggestions will put them forward at the meeting. Will probably go for a black / blue / grey trouser or skirt and blue, white and yellow polo neck to go with the red / purple / blue and green school sweatshirts already in circulation! Will be colourful. Now is that plain tights and black shoes as well - that will be the question...... oh and what colours for the coats / hats and gloves (cold up here). By the way it is what every other local primary wear so you can never tell you is from what school unless you are right up close to read their badge and in that case you are close enough to tell them off directly if they are causing trouble!

JanH - that looks like clear sexual discrimination. Uniform in 6th form seems a bit extreme.

zazas, I think our local schools must have struck some deals about colours, as they are quite well spaced out in the red/blue/green sweatshirts. Coats, hats and scarfs should not be subject to uniform rules! Black shoes and plain tights are cheaper (and easier to find).

Zazas, I'd skip the navy trousers- some of the chaeaper ranges only stock grey or black here, I find that a complete pain. And not coats or hats please- these things are often given as gifts or are hand me downs, they shouldn't have to be any more expensive than the parents need.

My ideal uniform would be little pink sailor costumes for boys and Vivien Westwood outfits for the girls!

Thought I'd hate school uniforms, but I love them. (Having, of course, resigned myself to the fact that ds looks like a Victorian tosser.) I honestly can't think of a single downside to them, and don't know why I was once so against them.

I was thinking about this thread as I dropped off DD1 at her clearly debauched and deranged cut-price inner-city Sunninghill for the under-11s. I don't like uniform - don't like any uniforms - because I find them very ugly. School uniform, being made as it is out of nasty artificial fibres, I usually find even uglier.

I am perfectly happy to concede that lots of you lot would find the cheery skater-ish kids at DD1's school scruffy and inappropriately dressed. I like that look.

And I can assure you that just because they call their teachers by their first names does not equate to disrespect.

My son's school have optional school\ uniform. In reality this means that probably half the children wear it and half don't. the school caved in to parent pressure to have it as optional - when we went to look round the head particularly said 'you like it but we don't. Imagine having to get 30 five year old dressed and they can't find their sweatshirt and it looks like everyone else's'.

My son has a couple of school t-shirt (cotton) but there is no way I'm putting him in those nasty poly trousers or black shoes at 6. Pleanty of time at secondary for uniform IMO.

I have heard it argued that it is a breach of the Human Rights act(freedom of expression) to make a person or child wear a uniform or impose a dress code. Not sure how true this is. Could be an urban myth.

think that couldn't be true, drosophila- there has to be some kind of code- e.g. no stilettos (prevents broken ankles), no bare midriffs/ skimpy skirts (decency/ preventing hypothermia), no hoop earrings (obvious)- where would you draw the line?

zazas no uniform on hats/gloves/coats etc. They should be anything you like. Shoes could be blue or black, which isn't hard as it is all you can get round here anyway!!

Like i said you could have the middle option of just a uniform top (eg polo shirt/sweatshirt) and jeans for bottoms which most kids have anyway. BUT that means summer is tricker. You can get those gingham dresses in most colours, so kids could have a choice there too

me too - just decided - my dd is going in round her arse jeans with jewel backed thong

I knew some people at work who were inclined to challenge our dress code.

dropsophilia - it's an urban myth. You may be getting confused with issues surrounding religious dress. There is an ongoing court case at the moment to do with a school who would not let a youg girl wear a long Muslim full-on covered thing (I should know the proper name, sorry). As a result she did not attend school for a while. The case is examining whether this was a breach of her right to education (something that predates the human rights act) and whether preventing pupils from wearing such dress at school is a violation of right to freedom of expression and religion. It's - unsuprisingly - somewhat complicated - made more so by teh fact it is about children not adults.

Now you see that annoys me too. Just because I have no recognised religion I have no legal redress on the uniform issue. Saying, 'I have leanings towards Taoism and celebrate some pagan festivals' carries no clout whatsoever in the EU courts of human rights.

everyone - including you - has a right to religion, including the right to have no religion, or even a mix of religions. everyone has a right to freedom of expression. everyone has a right to education. If you could show that rules on uniform conflict with your ability to realise any one of those rights then you would have the same access to legal redress as someone who proved (and it has yet to be done - the case is ongoing) that not being able to wear Muslim dress at school conflicted with those rights. and there's no such thing as the EU courts of human rights. The case is in the English courts and is about English law.