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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

Uniform

39 replies

RoastedTurnip · 23/10/2022 13:47

DD is 2.5 and has been at the same nursery since age 1. Older DD attended the same nursery. (Big national chain)
She's full time and will be for the foreseeable as we can't afford for me to work part time.

Have found out via a display in the foyer that from January over 3s need to wear a uniform and it has to be their branded stuff. No consultation as far as I can see.

I don't have time to wash and iron during the week, so if it is compulsory I'm going to have to shell out for a load of uniform I don't want her wearing. There isn't really an alternative nursery n nearby with space and she's happy there.

Is there any guidance about private nurseries and compulsory uniforms? The idea that she'll be wearing uniform from age 3 is ridiculous to me. I'll speak to the manager next week but just wondered if there was any guidance/ research on it?

OP posts:

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Cma1988 · 23/10/2022 13:48

Maybe ask if it’s compulsory first?

NCgoingdry · 23/10/2022 13:50

Not really the point of this thread but if you can't wash or iron during the week because you work FT what do you think is going to happen when your DC starts primary school....

As much as I hate doing it, working around 60 hours a week, I wash and iron uniforms during the week.

NuffSaidSam · 23/10/2022 13:54

Speak to other parents and make sure the nursery know if most people are unhappy with the uniform idea.

What sort of uniform is it? Full uniform or just a branded polo shirt/jumper?

ohyeahiwaittablestoo · 23/10/2022 13:57

Devils advocate maybe but presumably you wash (and iron?) the clothes she normally wears? So why is this different? Other than the added cost of having to buy it all. My kids haven't got to the stage of uniform yet but I don't imagine I'd be buying stuff that needed ironing. It'll be polo shirts surely at this stage, they're not going to want toddlers in shirts and ties I wouldn't have thought?

cathyj87 · 23/10/2022 13:57

You really don't need to iron toddler clothes, definitely not uniforms! You also don't need to buy into the idea that the uniform needs to be spotless, you can get away with wearing a tshirt under a jumper a few days easily, a jumper 2 days, trousers/skirt a few days etc.
Not a helpful comment probably so sorry in advance but I don't understand how washing can take up so much of people's time, we used cloth nappies so did more washing than standard households and it really wasn't much of a hassle taking 10 minutes to hang bits up while the kettle boils etc.

RosesAndHellebores · 23/10/2022 13:59

Mine had a smock to wear over their clothes. It was cute.

Kanaloa · 23/10/2022 14:02

Lots of preschools require a uniform from that age. For what it’s worth, you’re not going to get kicked out if you refuse to comply and send her in normal clothes. She’ll just be the odd one out but nobody will tell her off or anything.

You don’t need to iron polo shirts and jumpers though - and I presume you wash her clothes anyway? So I’m struggling to see how it adds a huge amount of extra work.

hiredandsqueak · 23/10/2022 14:05

Dgs attends a pre-school with a uniform that everyone opts into rather than it being compulsory. For dd it is cheaper than buying clothes that invariably get trashed at pre-school. So, she doesn't mind sending dgs in a clean but stained uniform sweater because it's obvious the stains happened there, she wouldn't be comfortable sending him in his everyday clothes if they were stained. Dgs wears joggers from Asda, polo shirts from next and sweaters from Sainsburys. They all line dry or go in the tumble dryer and don't need ironing unless his gangan is over there and I do her ironing. You should have the option of non branded uniform.

PeekabooAtTheZoo · 23/10/2022 14:06

No YANBU it’s a fucking waste of resources during the cost of living crisis and preposterous given what we know about the environment that you’re supposed to buy uniform for basically a year of nursery. Stunningly tone deaf of them.
I doubt there’s a law but they are very silly.

isittheholidaysyet · 23/10/2022 14:06

ohyeahiwaittablestoo · 23/10/2022 13:57

If you have to wear uniform, school, nursery or anywhere else, then you have to wash those particular clothes.
With non uniform clothes you can wear whatever is clean.

When my kids were at nursery, we had a selection of clothes which they would only wear for nursery, the dregs from the second hand bag, which we didn't really like. They were clothes that could get mud/paint/glue on and we didn't care. If however, they were dirty the could wear anything else from their wardrobe. If they had had a uniform I would have had to wash it.

Same with school. Many a day I had to wash a dark load or a white load for school uniform purposes, when actually the rest of the family desperately wanted other clothes washing. Without uniform I could have washed for everyone, rather than one person's needs.

Also school uniform is so much more expensive than my kids normal clothes, which we still need to buy.

JenniferBarkley · 23/10/2022 14:15

I'd be unimpressed with a private nursery deciding that.

DD1 was in a preschool nursery the september she was 3, they had a uniform. It was just a tracksuit and polo shirt, we bought 5 to save on laundry which was worth it (it didn't cost any more than outfits from Next or the like). At least it was practical and comfy, and somewhat reduced rows over outfit selection in the morning. Given the choice I would've preferred normal clothes though.

EmilyGilmoresSass · 23/10/2022 14:28

Where I am, probably in a different part of the UK, my 3 year old is in nursery and wears uniform as do the others. It is standard practice. And she has complex needs and doesnt complain. Nor do i because it stops her own clothes getting ruined.

I am a full time student and a lone parent and I still find the time to wash a uniform. It's not their fault you allegedly have no time to load a washing machine for a child's uniform, which in itself I find hard to believe given it takes seconds.

Original poster

RoastedTurnip · 23/10/2022 14:36

In answer to some of the questions - older DD is it primary school already. I wash and iron all her clothes at the weekend, ready for the following week. I don't mind buying her uniform because it's a school uniform and I knew it was such when I joined the school. I also don't have such ideological issues with students 4+ wearing a uniform.

Presumably I wash and iron her other clothes- yes, but we've already got plenty so I don't need to worry about whether there's enough clean stuff because I've got more than enough. To be fair I don't really iron anything except daughters polos for school.

I'm assuming the display saying it was compulsory means it is compulsory.

OP posts:

Hardbackwriter · 23/10/2022 14:37

NCgoingdry · 23/10/2022 13:50

Not really the point of this thread but if you can't wash or iron during the week because you work FT what do you think is going to happen when your DC starts primary school....

As much as I hate doing it, working around 60 hours a week, I wash and iron uniforms during the week.

Obviously it depends on the school, but mine go to one that allows all generic uniform so we just got six of everything so that we don't need to wash during the week. We probably wouldn't have done if it had had to all be branded, expensive stuff and as I read it that's what OP is unhappy about - and why it's different to her child wearing her own clothes, where again you can choose to get stuff that you can afford enough outfits that you don't need to wash midweek.

SatinHeart · 23/10/2022 14:37

Well certainly don't bother ironing it!

My youngest has a nursery 'uniform' in reality it's just a branded polo shirt. If they get it wet/dirty they are happy to have non- uniform spare clothes to change them into so it's a bit of a farce tbh.

LondonQueen · 23/10/2022 14:37

If she was in a school nursery she would wear uniform from 3. If you don't have time to wash and iron in the week what are you doing to do when she starts school?

Original poster

RoastedTurnip · 23/10/2022 14:40

Also yes it is polo shirts, but branded, with branded sweatshirts.
I'm really surprised that people think it's ok for 3 year olds to be in compulsory uniform. Maybe it's just me. 🤷‍♀️

I do have time to put a wash on, of course I do, but in the couple of hours I have before bedtime, it's bottom of the last, then it's catching up on my own work. Life is much easier when I don't have to put a wash on!

I assume I'll just have to suck it up, just think it's really miserable to make such young kids wear a uniform

OP posts:

PuttingDownRoots · 23/10/2022 14:46

Generic uniform (like a blue polo And red jumper) is different to insisting on certain items.

Ask why they've made that decision at a time where schools are being asked to reduce branded items.

Original poster

RoastedTurnip · 23/10/2022 14:50

This was my feeling too when I saw it was all branded. It already costs me well over £1k per month!

OP posts:

Duttercup · 23/10/2022 14:51

@RoastedTurnip It's not just you, I've avoided any nursery that had a uniform. I'm just not into it.

It's also just more shit to pay for.

Original poster

RoastedTurnip · 23/10/2022 14:54

@londonqueen that night be the case in a school nursery, but I deliberately chose a nursery not attached to school and one of the things I like about it is the lack of uniform !

Compulsory school age uniform to me is completely different!

OP posts:

AlwaysLatte · 23/10/2022 14:57

Ours had a uniform (well t shirts and sweaters) occasionally they were all in the wash so we did have a couple of plain t shirts and sweaters in the same colour and no one ever said anything. They were standard primary school colours, so easy to find.

PinkButtercups · 23/10/2022 14:58

My DS (3) wears a nursery uniform. It doesn't have to be the branded polo/sweatshirt although he does have the branded ones. They always end up with paint all over them which is a bit annoying though.

PinkButtercups · 23/10/2022 14:59

Not annoying that he paints obviously just wish they'd make sure he has an apron on.

grey12 · 23/10/2022 15:07

No1, no need to iron 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sainsburys has good non iron shirts for kids' uniforms. And I doubt they would give nursery kids any shirts.

Everything else doesn't need to be ironed.

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