East Renfr uniform policy for primary schools

[withgreatpower]

Hello,

if you have children at primary schools in East Renfrewshire (Scotland), what are you going to do about the new uniform code for next year (i.e., only shirt and tir, no polo shirt allowed, school jacket or blazer, no other winter jacket)? I have two children in East Renfr primary. What happens if we just carry on with the old uniform (polo shirts, our own winter jacket, etc) and ignore the new "Dressing for Excellence" policy? Will the teacher tell off the child? Will the headteacher write us a letter?

What will you do (or what would you do, if you don't live here, but have an opinion)?

Very curious to hear what other people think!

Will the "school jacket" be warm and waterproof enough for a W of Scotland winter?

I have to say I don't have massively strong feelings about uniform. As long as it's cheaply available, not socially divisive, etc, I'd usually do what i was told ie follow the code.

I just googled Dressing for Excellence - said young primary children might be asked to wear shirt or polo shirt.

That's very interesting, HilaryM! Thank you! I'll google DforE and do some research!

However, the leaflet given to us by the school says only "shirt and tie" . There are no polo-shirts mentioned. And other mums, from other schools, said it was only shirts, no polos.

But now I will google!

ok, I see... so P1-P5 are ok with polo shirts, but P6-P7 should only wear shirt and tie. Well, what if I wait for child in P6 to grow out of his polo shirts, and just buy shirts from now on? I don't want to be a rebel, but I bought new polo shirts and sweatshirts with the school logo only a couple of months ago. It seems such a waste not to use them.

I bet the teachers are going to be ecstatic at the extra work involved in helping 30 5-year-olds get changed into amd out of buttoned shirts and ties for PE lessons!

Wearing shirt, tie and blazer is not what makes a good school/education - that comes from good teaching and good resources - and children who are concentrating on their work, not uncomfortable clothing.

Their uniform should leave them free to get on with learning and with being children.

There's plenty of time for them to wear shirt and tie etc when they are older. I don't even think it's that important at senior school - the dses have done as well at a school where everyone except the prefects wears a jumper or fleece as the older two did at senior schools with the full shirt, tie amd blazer combo.

What's the issue with shirt and tie? My kids' primary school is shirt and tie only from P1 and parents want it this way.
You do lots of practice with buttons in the lead up to them starting school and they pick up how to tie the tie very quickly.
I'd be looking for clarification about the blazer though, that sounds pretty extreme.

I guess if we started with shirt and tie it would have been ok (although my kids were very slow with buttons, but I guess that's good practice for fine motor skills). However, I already have pieces of uniforms that are still good to wear (polo shirts, sweat shirts). Why do I have to throw them away? Isn't is a waste? I bought them because they were part of the school uniform, but now they are not anymore.

I think that a polo shirt is more comfortable than a collar and tie, and looks smart enough too. I wouldn't dress a small child up in collar and tie except for a really special occasion, and can't see why it is neccessary for primary school children.

Primary school uniform needs to be practical, easily washed, and tough, so that it doesn't get in the way of whatever the children are doing, and they don't have to be careful of it. I'd rather have my kids in a sweatshirt or fleece that they don't have to worry about much, than in a blazer that will probably have cost far more than the sweatshirt/fleece, so they'll have to take extra care of it (and we all know how careful primary school children are of their clothes).

If a sweatshirt gets dirty, you can fling it in the wash, tumble it, and it won't even need ironing - and you will probably have been able to afford at least one spare - whereas a blazer will not be anywhere near as easy to clean when they've tipped custard or paint down it, or covered it in dirt using it as a football goal. Plus, as it will probably have cost more than the sweatshirt, it's unlikely that many parents will have more than one, so that will be less convenient for them.

Also, polo shirts can be washed, tumbled and folded - and even if they do need ironing, they are much easier to iron than a shirt. You may be lucky and may be able to wash and dry a school shirt so it doesn't need ironing, but I have never managed that. Ds1 has finished school now, and is off to uni in the autumn, but for the past few years, I have had three boys at senior school, needing a clean white shirt each day, and dh working in an office, ditto - and that is 20 shirts a week to wash and iron! I would not have been happy if I had had to do that all the way through their primary school years as well.

Not even if you had been Iron for Excellence, SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius?

I'm picturing the Iron for Excellence Award statuette, Cecily - and it looks nothing like me!

If I am absolutely honest, with three boys, I was (and am still) just glad if they get to the end of the week not looking totally disreputable. I was a firm believer in the Friday Uniform - which is one that definitely wouldn't be clean enough for a monday, but, with the odd bit picked off/sponged out, would pass with a shove for friday, because there was almost no chance that they were getting clean uniform on a friday, that would be going straight in the wash when they went to bed (even though it might have a bit more wear in it).

I had a shirt and tie uniform all through primary without an issue, I could tie a tie from starting school, I remember being taught how by my Mum and feeling very proud of being so grown up! My Mum is allergic to ironing, as I am, my dd chooses to wear blouses rather then polo shirts for school and I have never ever ironed one of them, I am not supper careful about how they dry and they just don't seem to crease at all. Blazers are a big more puzzling for primary school children (but they will look very smart) however I remember the things I did to my blazer at high school, terribly abused, dragged on the floor behind me, tie round my waist, thrown onto the the tack room floor among dust, straw and probably the odd big of pny muck at the stables as soon as I got there. I had a new blazer no more then every other year and washed every week or two (depending on the horseyness oder level!) but it just went through the machine as was man made fabric not wool (I can't see state primary schools having wool blazers). Blazers are an expensive buy but they last years and are very tough bits of clothing, also surprisingly warm. If my childrens school brought in this kind of uniform policy I wouldn't have a problem however, I think the OP's main issue is the same one I would have, I have lots of logo sweatshirts and polo shirts, I would struggle to buy both children new sets of uniform at the same time, our uniform has been built up over time.
Most schools when they have a uniform change have a change over period where children who are already at the school can wear old uniform, or a mix of old and new while they wear out/grow out of the old uniform, it would only be new starters who would be in the new uniform completely from day one.
OP if the school have not said anything about a change over period talk to them about it, explain your issues and try and see if you can get the school to agree to this. If possible see if you can get a group of parents who are feeling the same way to either go with you as a group or ask themselves. I know the schools will want everybody in the new uniforms from day one as the whole point it to smarten up the uniform code and having some children in new, some in old and some a mix of the two will look very untidy they need to look at the long term, they could set a deadline, if they were feeling reasonable to the extreme, one academic year or, on the stingy side, one term but either one of these would at least allow parents, especially those who have more then one child at school and/or are on low income the chance to spread the cost of new uniform, shirts will cost less then logo polo's but blazers and school coats are most costly.