School uniform sizes for Reception

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DD starts Reception in Sept. I'm a clueless first timer from out of the area. The uniform order form says the polo tops and cardigans come in size 3/4 then 5/6.
DD will be 4.5 and very slight build. What size should I get? Why do they not do 4/5??

If you go in they may have items in each size for you to look at. At my school we have a box of jumpers in each size for trying then all the rest can be ordered in the same size as the jumper- seems to work!

My DS's current school uniform does the skippy size thing in tops but the then shorts increase in 1 inch waist increments despite being elasticated and for each inch of waist gain you get about a 3 inch length gain. Minefield! You are not alone!

Polo tops in slightly too big won't be a problem so I'd go for the bigger size. Cardigans maybe more so. Is there any way you can try one out or ask other parents how the fit is? At our school they fit small, we struggled to get our average sized 4 yr old into the 5-6 size jumper. But they had some out at the settling in days so we could measure them up.

That sounds a bit like H&M - with clothes in 2-4 and 4-6. Could you afford to order the bigger one and keep it for the year after if it turns out to be too big?

My 5yr old slightly build DS has just moved into 4-5 trousers and tops. The trousers need to be elasticated (with buttons) or they fall off.
The gym kit started at 5-6. Luckily we could go for the right colors from supermarket.
You also need to know how the stuff washes - ie shrinks or grows!
The office staff should know!

My DS is starting this year too and I have the exact same problem. He's nearly 4.5 and very slight and on the short side. We went to the local shop and he tried them on. The 5-6 totally swamped him whereas he had quite a lot of growth in the 3-4 so I got 2 of those for now.

But why can't they made 4-5 and which giant children do they make the tops for?

It's no better if the are big! My DS is 3.9 but in all size 6-7 clothes because he is so tall and broad shouldered. However his school tops come in 5-6 which are too narrow at the shoulders and 7-8 which could be dresses.

My nearly six year old is still in the 3-4 polo shirts and cardigans, she is small for her age but not tiny. If your school does a secondhand uniform sale, you should be able to pick up a couple of different sizes for 50p each, to try.

If they have adjustable waists, get the larger size. Your child will absolutely not care what she looks like to begin with and they will last. By the time she cares about what she looks like, they will fit (DD is skinny and slight, in Y2, and still wearing the original uniform I bought her - looks quite good on fit now).

They all seem to have a big growth-spurt in reception, so I would advise getting second-hand stuff in the smaller size and then buying the next size up to put away. Because they literally sprout overnight and what fitted yesterday won't fit tomorrow!

This is unfortunately very normal. Could you speak to the school, they may have a second hand sale where you could see the items or they have a small new stock there as well.

I have this issue with DD's logo cardigans and all the ones I bought plain from M&S, they look like a tent and the stupid cuts are actually a reason I hate school uniform.

Ask at school, they probably have samples.

DS is in reception in an Age 7-8 jumper. There are only 2 more sizes above that, and 5 more years of school!

Is she wearing pinafore dresses or skirts? Mine both still prefer to wear pinafore dresses (yr 2&4) although most other girls wear skirts or trousers. Pinafore dresses you can get away with almost any size top. I've just realised that dd1 is in the same size tops as most of yr 2! She's not particularly small but as there is no midrift exposure they still fit fine. Pinafores also protect most of the top half meaning that we can pass the clothes on to ds who starts in September to destroy as I believe most reception boys do. If pinafores then I would say get the larger size and she will grow into them.

Thanks all, so it does appear to be normal then.
It is logoed polos and cardigans (order from school) and plain pinafores or skirts (which can be bought anywhere).
I called the school and I can pop in any morning between 10am and 11am to have a look at some samples.
Just seems so daft. All of her other clothes are 4-5 true to size, why can't uniform be standardised?

If each size does 2 years age range, then each size does 2 years schooling saving money, they don't expect perfect fit all the time.

My 9 year old is still in the 5-6 polo shirts! I'll move her up in September.

Our school PTA does second hand logo uniform for £1 an item. Always loads of infants stuff, some of it looking brand new.

TeenAndTween - my DD's clothing do not survive one year. All cardigans are washed out or stained after one year.

And she has 5 sets, so everything is washed once a week max. and I buy from several companies.

What is she doing with them?! DD has had one cardi, one fleece, one pinafore, one skirt and three pairs of trousers since starting school three years ago. Also, four polo shirts that lasted two and a bit years. I just bought another two (I don't think she needs more than that, really, as they are rarely very dirty).

I have a very small DD and her school jumper came down way past her knees! BHS do v small sizes.

Fortunately DD's school are laid back on uniform, so we have 1 logo polo, 1 logo jumper and the bookbag & backpack.

Everything else comes from supermarkets/John Lewis etc, which is good because I have loads of it.

DD has 6 polos, 6 pinafores, 4 cardigans and 3 summer dresses. I don't know how she manages, but we need a clean set everyday and I'm someone who is happy just to take a wet-wipe to things.

I'd go for the bigger size. My daughter wears 3-4 clothes but the uniform for her chest size days she needs 5-6 years old. She's very petite so I'm not too sure about that. The school said they have test uniforms that I can try out on my daughter so I can see what size I should get. Wish I could just order it online but they've confused me now lol

I would hold off ordering for a bit . We ordered DD the 3-4 size stuff for when she started reception (at 4y3m), she had a mammoth growth spurt over the summer and it was all too small by the time she started so we had to get the next size up.

Find out from school how long it takes to get in, and see whether you'll have time in September to order it before she starts.

Buy one of each, then decide what you want from there. And don't buy polos from school unless you have to- buy them from the supermarket .

I tend to buy big. I bought (tallish but petite) DD some 4-5 stuff at the beginning of YR and she'd outgrown it within months. the 5-6 is better and bought 6-7 in Summer dresses!

I've just ordered 3-4 year old jumpers for my daughter. I went to the school today and they had a sample size 5-6 jumper which was huge so I ordered the next size down. I doubt she will grow big enough to fit in the 5-6 jumper by sept so i didnt see the point in waiting..i think the 3-4 is perfect and might even be a little big as well judging by how big the 5-6 was .she tends to wear 3-4 year old clothes anyway