DS is about to start reception, how much uniform do I ACTUALLY need?

[NotSayingImBatman]

My mind is boggled. Embroidered jumpers, obviously, but how many? I want to say 3 because then there's one in the wash, one in the drawer and one being worn and that seems right but I could be thinking of moses basket sheets.

Embroidered polo shirts. Any point from September when it starts to get chilly and he'll be wearing the school jumper over it anyway? Plus he's skinny as fuck and all but slim fit polo shirts swamp him.

PE kit? Really? I mean, he'd look cute, I guess... And I'd only need one, right?

Having read the AIBU thread I will not be buying the bookbag, so that saved us a fiver. School ties are mandatory from KS2 but only 'advised' for KS1. Unnecessary faff. However, I return your attention to the 'will look cute' aspect above.

School coat? Fleece? Jacket? Or one from M&S? PE bag? Gah.

Help me!

[WhatWouldFlopDo]

I've got 5 of everything, nothing with logo's except the book bag. 2 PE kits because the shorts and the shirts came in packs of 2. Everything was from asda or sainsburys and the quality is fine. If I fancy a logo polo for the school photo I'll order one the month before, school get deliveries from the embroidery place weekly.

I've not got the school coat, we've got plenty of coats. I was a bit worried about not having the embroidered stuff but the teacher said 'meh just buy uniform from aldi, it gets covered in all sorts'.

[MidnightVelvetthe5th]

I lied it wasn't my last post I'm so sorry. This is my last post, you're going think I'm mad!!

In the depths of winter when its cold we have a winter coat but I also use this one from M&S in the other 3 seasons. Reason being you can always see him in it when you walk out the school gate in a crowd of schoolchildren & if it gets lost you can find it very quickly as nobody has the same one & it stands out in a pile of navy blue & black coats. If you walk home then you can also see if he's too near the road etc.

The visibility thing is also good if you go anywhere with large crowds. It seriously stands out!!

[madamginger]

I have 3 in primary school and I have a full set of clean uniform to last a week. Each DC has 9 polo tops, 6 trousers/skirts and 5 jumpers/cardigans. I buy multi packs from m&s so end up with extras.
It means that I don't have to worry about a mid week wash.
And they have 2 PE kits because they come in multi packs too

[RatOnnaStick]

Oh, and somebody on MN last year told me to get one pair of shorts too just in case its still warm in september. I'm glad I did this because they did come out a few times in september and late march before easter too.

[vikingorigins]

Depends what your DS is like. My DD comes home filthy every day. I think they must use her for general coal mining and gardening duties . She has clean on, every day. Some of her friends manage to wear the same clothes for 3 days.

She has 5 of everything, but all supermarket. PE kit is shorts, plain white t-shirt and black daps in a free drawstring bag we got from MOAM

[Miloarmadillo1]

5 jumpers, trousers, polo shirts. One PE kit. We have branded sweatshirts but trousers/polo shirts from the supermarket. It all comes home filthy every single day and gets washed at the weekend. Second the suggestion of a BRIGHT coat.
My older son is 9 and is less often covered in mud/grass/pen/paint/blood, he manages fine with three jumpers.

[Pipbin]

Reception teacher here.

Polos are easier than shirts for getting changed.
Buy 8 million jumpers.

Write names in everything.

[DeathMetalMum]

5 of everything think we ended up with more than 5 polove shirts but they get srained so easily it didn't matter. Dd comes out some days with dinner on the full length of her pinafore, no way we could do with less than 5 plus it's easy to do a big school uniform wash on a Saturday.

One PE kit only but I found that the red polo shirts and navy shorts we needed only came in packs of two anyway so we ended up with two kits.

We haven't bought any branded jumpers. We were also lucky to be given a huge bundle of school uniform for Dd from family. We didn't have to buy a huge amount but certainly wouldn't do with any less.

[Whitecovers]

We have two jumpers, two pairs of trousers and a pair of shorts for both ds's (Yr 1 and nursery) They have about 5 t shirts/shirts.

School embroidered jumpers were rubbish, faded quick, shrunk and went bobbly. Asdas plain ones do the job just fine.

We got a bookbag for ds1 in reception and he still uses the same one in year 1. Same for pe kit bag.

[AugustaFinkNottle]

Don't buy a thing before August, or he'll have grown out of it.

[Dixiechickonhols]

Just to add label everything (coats etc I do 2 times) so if it gets lost if comes back to you (you may know a scribbled JS on the tag is yours but a nice label saying John Spencer has much more chance if it is left in the yard etc. labels for water bottles, shoes etc too

Know how much uniform you have. DD has 3 cardigans, if DD comes home without it I do not send her back with one next day - tell her to find the one at school.

Check it regularly, it is easy to overlook pumps and at the end of the year realise they are 2 sizes smaller than his shoes.

[DoItTooJulia]

Formerbabe is right. When I woh full time I had 5 of everything
So there was no laundry stress midweek.

I was told you only need one logod top (one each polo and jumper) for the days they're on trips-helps identify them if they get a bit separated from their group. The rest I got cheaply (without logos) from sainsbos when they have 25% off.

As they get older and they can eat without getting it all down their jumper, you need less.

[Gizlotsmum]

I have 1 pe kit ( thinking might get two for elder child) 5 polo shirts, 5 trousers ( skirts and pinafores for girls) so can leave washing till weekend, 1 school cardi and 2 spares ( un branded), coat. I tend to get a book bag, lunch box,

[GigiB]

5 polo shirts (supermarket), 2 pairs of trousers (good quality), 1 PE top, 1 tracksuit bottoms, 1 PE shorts, book bag, you can get away with 1 jumper if you do a mid-week wash but i'd go for 2. . trousers last ages if you get good ones. polo shirts last a term before they look awful. jumpers last ages. bookbag lasts ages.

[MerryMarigold]

At our school, P.E kit uniform is compulsory so check that. Only 1. They bring it every half term for a wash.

School logo-ed sweatshirts and polos are not compulsory. We don't bother with either of those. The sweatshirt is 20quid and horrible quality. The top will not be seen half the year, and the other half a year will get covered in ink marks and need to be chucked at the end of the summer.

Bag is only a fiver and seems like everyone has it, so we do have those.

[isittheholidaysyet]

My advice (I've only skim read the thread.)

3 trousers (winter) 3 shorts (summer) (but they came in 2 packs, so mine had 4)

5 shirts (2 or 3 pks so mine had 6!) if logoed and expensive though, you may want to buy one or two logoed (for photo and performance days) and some not.

2 logoed jumpers and one cheap one for that one time you didn't manage to get the washing in!

1 lot PE kit (they hardly wear it. Ours only comes home for washing every half term)

Coat, check the quality of the school coat, ours are ridiculously thin. If it's crap buy one elsewhere. (Also, if you buy a non-school one it can be his out of school coat as well)

This does all depend on the school though. They can't legally force you to logos, but one school in our town really really prefer it and are really strict about uniform. The other school are a lot more relaxed and a lot of non-logoed stuff is worn.

On an average week, my boys will wear 2 trousers, 2/3 shirts, 1 jumper.

I would advise you to name everything twice though. (eg name tape on neck and marker pen on side label!)

[Felyne]

I wouldn't get a school coat. Too hard to tell apart without actually looking in it for a name tag (plus my DD's one is no longer waterproof having been washed).

[steppemum]

You always get a great variety of responses on these threads, depending on how often you wash, and how much they wear the stuff before you wash it.

My kids only ever had one jumper. They wore it all week and it went in the wash on Friday. If there was lunch etc dripped, then I sponged it.
Actually for years it didn't occur to me that everyone else had more than one!

We have never lost a jumper though, as they went in jumperless and found theirs, I suspect it was connected.

ds wore his trousers all week. dd1 needed a clean pair everyday and she was a little vague about toileting.

polos last us 2 days until year 4 ish, when they start to stink and then clean one every day.

Avoid logos as much as possible as stuff goes missing and gets trashed and logos are expensive.

One tip I got was to keep one clean, new white polo at the back of the drawer, and use it for concert days, photos etc.

Your absolute essential piece of kit though is a black permanent marker pen. Write it on the collar of every item of clothing. Where possible on the fabric, not the label (labels get cut out) Don't forget to name you school coat, pe bag, rucksack etc. Don't use initials, use their name. If you have younger siblings use initial and surname.
It feels sad sticking black pen over a nice new white shirt. Don't feel sad, it will be the difference between you replacing it when it is pinched/lost or not.

[mrsmortis]

We started with 6 polo shirts (because they came in 3 packs), 1 logo-ed jumper and 2 cardigans, and 3 bottoms (2 trousers and a pinafore).

We labelled everything, twice - once on the back of the next and once on the side label with the washing instructions. Remember you also need to label shoes, water bottles, book bag, etc.

One thing to think about, if your DS is like my DD, is do you need to have spares at home? My DD seems capable of going through the knees on anything. If you will have the time to pop into Sainsburys/Marks if the little darling puts holes in the knees of 2 pairs of trousers in a week then you'll be OK. If not then it's something to consider.

[eyebrowse]

We had nearly two weeks worth of polo shirts and usually three skirts/trousers and jumpers as we don't have a tumble drier. We managed to pick some uniform up very cheaply at the school fayre/second hand places-although its very cheap from supermarkets. However you need fewer non uniform clothes which is helpful

[BikeRunSki]

DS, now finishing year 2, has alwYs had. 5 or 6 polo shirts, 3 jumpers and 3 or 4 pairs of trousers. Warn waterproof skiing jacket type coat due owner, fleece or cagoule for warmer weather. Many pairs of grey socks.

I wash all the uniform at weekends. A spare polo shirt is handy if liable to get messy before school or if we've been away for the weekend.

[MerryMarigold]

Buy less rather than more. You can buy uniform all year round now. Also, they grow. I generally end up buying some more uniform during the year.

[EarthboundMisfit]

Mine all have 5 polo shirts, 5 pairs of trousers and 4 jumpers. No logo polo shirts for us.

[steppemum]

and we avoided school logo coat, rucksack and pe bag. They were not essential kit. That meant dc could find their own coat/bag as it was distinctive, instead of wading through 29 other identical bags to find theirs.

I got brightly coloured drawstring bags from Amazon, and wrote their name in large letters across the outside.

[Just5minswithDacre]

I have always done one white uniform wash and two dark uniform washes per week, meaning only one wash had to be done during the working week, and the other two on the weekend when there was more time.

So;

6 polo shirts (enough for a week and one for luck)
3 skirts/trousers
3 jumpers
LOTS of identical socks (they go missing, develop holes and if they are all completely identical pairing isn't an issue)

One PE kit.