Calling all anti school uniform people! Help me stop my primary school making uniform compulsory!

[mousiemousie]

My dd's primary have optional uniform which almost nobody wears. A few wear the school sweatshirt sometimes. The chairman of the governors is pro uniform and wants to make it compulsory.

I am anti uniform and do not want other parents to dictate that how I spend my money and clothe my child. They are free to put their child in uniform now if they want to.

Can anyone advise me how to avoid the uniform being made compulsory?

'if some parents are having trouble getting their kids dressed why should this mean all parents have to change their lives'??

wtf??

If you are fervently opposed then you could:
Speak to the Headteacher to get his/her view; if the teaching staff are against it being made compulsory, then you're on to a winner, I should imagine.
Write to the governors and state that you oppose the instigation of the school uniform, and feel that the process they are using to try and get it made compulsory is not fair. Send a copy to the LEA.
Get all other supporting parents to do the same.

I think uniforms are a good idea, but I too would be unhappy if a change from non-uniform to uniform was being brought in via the back door. I also see your point that those who want to wear a uniform already can, so to make it compulsory in this instance seems unfair.

For me the overwhelming pros are the fact that it's cheap, I don't care if it gets trashed and there's no problem of "what to wear today".

You may not want to turn this thread into a debate, but this is exactly what you are likely to come up against in any campaign to stop compulsory uniform being introduced. If you can't argue your corner here without "I won't be dictated to" and foot stamping, then you won't stand a chance where it really matters

It's a very good point capp. I don't understand why you say wtf after it.

Do you parents all really struggle to get your kids dressed in the school holidays too? It seems bizarre to me. Perhaps you need to work on it because getting dressed every day is an essential life skill you know.

I don't get the argument that school uniform saves you money. Presuming that children don't wear uniform all the time, you still have to buy them clothes to wear when they're not at school so doesn't this just mean that you have to buy more clothes?
I really begrudge having to buy enough summer clothes for the six-week holiday which will only be worn for.... six weeks!

Soup for me it's not cheap because it means buying a whole raft of other clothes instead of just using the ones they've got, many of which are gorgeous hand me downs.

Great reasons mousie.

Can you tell I find these threads depressing. I've been burned in the past and I know I face more than ten years of teflon laundering through gritted teeth.

Much of what DS wears to school is cheap and I know it will get trashed - but then for the majority of the primary school life they are growing out of stuff before it ends it's natural life. And at least it can be cheap, trashed and in a colour that suits them!

it sounds very judgemental to me spider

there was no suggestion that I heard that anyone couldn't dress their kids - and if they could, how would uniform solve that?

unless of course we are talking about dressing their kids nicely ie in more expensive clothing

mousie's reasons seem to assume a certain level of spending money

I would rather DSs get pen on a £1.25 polo shirt from Primark than a more expensive non-uniform top from Pumpkin Patch. Ditto I'd rather they got holes in their cheap school trousers. I don't want to be constantly worried about them wrecking more expensive clothes at school and thus curtail their individuality and personality.

And WTF is "if some parents are having trouble getting their kids dressed why should this mean all parents have to change their lives?? " meant to mean anyway? how ridiculous, that's not a reason for uniform at all IMO.

soupy I agree with you again

dd likes nice clothes but I can only buy them if she wears stuff from Asda during the week

if she was constantly trashing pretty tops we'd be looking at a lot less interesting wardrobe for her

MM, this may be the sort of stuff you'll come up against in your campaign. You'll need to formulate your arguments accordingly. Although it doesn't sound very likely from what you say - the head is not pro-uniform and the one govenor only appears to have conducted some sort of half-ar$ed survey. It may be a storm in a teacup. Your best bet may be to chat to other parents at the school gate to find out opinions.

But this is it: you are lucky that your Dcs go t schools where uniform is the ting, and mousieMousie and I are lucky that ours go to a school where the lack of uniform suits us! It isn't about changing the norm in your schools!

I agree with Soupy re the tactics.

I question whether it's ethical to buy cheap uniform from places where the workers in the developing world have been paid 5p an hour to sew them up.

I just want to say that I agree with mousiemousie and spidermama. I know I'm in a minority, but for me it just feels so unnecessary to make such young children wear uniform. And those short sleeved polo shirts are just so insubstantial - really not practical for winter wear at all.

But essentially I just hate the whole conformism of it - don't like being told what to do

And if they can manage without it in Europe and the US, why is it so essential here?

'if some parents are having trouble getting their kids dressed why should this mean all parents have to change their lives'

I took this to be a reply to those on this thread who like uniforms because otherwise they would spend time arguing with their kids about what they wore every day.

my ds wears pleanty of cheap clothes that I don't mind him ruining at school. Just not cheap grey teflon trousers. Agree with those who find an unneccessary expense - you still need clothes for weekends and holidays. Also how many people insist on their kids taking it off and putting something else on when they get home? Hence the need for more clothes.

I don't like those polo shirts because

a) if you spill something on them they immediately stain forever and

b) they're supposed to be non-iron but they look all wrinkly and horrible

No more or less ethical than buying non-uniform clothes made int he same way

Blu, unless MM takes on board the comments/arguments from pro-uniform people, she won't be able to argue effectively against the change. Know Your Enemy

btw I've often heard the 'it saves endless arguments in the morning about what to wear' argument for uniform - I think that's what MM meant when she referred to other parents 'not being able to get their kids dressed'.

a) Oxyxclean.
b) Tumble dry for 5 minutes after they've virtually dried anyway and then hang up

My children went to a primary school which had introduced uniform just before ds started school - I think there was a vote, the compromise was the last month of the year is non uniform. It works well. The have also spent terms at schools elsewhere with no uniform, no problems.

Yes but SD - I don't buy any other clothes, because people just give me sackfuls of them.

The only clothes I actually have to buy, are uniform. And tights for DD.

Have never had to buy a pair of underpants for DS in 7 years (and he has about 30 pairs - not second hand I hasten to add, I'm a classy bird - only non-underwear is s/h in our house)

And ds1's uniform is....bright yellow and royal blue [vomit emoticon]
AND the sweatshirts run endlessly which means a special wash with one item in it every week - NOT very sustainable.

uniform shmoonifom.

Who has arguments with kids about clothes? Just let them wear what they like. (But then I know I'm lucky, mine will agree re weather suitability, I do know some people have kids who insist on wearing sundresses in the snow)