School uniform planning for new starters!

[drspouse]

A bit early as from memory there are sales around June (can anyone shed any light?), and all our Reception new starters will be growing like mad no doubt between now and then, but it's nice to have this to think about now the places are allocated for most.

My DD is very small so though she'll wear trousers (which she prefers to dresses generally) she needs her own new ones plus DS trashed his polos entirely so she'll only really get his old jumpers that all shrank a lot anyway.

They wear plain coloured t-shirts for PE and I found some in a 3 for 2 at Boots together with plain shorts so I got her age 3-4 which is pretty huge on her anyway!

M&S do 100% cotton trousers and they are OOS in her size but I'm assuming they'll be back in stock fairly soon. 100% cotton polos from Matalan are extremely reasonable!

I'm still going to be hunting for 100% cotton non-PE shorts for her I seem to remember from DS Reception days (he's still wearing that pair). Both of them seem to get quite itchy in non-cotton trousers.

Unfortunately DD is still not potty trained properly (we are seeing the continence nurse again next month) so it's going to be a case of sending at least 2 spare pairs a day and washing daily I fear.

But for DS we had 4 pairs of trousers to last the week (they wear their PE joggers all day on PE day which helps) and 6 polos as they come in packs of 2 or 3 anyway.

Despite what the optimistic posters on another thread think, we also needed more than 1 (2 or 3 worked OK) school jumpers/sweatshirts.

I'm happy to say that the amount of food and paint on DS' tops has reduced in Y1 but the amount of whiteboard pen hasn't and I still can't find any way to get that off!

In reception my twins had ten pinafores, ten polos, and 8 cardis between them. I work FT and we don't have a dryer and my kids seem to be exceptionally messy.

They're in Y2 now and I've just bought 4 dresses each, will probably need to get another one each.

Unfortunately our school does not allow trousers for girls (which made me look at other local schools just to find that none of them do). So we will have to see how DD adjusts. She will wear a dress quite happily, but only as an extra once she is already 'dressed', so over trousers or leggins.

Regarding uniforms in general, in my view if you generally choose to pay a little more for clothing, e.g. in order to get good quality items that last, and/or are made out of eco-friendly cotton, and/or do not involve another child somewhere being exploited in order for you to dress your child cheaply - then you should apply the same principle to school uniform, which after all your child will be wearing 5 days/week.

From that perspective I'll throw in ecooutfitters.com - fairly expensive (comparable to JL) but good stuff.

And in the reduce-reuse-recycle spirit, why not save some pennies by buying second-hand?
In our school nearly all new reception children tend to be dressed in brand new uniform, and many inexperienced parents over-buy (myself included, back when DC1 started), meaning that their items don't get much use before being outgrown. This means that there is usually a lot of 'reception child size' second hand uniform in good condition to be had, with little competition, as most will be buying new especially for their PFBs.
Talk to your school, if they're on the ball, there might be a second hand uniform sale around the time of your induction meeting or settling in sessions.

If the school wear summer dresses and allow them to be worn in the September, I would recommend a couple of those too. It is often hotter in September than during the Summer term. My DD started Reception in summer dresses.

We had a couple of items from ecooutfitters but they don't do black trousers!

Great tip about Asda trousers, thanks Spartacus. At nursery we use up all the spare clothes I can carry plus some of theirs, daily, but at the CM she is dry and clean, so who knows what school will be like.

I can't seem to find anywhere locally selling secondhand uniform - I got a PE top for DS from a friend at the same school but she seemed slightly surprised that I'd asked! We don't have a shop at school and nothing ever turns up in the charity shops either so I have no idea what people do with them. Quick look on FB came up with nothing either though it isn't peak season of course.

Seeline I don't think she'll want to wear dresses without tights or really at all, I'll get her some shorts or I spotted a nice skort in Matalan.

Sainsburys always have one of their 25% off events in August and their uniform is good quality. Lidl and Aldi have an event some time them too and do super cheap polo tops providing your uniform colour is white or blue. They’re fine for reception kids.

We started with two jumpers but now have four plus a non logo one I got as a spare

The Lidl stuff goes on sale in June and is pretty good quality. We are still using shirts we got last year and still really good.

If you buy from Tesco, buy a size up as they shrink.

food and paint on DS' tops has reduced in Y1 but the amount of whiteboard pen hasn't and I still can't find any way to get that off!

Get a sponge, squirt washing up liquid on and rub with the green scourer bit, rinse then wash or if that fails alcohol hand gel, leave 10 minutes then wash, but test a patch first as it can cause worse stains (I work in a school, sadly the children don't just cover themselves)

Asda are in my opinion the best quality non-logo uniform, plimsolls from shoe-zone, if your school have a summer fair try that for 2nd hand uniform.

Ive tried all sorts and brands of school trousers and polos for eldest DS and found he puts holes in the knee of all the trousers and he stains all the polos regardless, so I just buy whatever is cheapest.

Our school sells donated second hand uniform at the parents information evening for new starters.

Lidl/Aldi were on sale around July 21st last year

sothis
Astonishingly DS who is Mr Clumsy but has no holes in his trousers.
Rainbow I will try that in desperation.

Oh does anyone know if Matalan have a sale period? most of the things I want seem to be available there.

Aldi sell polo shirts pack of two for £1.25 so we stock up then. They do shrink a bit in the tumble dryer but I tend to buy half a dozen packs and ditch 2 packs every term and use new ones.

Sainsbury's trousers are longer in length than others and have lasted really well.

Thankfully When my dd started school last year, I was sensible enough to get plenty of second hand uniform, now when my ds starts this year, all I need to get are a few more polos and trousers.

Can't help with the uniform aspect but have you considered washable training pants to reduce the need for outer layer spares?

Washable training pants aren't waterproof...

Not completely and most types won't hold a full wee but I use them with my boy (bright bots) and I'd very rarely have to change his trousers if he has an accident.

We started out using them but it was even worse than with normal pants as she just assumed they were like a nappy.

Lol we’ve used them and when you pull them down it floods out the pants if they are too waterproof. A bit like Niagara Falls.

My twins are currently in Reception.
Between them they have 2 pinafores, 4 trousers, 8 polos, 4 cardigans, 2 jumpers and this amount is plenty for them. They are not messy children and a pinafore has lasted them a whole week some weeks. So glad I didn't overbuy.

I’m looking for recommendations for robust school shoes (girls) please. And do most girls wear those little shorts under their dresses if not wearing tights?