Do I have enough school uniform?

[WhiteCatRedCollar]

DD starts in September. She currently goes to a private Nursery which has a uniform jumper for preschool which I pair with skirts, and socks/tights so she’s used to uniform.

She does 3 days at a Nursery and she doesn’t have quite enough uniform with two sets. Some weeks she can manage her 3 days in 1 uniform, and others she could do with a 3rd set. So I’ve doubled the amount for school does this sound ok?

Uniform:
4 skirts
1 school trousers
4 polo shirts (2 with logo, 2 without)
4 jumpers (2 with logo, 2 without – she won’t wear cardigans)
10 pairs of socks (5 white, 5 grey)
10 pairs of tights (4 grey, 3 white and 3 navy)
1 pair school shoes
1 pair wellies
1 coat

PE:
2 short sleeved T-shirts
2 long sleeved T-shirts
1 tracksuit jacket
2 pairs of joggers
2 pairs of shorts
Swimming Costume
1 poncho towel (recommended we get one by school)
1 pair trainers
1 pair plimsoles

Optional items:
1 school bobble hat
1 school cap
(she insisted she needed both )

Will I have enough? And if not which items do I need more of? She has 2 sets of PE uniform because if she has a toileting accident they’re changed into their PE kits.

I was going to do:

4 trousers (actually was going to do 3 but DM found an unworn pair in her charity shop)
4 shirts
2 jumpers
5 socks
1 tie

1 set of PE kit as apparently they just keep it at school and bring it back at the end of term.

For us 5 polo shirts avoided the need for a midweek wash. School was very warm though, so they were mostly in polos with sweatshirts discarded.

Do you only wash at weekends?

My DS has just finished year 6. From Receptio, he had one set of PE kit, 5 shirts (short sleeved) 2 jumpers, 2 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of shorts (summer only). That was ample. I did wash some of it in the week if needs be but probably only once. White wash at weekends which was why he had 5 shirts. He really didn't get dirty. You have far too much! You definitely don't need the 2 sets of PE kit!

No wonder school uniform retailers are rubbing their hands with glee at this time of year . A marketing dream.

I manage a charity shop, we get brand new school uniform (from a high street retailer) & I can’t sell it at £1 an item.

State Primary.

As I said I can only wash every other day, because even with the best will in the world I can only get it dry inside and have no where else for it to go (no dry or outside drying area as I said) and it takes 48 hours to get dry, if the weather is ok in summer I can get it done in 24 hours but that isn't helpful in the depths of winter. She goes to her dads after school one day a week and he might change her into "home" clothes and send her home in those then wash the uniform as he has a dryer but I can't rely upon it.

She is reliable with toileting now, she just took awhile to get it and still dribbles a bit if she doesn't quite make it. Her SN is physical mainly, so she struggles with Gross Motor and Fine Motor so getting to the toilet on time can be difficult.

PE kit is sent home after every lesson, they do it 2-3 times a week but it can change week to week when it's done as sometimes they're doing it Monday and Wednesday and other times Thursday and Friday.

Very outdoorsy school, Forest School at least once a week, huge playing fields used all year round at break and lunch, wet breaks only in extreme weather, teachers encouraged to use the outside of the building as much as possible.

Nobody can tell you the right answer for your family.

If you have a clean child, can wash mid-week and are happy to use a tumble dryer, anything more than 2 or 3 of everything (and 1 PE kit) is a waste.

If you have a muck magnet like my one, don't have time to think during the week let alone wash/iron, and you air dry everything, then with just 2 or 3 sets you'd be tearing your hair. In Year R we've had 5 jumpers (1 logo'd and 2x2 supermarket plan packs) , 9 polos (3 packs of 3), 7 trousers and 4 shorts. Also 2 PE T-shirts and 2 PE shorts (I would have only bought 1 of each but everything seemed to come in packs of 2!) It's all been well-used, apart from the second set of PE kit. And some of his trousers and polo shirts are only fit for the rag bag :-)

@WhiteCatRedCollar i think you have the right amounts - if kids come home from school spotless with mo opportunity to play on anything but astroturf, i feel for the kids! and not anybody is prepared and able to wash tiny loads daily!
(although i agree that the white socks snd tights will likely only stay white for one wear - maybe only them for special days)

I wouldn't get white tights, they will get too grubby. Also if you feel you need two sets of PE kit, I'd get one in the next size up and put that one at the bottom of the bag. If it gets worn, slightly baggy won't matter.

I have a full set of everything for each day, plus a couple of spare shirts. It's a pain to get some stuff dry midweek. But I've never bought a spare pe kit. I'd also ask if spare tights knickers skirt can be kept in school in the pe bag in case of an accident...as otherwise she's going to stand out every time she has an accident and I wouldn't want that for either of my dc.

TeenTimesTwo had the same as me and I found it ample. My DC did vary a lot in how messy they were and DD needed more midweek sponging than her brothers but I don't wash midweek . My DD was very keen to wear the same as her friends so if grey tights were the 'done thing' she wouldn't have worn socks . I also found pinafore easier than a skirt for looking tidy and comfy round the middle when they are little and don't have waists as there is no tucking in required.

I'd love to get a pinafore but unfortunately DD is very set in her ways over clothes and if I put her in something she doesn't like/want to wear she has a habit of stripping off, she's done it at Nursery before! She won't wear pinafores sadly

That's sounds like loads ... I would get 5 polo shirts though so a clean one each day without having to wash midweek if you don't have time

Uniform is a tricky one. Having 2 ds now 18 and 11 I have learned that each child is different so I would order according to their needs. The most helpful advice is to order the branded bits sparingly and to start think about the season and the fact you can order year round. I generally follow that winter is coming to start so those summer options are out...you can get those later. Never order the trousers and polo shirts from the school supplier... You are better off using your local supermarket unless they are also branded. Make use of Facebook selling pages for branded (unless also monogrammed like one of the schools my ds attends). My eldest went through trousers and shirts like anything, the youngest refuses to wear jumpers even in winter... You know what they are going to need and you can always order more if required.

Far to much. Mine is going into year 7. He has only ever had 2 sets of everything. One to wear and one to wash. Plus 1 PE kit. They outgrow it so fast it's wastefull to buy more.

working in reception - yes more than enough uniform, Pe kit is only worn for an hour or two, I'm not sure you need a spare set, we only send ours home in school holidays, as does every primary school i know, so even if your school sends it home every lesson I wouldn't be washing it every lesson at primary (before they get sweaty armpits) i suspect that's a space to store it thing.

If she has SEN and is only just potty trained I would get her a spare pair of really cheap school shoes/black plimsolls though, because there were a few times dd wet herself in tights and it ran into her shoes, they take a while to clean and dry, don't spend loads because they won't be every other day or anything but definitely worth having just in case.

Mine are 8&6 and have a set for every day. We don’t have to buy school brands though and I get them from Lidl so was less than £50 for all of it

Last year I only had to replace polos a couple of times for the 8 year old (insists on white) and a couple of jumpers as he is prone to losing them

Didn’t buy any uniform throughout the year for the 6 year old

Oh and like others have said, spare clothes in a bag and shoes and socks

My 6 year old has asd and wasn’t out of pull ups until he was almost 5

I would also say maybe rethink the tights if she is prone to accidents. Although when ds started reception they were really good and he was in black jogging bottoms until he was toilet trained

Which colour socks and trainer for required for girls

Would trousers be easier for accidents, rather than her struggling pulling a skirt up, and tights down? When I taught reception (many moons ago in my previous life) this was one thing a lot of the girls struggled with- or sitting on the back of the skirt and weeing over it.

For what it’s worth I do have a tumble dryer, but for uniform I pop it on the hanger after it comes out of the wash, and hang it up in the bedroom doorway, it’s dry by the morning. That includes trousers, sweatshirts, and blazer. Far quicker than on a clothes horse.

I used to have 5 of everything for uniform, and 2 PE. However that was because I worked away anything from 1-4 nights a week, and if dp had to leave for work at 5:30am they would stay at grandparents. So we knew we alway had clean so that no one had to wash anything, and if things were left behind, we still had some clean. Cost a fortune though once they got into adult sizes (at 12/13- I grow rugby playing giraffes).

School uniform list doesn't specify by gender apart from for PE where it says boys need swimming shorts/trunks and girls a 1 piece swimming costume, otherwise everything is under the label school uniform and children can pick and choose which items/colours they wear - it's great in a way as it's so flexible so even my fussy with clothes DD will be happy in something!

She doesn't really want or like trousers, I've bought them as an absolute back up i.e. I haven't managed to get all the washing done or she's used all her uniform when she goes to her dads and he keeps hers etc.