No uniform school - questions

[Behindthecurves]

DS starts in reception in September. There’s no uniform at the school which initially I thought was a great idea but now I’m started to see some disadvantages!

Does anyone have any practical advice/tips?

Everything needs to be labelled - which now seems like a mammoth task since it won’t just be a few items of uniform. Should we have some clothes set aside for school and label those? I can see us just putting him in whatever is clean that day.
Are there any advantages? Eg on PE day would you dress them in their PE clothes and then give them a change of clothes for after?
Did you dress them slightly smarter for school- eg polo shirts and trousers rather than T-shirt’s and joggers?

Just buy a bunch of trackie bottoms and t-shirts. For reception age that is perfect. You could probably get away with 3 of each so not much to label. Get a bunch of stick on name tags so if child decides one morning that they absolutely have to wear their Spiderman t-shirt just bung a name sticker on.
The teachers will tell you if they want the children to come in PE kit or not. Getting changed for PE is a lesson by itself - it's a life skill.
Oh you are lucky. No horrible uniform.

Sensible advice, thank you

When ds was in reception their uniform was either track suit bottoms or shorts and a polo shirt. So easy and simple! If I have to label clothes in a hurry I just use a biro or a permanent pen. No faffing with labels and even the biro stays on for quite a few washes! I have bought a stamp but have not been over impressed with it. It seems to 'bleed' into the tag.

Ah good to know jogging bottoms is the norm- I was thinking he might need to wear something slightly more formal. Will definitely just get some basics and label those and keep separate

No uniform seems like a right PITA.

I would be inclined to stick with joggers and polo shirts / hoodies. I'd look at somewhere like H&M or Next where you can cheap and cheerful coordinating multipacks of stuff, label this and declare it 'school only stuff'.

Dd is at a non uniform primary. She's going into Y6 so I'm less fussy about labelling everything which I did at first. Obviously coats, jumpers, hoodies need to be labelled. A Sharpie on the label works well! Clothes from H&M have a name tag in place you can write on.
PE days they are expected to go in wearing t shirt, joggers/leggings and trainers. If they need to change for PE or swimming it's worth labelling things.
Clothes wise the kids just wear what is comfortable. The boys wear jogging bottoms or shorts in summer. Some wear jeans or other casual trousers.
DD is hoping she gets to go to a non uniform secondary now which I would prefer rather than having to adhere to a ridiculous strict uniform.

I'd get a few fruit of the bloom t shirts and joggers or shorts like others have suggested :)

You don't need to buy Fruit of The Loom - just go to Primark.

I’ve never understood why in our country we are so obsessed with formal uniform for children, especially young ones! With all the challenges we teachers face nowadays, questioning the colour of a child’s tights features very low on my list of priorities...and that’s in a lovely school with little in the way of behaviour/family issues to contend with!

My dc1’s school has no uniform. She’s heading into y8 but the younger dc mostly wear jogging bottoms/jeans and shirts/t-shirts/hoodies for boys and similar for girls. I think it’s great. As they get older too they continue to dress sensibly because that’s completely the norm. The school ask that they dress “not as if going to a nightclub” but that’s pretty much it. Dc gets most school clothes from Primark. Cheap, comfortable and basic.

For PE they have a change of clothes as appropriate to the activity.

DD (primary) doesn't wear uniform - there are a few guidelines, but they're along the 'no offensive slogans' line rather than being particularly prescriptive. Boys tend to wear t-shirts (ones with bright designs are fine at our school; check your guidelines!) and shorts/joggers/causal trousers. We have stick in labels which have proved invaluable, especially for jumpers! DD is required to change for PE - again, your school should tell you if that's the case.

We've gone for trainers rather than school shoes - a personal choice, of course, but they're comfortable and practical, not to mention rather cheaper than fitted shoes! You really really want to label his shoes, whatever type they are.

If you can find stick on labels that have not only his name but also a design (not a football, all the boys seem to have that one) it helps in YR. Just buy a job lot of those, name the things you think will get worn most, and add a label at breakfast time if he chooses something unexpected. You can use the labels for shoes (the tongue is a good place where it doesn’t get rubbed off), water bottles, bookbags, dress up day clothes, special toys for show and tell...

Agree with stick on labels.

My name tags is an excellent site. They stock really well despite constant washing and can be used for bags, lunchboxes, drinks bottles etc!

I'd also have some school basics and start getting him to choose his own combinations from this. It's a good life skill and really helps them feel in control which can also help with them going to school calm!

No uniform is great - it means when you go on holiday you don’t have to buy a load of clothes that only get worn once or twice. We’ve just bought a wardrobe of clothes and they wear what they want. It means that jeans and joggers wear out and are not grown out of not worn.

Thanks for all the of the tips - really helpful!

Yes I’m definitely going to order some more joggers, T-shirts and hoodies and go through it all with him to put some outfits aside for school - that’s a great tip and I agree that it will help him feel a bit more in control. I think the clothes will probably mix over time!

I was initially a bit confused over labelling but I’m definitely glad there’s no uniform - I agree re getting a lot of use out of the clothes we have, plus I think he’ll be a lot happier in clothes he’s used to.

Wow, no uniform sounds amazing. Personally I wouldn't label everything, just things that will be taken off often, so just coats, jackets and jumpers really. Some of the clothes stickers do bumper packs of mini stickers. They would be good for keeping on stand by.

My two went to a non uniform primary school, it was great. My DS lived in Primark tracksuit bottoms with a t shirt and hoodie. I'd label the hoodie and coat but not much else. My DD lived in leggings, t shirt and hoodie. They both wore shorts when it was hot. My DD couldn't understand why she wasn't allowed to wear shorts at secondary and there was a bit of an adjustment to wearing a uniform but it wasn't too bad. I was very glad not to have to do an annual school shoes shop, they lived in trainers and I bought them whenever they were needed not queuing up in August every year.

We never put anything aside for school. They wore the same clothes in and out of school.

My kids have never had school uniforms.

Tbh I have never labelled anything ... Maybe just label more expensive items that would be harder to replace, like coats?

My experience is that because everyone wears different clothes, there's less of an issue with kids accidentally putting on something that belongs to another child. I don't think we've lost any clothing items at school, though they might have come back from school trips with a pair or two fewer socks.