Year 6 leavers hoodies

[cadburyegg]

I think I’ve managed to volunteer to help organise this 😶

Have some companies in mind that have supplied the school before.

Would really welcome any tips please from anyone who has helped organise these in the past? One of the school office staff suggested having a few parents coordinate this, is this going to be really complicated/am I going to regret it?!

Give them out as soon as you can. My DS school gave them out o n the last day of Yr6... what is the point of that?

Check and triple check all the names are on them!

Get some parent helpers to help measure each class in turn, if possible taking the kids out in small groups. Get some guidance from the school about sizing (we had kids wanting hugely oversized hoodies but the school wasn’t happy with that, as they were still part of uniform) and also guidance on names (standardise whether it’s always the full name or the kid can choose to be Charlie not Charles etc).

As mentioned above, pls get many, many people to check the names, many times.

Do not offer too many colours! Strictly cash with order.

And from a thread last year or maybe year before...

Don't leave out the names of children you can't afford one.

Most schools near me have the kids vote on the colour of the hoodies so that they’re all the same colour. Must make ordering a lot easier, and it looks more “uniform” than lots of different colours.

Our school just used a local printing firm, the class between them chose the colour/style. It was then on the parents to either call the printers and pay or do it via their website. All hoodies were delivered to the school and for start of final term. Worked well and no one had the hassle of chasing parents for payment etc

Yes!!! DO check all the hoodies before giving them out to avoid disappointment. My dc's hoodie was given out the day before year 6 went on their week long trip and it was a fluke as had nothing printed on it. no names nothing

The disappointment was, shall we say, intense. Imagine all the children wearing their hoodies on their last year 6 trip and you haven't got one or yours is different.

Our's only offered a leavers jumper in the same color as the school PE uniform. They have been wearing them twice a week since the first day of year 6.

Everyone's name, one color just a choice of size for you to organise.

I wondered about this but I don’t have access to a full class list so I wouldn’t know who doesn’t order, is this something schools usually provide?

Check with all the children if they actually want it or if it's just being done because it's currently expected.

If the kids aren't that bothered and the adults are only buying them because they are expected to maybe suggest not doing it.

DC1 is in year 5 so we haven't quite got to this yet but they are allowed here to wear them from Easter. Only one form entry but of that one class I've only ever seen about 4 or 5 children every year wearing it instead of normal school jumper and never once seen one in the wild outside a school day. So it does seem somewhat of a pointless exercise.

Our school did the same - the link to the order page was sent out by email, the default design had the year and all the children’s names listed in small print, then parents ordered and paid including choosing colours/ adding their child’s name in larger letters under the ‘2026’ logo, and the hoodies were delivered to the school. It was organised by the PTA and I know they checked the orders before the hoodies were printed to make sure everyone who wanted one had ordered by the deadline.

The school should be able to provide the full class list @cadburyegg

Just don't. Pointless landfill that noone wears 6 months later.

I've seen a couple of post saying pointless landfill.

I was at an after school club with my lot last week and saw a couple of year 7s wearing their year 6 leavers hoodies. I think most of the kids do actually like them, and hoodie is the gold standard clothing choice for most of the year group. So they get worn for 6-12 months. Then they grow out of them, no different to any other item of clothing. Potentially more expensive, but celebrating the status as last year of school is a positive thing in my opinion.

I’m definitely organising them. I can’t ask all the children if they want one but if individual children don’t want them then their parents can choose not to order one. I see them being worn a lot tbh.

It should be every name and the school should be able to give you a list of first names (though not full names). Can I add, if there's a SEN kid who spends some time in the class, but also time elsewhere with 1:1. They are still very much part of the year group so please include them.

Thanks and yes every child will be included.

Our school buy all the Year 6 children a leavers hoodie out of money raised by the PTA. We do not make parents buy them, so nobody misses out due to cost.

Get parents to order the size and confirm the name they want on the hoodie (as some children prefer to go by a short form or nickname). Charley, who has been known as Charley since she started Reception, probably won't appreciate being listed as Charlotte even if that's what appears on the register. Likewise Alexander-James, who has only ever been AJ to his friends, will want that rather than his full double-barrelled name which is listed on the register. Triple check all the spellings before sending the list to the printers.

Do not get parent helpers to measure children, as someone else suggested above. It is a safeguarding risk for anyone not DBS checked to be touching children in that way. Ideally, ask parents to select the size. If measuring is required, it should be a staff member who does this.

I don't understand the "it will be in landfill in 6 months" comments as a reason against doing end of year hoodies. Many children choose to keep them as a momento, long after they become too small to wear. For those who don't, 6 months of wear is a similar turn around to any other hoodie they own at that age. Don't be so miserable. Kids love them and have come to expect them if previous year groups at their school received them. It's a nice keep sake.

Get all the children’s names on them whether they buy one or not. Get them done asap and let the kids wear them! It was lockdown when my DD left primary school so it was all a bit of a washout but getting the hoodies to the kids asap so they can wear them for at least their last term at primary makes it money well spent. As soon as they go to secondary school no kid will wear a primary school hoody. Plus many grow very quickly at that age and they won’t fit!

Maybe mine grow slowly but 2 years is the minimum we usually get out of most items, definitely any kind of jumper.

I've got no objection to buying DS one in a year if he really wants it but I imagine he'll be fairly unmoved by the idea and I can't see him wearing it at all. He hardly ever wears a jumper to school unless the temperature is below about 5 degrees and I doubt he'd want to wear anything school related outside school. We'll see!

None of our leavers' stuff is funded by the PTA.

Our school did one option, no choices except size. Everyone got one regardless of ability to pay. The parent association covered the cost for families that could not afford to pay. There was also a separate option on the order form for parents to contribute extra towards the tops and the leavers party if they found themselves in a position to be generous. I don’t remember the wording, but it was very careful that there was no pressure to donate.

our school let the children submit designs for a graphic on the front.

We used leavershoodies. You can open a shop and the parents can buy the hoodie in the shop and then they get delivered to the school. This way, you do not have to get involved in collecting money. The parents/children can choose the size, colour etc. I would ask the school whether they can give you a list of first names and then can ask the parents whether they object or would like to have a different name. This is far easier then getting everyone's name or preferred name.
As an organiser you can see who has ordered but of course it is hard to distinguish whether some children don't want a hoodie or whether the parents can't afford one. We had some parents who donated money for children who could not afford a hoodie and the school helped with ordering.

I just checked and we also used https://www.leavershoodies.com/

On the landfill issue - my 21 year old was wearing her year 6 hoodie over the Christmas holidays!

Oh and we ordered them by the Easter holidays and they had them well in advance of their residential after SATs.

Why would you be measuring the kids? The parents decide on what size when they place
the order. There absolutely no reason for anyone to be bloody measuring anyone else’s
children.