Sensible uniform policy

[MinervaMcGonagallsCat]

For once the Scottish Government has done something sensible and issued policy guidance to headteachers to be sensible, sustainable and inclusive their school uniform policies.

Schools issued with uniform guidelines to cut costs for families www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg5gxe5zd1o

When you read the shite that English families have to put up with on school uniforms I'm sure they can only hope that the Labour Government does something similar too.

jogging trousers and hoodies for secondary? Dumbing down. Joggers are not cheaper than smart school trousers, nor any longer lasting.

I agree to no £150 wool blazers, logo’d PE kits or kilts for girls. But I disagree having no expectations on teenagers to look smart.

Surely they aren't suggesting joggers for secondary aged kids?

You'll end up with girls in leggings which are marginally better than the skirts that are barely longer than the blazers.

Blazers do look smart but they are pointless useless garments, neither warm or waterproof, esp when kids are being asked to walk 3 miles to school.

And don't think it's just English schools with daft rules that blazers must be worn at all times on the school premises and rain coats have to be hidden away (stuffed inside the school bag soaking their jotters etc etc) various Scottish schools have the same rules.

Joggers are not cheaper than smart school trousers, nor any longer lasting

Maybe not, but they can also be worn out of school, so it's one less thing to buy.

I don't agree with it necessarily though, and I think it will be tricky for parents / kids who like to and want to wear uniforms to navigate.

But then Hyndland Secondary haven't had a uniform at all for however long, with no apparent issues.

I'm on the fence apparently!

I think secondary kids in joggers would look so scruffy. I bet the older kids wouldn't want to be seen dead in them.

I'd guarantee girls would all opt for leggings leaving the boys with the joggers.
Joggers are actually a PITA if you have skinny boys, you end up paying a premium to get skinny fit ones. Or they look like they are wearing a nappy.

School trousers that fit are cheaper and easier to find

I've not read the guidance but I agree with the principle, basic school uniform, no outrageous demands.

But my son's school trousers are about £18ish from Next, or £10 from Asda. His joggers are £110 Nike tech fleece as they are all that fits his tall skinny frame without hanging off him and he's brand conscious, so the suggestion for joggers (if that's actually what it says) is not a money saver!

Joggers are a complete nightmare for skinny kids.
Even when they are little trying to find ones with ties that actually tie, and aren't just decor.
Then imagine being a teacher with 30 kids in joggers who can't actually tie them, themselves, even if 3 or 4 of them actually need to tie them, it would be a PITA.

Our secondary school has come on a little, uniform wise, since the kids paraded around in shell suits back in the day 😂

They can wear back school hoodies and the bottom half has to be black, so for the girls this usually consists of tiny skirts up to their bums or leggings - both worm with whatever trainers are "in" at the moment.

Yep just pick a colour, probably black for secondary, and as long as it's not designer gear, indecent or football/gang related then let them have at it.

I went to high school in the 80s and although the school technically had a uniform and some people wore it or partly wore it, most of us just wore jeans etc. Wasn't even a ban on brands and as a kid from the poorer background, I never had any bullying over clothes and never saw any either. Only restriction we had was for PE when you had to wear navy shorts/bottoms and a light blue or white top. I think it helped for team games to have people more uniformly dressed.

Round here all the teens wear joggers day in day out when not at school so why would they hate them at school? The "uniform" on a weekend is all joggers with hoodies.

Have you actually read the full guidance as issued by the Scottish government? Or just the BBC article? Sensible is the last adjective I would attribute to that utter pile of tripe.Read it and weep.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-uniform-clothing-guidance-schools-education-authorities/pages/8

WTAF!
They have basically scrapped all uniforms.

Roll back 1990s Strathclyde Region and whatever their wording was, schools couldn't enforce uniforms.
Bits went bit by bit, shoes swapped for designer trainers, LA Gear remember them, reebok pump, the blazers swapped out for demin and leather jackets.
The trousers and skirts went for jeans.
The shirts and ties were last to go, in came t-shirts.

Then came a new headteacher and a change of policy and back came the uniforms. And the Aussie dresses 👗

I tried, but at 46 pages I didn't have it in me. So instead of reading and weeping, I skimmed and despaired.

It be fair I skim read it too.
It's that many hoops and loops they have essentially made it impossible to have a uniform.
Honestly it's worse than Strathclyde Regions policy from back in the day. It was at least an easy to understand one liner, uniform wasn't necessary.

We'll go full circle 🔵 once again. The uniform will go, the levis, the reebok and the nikes will be in - parents will get pissed of at the cost of 'keeping up with the jones' and they'll want the uniforms back (inc the Aussie dresses with the white collars)
I give it 4 years for it to go the circle. The uniform won't go over night it will go in bits at a time.

Must keep being different to England at all costs.

Yip, just daft.
How much did it cost to produce that pile of drivel ?

Our Primary HT said she she couldn't enforce uniform so you'd always have one child on class photo day turning up in something different.

Gone are the days when there was a supply of spare white shirts and ties to make sure everyone looked the same.

My kids primary has a supply of spare uniform.
And my other kids secondary was giving out brand new blazers a couple of years ago

Im a big believer in school uniform. Keeps everyone the same and going in looking smart helps the mindset.

I believe in uniform but I also believe that kids should be allowed to remove blazers when they are too hot, not when someone else permits them too.
It's a school not a military parade.

I also think blazers are nice looking but just not very practical. They aren't going to keep kids warm in winter or dry in the rain.

What school doesn't allow children to take their blazers off? My children wear a blazer to school and whilst they wear it most of the day they can take it off if they want. In the winter there are waterpoof school puffer jackets to go over the top

In some schools it's quite clearly all about the image they want to project and as a nod to the private schools they desperately want to emulate. That appeals to a certain type of parent who will not want the blazer and expensive tartan skirt /school branded items to go.
Generic dark school trousers or school skirt along with a cheaply produced school hoodie/jumper would be just as uniform as ties, shirts and blazers if schools really want everyone to look the same. Enforce cheaply priced uniformity if that's what it's really about.
The working world has also changed and is no longer all about suits and ties either, so schools are even more out of touch than they were before. I'm glad the Government have stepped in.

The government have stepped in but made it almost impossible for schools to enforce any sort of uniform.

A 40 odd page document that would have schools jumping through a million hoops is just nuts.

I honestly don't want to see a return to the early 90s and every one in levis and trainers. That must have been a parents nightmare.
But swapping the blazers for waterproof jackets, hoodies or something more practical wouldn't be a bad idea.

Shirt, tie and blazer doesn’t just emulate private schools though, it is also emulating that which private schools seek to emulate - the attire worn by professionals and senior managers. It is purposefully aspirational. A signal that these are roles those children can do and training to present themselves professionally to fit within those roles.

Washed out hoodies and polo tops send a different message regarding place in the world. Of course, this being the SNP, aspirations are not allowed so we must dumb down not lift everyone up. (And once you switch to adult sizes, hoodies quickly become expensive and don’t last)

Most professionals and senior managers don't wear ties and suits anymore, since covid the world of working has got more casual. Schools need to move on as well. If they really, really want a uniform a school should supply it for free, like a work place does for uniforms.