School Rules Uniform

[Tej1]

How strict is your child's school. My sons school have issued pupils with a uniform card with behaviour points for as little as having the top button undone on a shirt, or shirt untucked. My son dresses smartly but normally goes to school with his tie down up and top button undone. Madness that I'm checking shirt collars before he leaves the house. Rules are rules, but some seem over the top. Is this the same for every school.

Top buttons etc is the rule in my school. If top button is undone then it does not look smart.

why are you checking him? Surely if he knows the rule it's his responsibility to obey it.

My kids top buttons are always undone. You dont notice it because of the tie. Our school isn't strict as such but you do need to wear the tie and blazer and black skirts/trousers

School does enforce top buttons, but I don't bother checking! The DC only do them up just before they walk through school gates.

School is very strict at the beginning of Year 7, but after that if it's not glaringly obvious (which unbuttoned collar is, not sure how pixie's DC hides it under a tie) they tend not to bother.

No uniform card, but ds is expected to have button done up, and tie all the way up. Also school shoe and coat rules are very stringent.
They do look smart but it’s not the least expensive approach.

Yes, uniform infractions are included on conduct cards. Three infringements and there is a minor sanction.

Don't waste your energy frisking your DS for compliance. Yes, you need to provide correct uniform and equipment, but you do not need to police how he wears/uses/remembers it. It's secondary school - he knows the rules, he knows the consequences of breaking them. Leave him to it

(You might be able to tell from this that I have a frequent uniform infringer. She's been told it's her own silly fault, and she takes the consequences)

I have no idea. ds knows the uniform and as far as I know wears it so I have never been told there is a problem.

Get him a lager collar size if the top button being done up is uncomfortable, then leave him to it.

We have 2 comps in our town. 1 is as you describe, the other is more relaxed. Both get good results.

we have no school uniform policy at ds school
makes life easy

Ds3's school has a strict uniform policy that requires top buttons to be done up, ties up and jumpers on. He knows it and abides by it, I don't need to check him.
I know another school very well that has a rather lax attitude to its own uniform policy, with some teachers being much less strict than others despite reminders of consistency. The kids are confused and it leads to a lot of minor behaviour issues that make life more difficult than it should be.

My child's school have the same rules, it's not hard to stick to.

No school uniform at all at dc1’s school. They dress sensibly as the novelty of no uniform wears off quickly. They get excellent results and behaviour is also excellent. We were a bit concerned about the lack of uniform but we needn’t have been: I’m now convinced that uniform is a waste of time.

They are supposed to have top button done and girls skirts to the knee. But if you lined them all up there'd be a surprising variation on how they wear the exact same clothes. Every once in a while at assembly they get their uniform checked and can get minus points, but the kids don't take that too seriously.

That's interesting @madnessitellyou. I've always thought that uniform has more to do with corporate branding than behaviour management and results.

I always thought that my DCs school was strict but it's not as strict as yours, OP. What shocks me more is that teachers regularly get a note reminding them of their dress code - no denim and no leggings.

thankfully no where close to that strict
No ties, no button up shirts apart from a polo and even then buttons being open is fine

They say no leggings but no one obeys that lol

Ds school uniform isn't that strict, no rules about buttons & most kids wear their own version of the uniform. Like other posters I think the uniform standards in no way correlate to the standards of behaviour or learning in schools & are a waste of time & money. The highest attaining schools in our city don't have a uniform & it appears that the stricter the uniform rules, the less the school standards of education & attainment.

I am puzzled how they can tell the top button that isn't done up if the tie is properly positioned. And why bother to have it undone if the collar is good and loose?

Having said which DS2s school (highly selective and high achieving) is renowned as having notoriously scruffy boys and little interest is nagging the boys (and presumably sixth form girls who I very much admire for their very functional approach to personal styling) about such things.

I am puzzled how they can tell the top button that isn't done up

Possibly it is the difference between "real" ties and clip on ties. DC's school have clip on ties only; it's quite hard (DS has tried) to put the tie on with the top button undone without it being pretty obvious.

Our local secondary has just gone insane on uniform - new head, insecure in in post, bringing in change for the sake of change...

Fortunately the school's 6th form is completely separate, has its own head and no uniform - just a relaxed dress code. Clothes have to be clean, no ripped jeans and no sweary slogans on T-shirts - that's it. It's bloody wonderful.

Yes my son's school is just as strict, top button fastened and tie tied with the school logo showing just below the knot. Took Ds2 30 seconds to figure out how to tie it perfectly in year 7. He is now in year 9. Shirts tucked in, black shoes, no boots.

I went to a catholic secondary, all our uniform came from the specific uniform shop including a gorgeous knee length A line skirt and white knee socks. We could only have coats of a certain colour and bags. The only item that had no restrictions on were umbrellas, so you bet we all chose the brightest ones. An absolute rainbow of colour and pattern at the slightest bit of rain.

All makeup was removed by staff from any faces suspected of wearing it, no gel or excessive hairspray etc (this was the 80s!) at the end of the day the parents chose the school, you abided by the uniform policy.

So this whole concept of "strict" uniform policies in secondaries now seems laughable to me.

gorgeous knee length A line skirt and white knee socks

Think yourselves lucky - our local Catholic girls' school had green knee-length skirts with purple knee socks and a peculiar sort of onion-dome beret in purple and green.

DS1 is 14 and his school have a very strict uniform. Blazer, jumper (compulsory from October- May), shirt, tie, black socks, black school shoes.

They are also very strict on how it is worn- top button done up, tie covering top button, shirt tucked in, blazer and jumper both to be worn at all times unless a teacher gives permission to remove (they are not even allowed to ask to take them off, they have to wait for permission to be given either in class or by the head if it's exceptionally warm).

I agree with the uniform and am glad that his school has such high standards. I think we as parents have a duty to support our DC's schools so I do check that he is wearing his uniform correctly in the mornings and he knows that he would be punished at home should there be any issues.

Ah. That makes more sense clip-ons. How ghastly.

@GuppytheCat yes the purple socks sound hideous but we wore brown, poo brown uniform. So our PE kit also had brown gym knickers. Locally we were known as the shits.

We used to play occasional primary netball matches against Our Lady of Perpetual Succour school, inevitably known as the Suckers.