Let's talk School Uniform - Matalan would love to know what you think - £300 to be won NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

Following winning a Mumsnet Rated badge for their range of Teflon coated school uniform, the team at Matalan would love to explore further with Mumsnetters their general views on School Uniform.

Matalan say "we all know uniform can be expensive and time consuming to keep clean/ keep on top of - at Matalan you can kit your kids out for less with our school uniform range, it's packed full of new features and benefits that will mean less ironing and washing for parents - better still, shop the full range online and collect in store for free! We'd love to know your tips and views on uniform in general and how you help your child feel confident at school"

Please share on this thread your views on all or some of the below:

Your general thoughts on school uniform items - what do you want to see in a uniform? What's important to you when picking school uniform for your children? What features do you look for? What styles do your children like/ hate?

Do you think a school uniform helps your child feel confident during the school year? How?

How do you encourage your children to go back to school after school holidays with confidence? What concerns do you have - if any - about sending your children to school for the first time/back to school after the holidays?
What tips do you have for helping your child get the most out of school all year round?

At what age do your children start getting dressed themselves for school: what tips can you share for encouraging this?

And for those who do a school run - how much - if at all, do you care or think about what you wear to drop off or pick up from school?

Add your comments to this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will win a £300 voucher to spend in Matalan (a Love2Shop voucher)

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight T and Cs apply

I like my boys having a school uniform, as it would take us AGES to get ready in the morning if they had to choose what to wear! Most important things for me when buying uniform is that items must be good quality, and they must wash well. Nothing worse than faded and bobbly jumpers after a few weeks!

I think school uniform is a great idea, it allows all children to all wear the same clothes, no matter the price.

Easy to wash and iron, good stitching and fit. I have bought so many Boys trousers that seem to rip at the crotch area, never seem to last beyond 4 mths.

I love school uniforms for making the kids look smart and all on a level with each other. When my secondary kids get an "own clothes day", they are paying too much attention to what they are wearing, what everyone else is wearing and whether the brands are right etc. This would be an absolute nightmare to deal with on a daily level as my kids feel a lot of pressure to own expensive items of footwear otherwise they feel that their peers are laughing at them for wearing something inferior. Having a uniform gets rid of this peer pressure during school hours which can only be a good thing. However I think the secondary schools exploit school uniforms and make them ridiculously expensive for parents which I really think is unacceptable. I have children in 2 separate secondary schools. One school I have to buy a £35 blazer and special PE kit (not cheap!) but I can buy the shirt, skirts etc at a regular shop. My other child is at a secondary where you are forced to buy everything from their specialist shop and the whole uniform including PE kit cost me close to £400!!! I don't know how they think this is reasonable for parents with one child let alone several children! I have another child joining that school in September so it's going to be very expensive!

My primary school kids mostly dress themselves, but my 5 year old boy still needs me to do it for him. I'm sure he will develop the confidence over the next year. The biggest issue that the smaller kids struggle with are doing up their shirt buttons as sometimes these are too tight for small fingers to do themselves.
I purchased several items of Matalan school uniform last Summer for the new school year and it has washed really well. It is really good for primary children and the price was really good. I just wish that I could use Matalan and general uniform stores for all the children!

I definitely pay attention to what I'm wearing for the school run. I just need to be clean, smart and neat so I often change and shower after a day of doing housework!

I think the most important thing when choosing uniform is the quality, you need decent material that won't go out of shape or rip easily. Also I tend to go for trousers with adjustable waists because my son is forever growing. My son hates long sleeve shirts so we stick to short sleeves.
I think it does make my child feel confident to have a smart,clean uniform. I know I feel confident when my clothes are smart so I don't think it should be any different for him, I think it's also great that all the children wear the same so nobody feels different.
I do get anxious sending him back after the summer holidays, I worry that he will miss me or he won't like his new teacher. We start getting back into routine a week before he goes back to school so it's not too much change for him at school.
I care a lot about what I wear on the school run, admittedly some days I don't get time to brush my hair! However, I always make sure that I'm dressed presentable as I'm trying to set an example to my son and also I wouldn't want to embarrass him!

Yes love uniform for school, smart and certainly saves any arguments on what to put on in a morning

I think school uniform is hard unless you are a standard size. My son is skinny and has no waist, and we struggle to get clothes. We end up having to pay more to get the right fit.

I would also love clothes made from a stain protection so they always look SMART.

It's important to me for uniforms to be comfortable with plenty of room for them to move around so no stiff shirts, and durable as well as reasonably priced.

I buy my kids new bags and stationary with their favourite characters to get them excited about going back to school, uniform doesn't really effect their confidence.

As a mam, dropping my kids off I don't make too much effort, just make sure I'm showered and dressed - no pyjamas!

I'm in favour of school uniforms, but think girls should have a choice of trousers or skirts.

I like uniform to be hard wearing and a reasonable price. I look for uniform that can be easily taken off/put on when they're at school. Whenever buying trousers or skirts I look for adjustable waistbands. My children don't like anything too tight or itchy waistbands/labels/fabric.

I don't think wearing uniform makes them feel any different.

After holidays I remind them that they'll get to see all the friends they missed. I get concerned with whether they will have people to play with, nice teachers and sufficient help with work.
My tips to my children is to do your best, if you know you've tried then I'm happy with that.

2 of mine have co-ordination issues so have found it hard to use buttons right up until around 9,so we try to avoid anything that's too fiddly.

I am a little bothered my what I'm wearing-I wouldn't want to embarrass my children-but I don't put too much effort in.

I would prefer uniform to be sized for children rather than sold in years or height.....I have one smaller child and one bigger so I always have to take them with me to try on...I wish there was chest,waist sizes available.

I think uniform is perfect for all it is easy to get for a variety of budgets and the children all feel comfortable looking the same whilst I do not have to have a fashion show on what to wear each morning lol

The only problem I have when they go back is as I've said the uniform is hard to get which fits so I have to buy a bit bigger and then it looks too big when term first starts....mid term I am then worried about the whites turning grey....so much so that I replace shirts twice a term.

The children at our school all wear full uniform in reception so they practice doing and undoing shirt buttons etc from 5, by half way through the year they were super quick and confident.

I do nopt worry too much about what I wear to school run as long as I look presentable (I would not go in joggers etc) but I don't spend hours getting ready with clothes make up etc

Love uniforms as they make everyone equal, none of the bragging over whose trainers cost more in the playground and causing rivalry and higher arkys.
I look for hard wearing and easy washable items for my 3 little ones. Also like the trousers with adjustable waists as my son has no waist or bum and already has to have a size smaller than his age lol.
It would be great if schools did add some colour to uniforms tho. Grey trousers and black jumper are very drab and boring.
My eldest starts senior school this year and is very nervous but I found her going and helping to pick her uniform helped her relax about it a little, choosing her own things that will make her unique ie school bag, pens ect made her excited about all the changes.
I'm not a snob and by no means go dressed up or in full make up to do school runs but I couldn't go in my pj's lol
I tend to go in jeans and a tshirt.

How easy it is for my four year old to get on and off (she struggles with PE) and how comfortable it is for her to wear. But I also love styles that don't drown her or make her look older than she is. Little mite.
Finally, price and how easy to wash and wear again

I think all children should wear school uniform because it makes them feel equal to other children. It stops bullying from children whose parents can afford designer clothing. It is bad enough in later life so children should not have to suffer too early in life.

I love a school uniform it keeps everyone equal, what I would really like to see though is less detail on uniform... over the years the likes of asda and other places have started to introduce Hello kity hearts on zips and bows. I also don't like that they introduce different cuts of dresses... all this detail and design tweaks mean that children just find another way of picking on children....if you don't have the hello kitty uniform then your not good enough, this makes things hard for the parents and the children. I remember being at school and we all had exactly the same and I don't remember anyone being picked on, i do however think that school trousers are a huge improvement and being able to get longer length is always a bonus for my tall skinny boy. I always look for hard wearing but affordable.. with 4 children this is key.

Shopping for 2 daughters uniforms can be a bit of a challenge. Id like more choices with regards to childrens sizes. No 2 kids are the same. I have an 11 year old whos a lot taller and more filled out than most of her friends, so getting trousers or a skirt can be tricky. Also its very important to me that they wash well, so you get a lot of use from them. That's extremely important especially as buying uniforms for the 3 of them for the school year is also costly.

For me uniform should not be expensive,
Plus no ironing required as I wash it every day and of course smart looking and good quality

I much prefer children to wear school uniform, I hate it when there are non school uniform days and the kids are focused on one upmanship of whose got what. It's awful when there are kids in my classes that cant even afford the pound to do it.
For my own children I look for great washing and drying qualities. Not to fade or shrink in the wash. Tough fabric for the knees, I have two boys!

I like my kids wearing uniform. They are all the same then and nobody gets bullied because of their own personal style. What i would like to see more of though is non-iron uniform. Thats my bug bear! Also would like it to be of high quality for a good value price. My boys prefer their trousers to be of slim leg. A lot of uniform trousers out there are very baggy which isn't good on a stick thin child :P

Don't mind at the no as my little one is only at nursery xxxonly a t shirt to iron:-)

I love seeing my little one smart in his uniform. I like non iron. Loved matalan trousers. Shirt maintained shape and colour well but preferred non velcro button shirts.
I like marks and Spencers grey cotton jumpers and tank tops so would love to see matalan stock those rather than sweatshirt.

My son is not a fan of uniform at all. He's had some sensory issues in the past, which I think is increasingly common, and that can be very difficult to accommodate when you don't have a choice over what you wear. I found uniform great as a child because I didn't have enough fashion sense to feel comfortable in my own clothes.

I love the polo shirts. The ones form Matalan are great for the price and most importantly are the only ones that have a pocket - an absolute essential for my 6 year old! I will definitely be getting more unstained ones for the summer term now the school jumpers are coming off!

I love school uniforms, it's great not to have to faff about what to put the kids in and also, as most of it gets trashed I'd rather they ruin a pair of school trousers which have cost a couple of pounds rather than a nice pair of Next trousers.
My lo wears uniform for preschool so it's great that you make them in smaller sizes!
One thing I'd prefer is if they made a slim leg trousers for boys, straight leg always looks so frumpy and scruffy and I like them to look smart as well as stylish.

I think wearing a uniform helps a child to have confidence because everyone kind of looks the same. As a parent, for me its important to have quality clothing, material that lasts and doesn't fray or wear out very quickly. My children are in high school now & are restricted to uniforms with logos that I can only buy in specialised shops but I ALWAYS bought their primary school uniforms from Matalan. Fantastic prices but also long-lasting - and they also washed very well too which is important