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 am a huge supporter of school uniform and just wish that schools would make it strict enough that there is very little chance of variation! Length of skirts and style should be stipulated for example as this then stops our little darlings trying to push the boundaries. This day and age most supermarket stores produce some very low priced uniform and thereby makes it affordable for all.

I encourage children to take ownership of dressing and looking well presented as soon as they show signs of wanting to do so. I dress casually for the school run but always clean.

School uniform is great but can be expensive when you have to purchase it from a particular store

Uniform should be affordable, plain and easy to iron (polo shirts as opposed to shirts for example). Colours should be readily available in all shops (red, blue etc). If school logos are included they should only be on items that you have to buy once such as a bag or a jumper. Uniform should be all inclusive and make children feel proud to be at their school. My little boy loves wearing his uniform and is eager to get into his shorts for the summer. Oh, it would be great to have clearer name labels pre-sewn into all uniform too, especially shoes as there is usually nowhere to write names and several children generally have the same shoes in the same class.

Uniforms are cheap and easy to wash and put in the dryer no ironing involved well mostly the blouses need a quick iron over but overall f find it easier than non school uniforms having to find clothes for my kids to wear each day would be a nightmare plus I have have 5 sets each of the school uniforms as there so cheap to buy and they can put a fresh set on each day

Uniforms are a great idea but they have to be comfortable for kids to wear, as kids spend most of their day in them. For me i would want something that doesn't need to be ironed, they need to be durable too i dont want to have to replace items all the time

I'm pig sick of uniform. We move every 2 years (forces) and have to buy new. Last year we moved and because of some girls who insist on rolling skirts we have now been issued a uniform change to a £20 embroidered trouser or skirt - that's all very well but with £40 blazers etc and growing teens I think it's stupid!

I am split on uniforms myself. We have 1 DC, so are relatively lucky, but the cost for people with more than 1 must be terrible. On a positive note, our DC's uniform is very nice and it makes getting dressed in a morning much easier (apart from the tie!)

I'd love for skirts and trousers to come with elasticated waists for every size. As the kids get older the uniforms don't have this. I would also like re-enforced knees for boys trousers, as I am forever buying uniform for my son because it's got holes in the knees.

The hard wearing teflon coating is a great innovation - wish I'd had it for my clothes when I was a child.

I think school uniforms are a good idea. Though it is a challenge to get all the pen and paint stains outs of the jumpers, and keep the trousers free of holes.
My children prefer to wear the tops that have the school logo on them, rather than those without.
Our children have always dressed themselves, though we do have to lay the complete uniform out for them (including pants and socks).
Getting ready for school in the morning would fall apart if not for a constant stream of instructions (get dressed, comb you hair, put your shoes on, etc).

My LO hasn't started school yet, but will be doing so in September, so I am reading this thread with interest!

I'd be looking for a good quality, reasonably priced uniform. I want my child to feel comfortable, so a breathable, good quality cotton ideally. A range of sizes - my LO looks like he has been stretched lately, tall with very skinny waist - so a range of leg lengths for trousers would be great.

I'm all for uniforms in school - one less thing to stress about!

I'm going to encourage LO to enjoy school - to listen, be friendly, put a bit of effort in - but most of all enjoy it. He enjoys preschool at the moment, but sometimes says it's boring - so I think he might enjoy the structure of school.

LO still leans heavily on me to dress him & I often do because it's quicker, but he is more than capable so I need to knock this on the head!

I'll be straight off to work after dropping LO off at the school, so will wear whatever I would normally wear & wouldn't put any extra thought into this. If it's clean & it fits, it's on!

Is Teflon next to the skin safe actually? I've never heard of that on ordinary clothes, not even sports kit for muddy field sports...

I like the idea of school uniforms and ours are reasonable and hard wearing. DD always looks great in hers, DS always looks a shambles. It's not the clothes that makes the difference it's the child.
As for me. Well I'm a chidminder for before and after school but a personal trainer during the day. So I'm regularly at the school gates in different sporting gear, and nobody (including me) seems to mind or care.

Oh my! does our son moan about school uniform - but not half as much as he does on a non-uniform day!!!! so glad of uniforms, but i do wish that across the country they were standardised with sew on badges, because depending the school the costs can be astounding!!!!

My top tip is to hand wash the lot friday night and spin it in one of those little spinning machines - mine does a 1200 spin - i hang out on the back of the chairs round the dining table and the next morning its all dry and back in the wardrobe. Get it out of the way!

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?

I want to see a better range for 12 years +. I find the range is not trendy enough, its boring or babyish. I am not finding much choice in the childrenswear so am having to now go on to the womens wear for ideas which can be slightly TOO grown up. There's no inbetween.

When choosing schoolwear for my daughter, it has to be long lasting, washes well and doesn't fade in colour.

My daughter doesn't like wearing trousers or long sleeved shirts.

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

I think with the right uniform, it helps my child to feel confident as it makes her feel like she fits in and belongs with her peers.

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

I always lay the uniform out the night before so it is ready and accessible for my daughter to get dressed. I think children should be encouraged to get dressed themselves from the get go as they will need to be doing it at school for pe etc.

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?

When i used to live by my school and walk, i would always make the effort to be presentable at all times but now i have to drive to school as we are not local, I don't mind what i wear as I don't even have to get out of the car anymore!!

Uniforms are great, takes the tantrums out of choosing in the morning and makes all the kids look smart. They need to be resiliant, easy to clean and possibly no-iron. Givne how quickly they grow I'm not prepared to spend a fortune on an individual item as it won't fit in 4 months!

I'm not so bothered about what I look like in the morning, but minimum outdoor clothes and brush my teeth and hair!

They love going back to school and seeing their friends. We do lots of fun (but slightly academic) activites in the holidays to keep their brains ticking over.

I think uniforms are a godsend for children. It makes them all the same and avoids all the fights and decisions about choosing an outfit everyday. Best uniform for me as a parent is one that doesn't need ironing, doesn't shrink, and colour doesn't fade.

I like school uniform for many reason, it allows all kids to look the same they dont feel left out. Also I think it teaches them a sense of pride and a feeling of unitedness. These are important values. The one thing I dont like is how expensive they are. When I was younger as long as we wore a jumper reflecting one of the three school colours we were ok.

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?

Thankfully I don't have much choice in picking a uniform. There is an official school uniform for boys and girls, consisting of a jumper with the school badge, a shirt underneath, trousers for boys and trousers or skirt for girls, and plain black shoes. I think it's very cute and smart. It's comfortable, warm and not too formal.

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

Yes - it stops any worry over being "different" or their clothes being less expensive or cool or whatever. Everyone wears the same thing so there's a sense of belonging.

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?

I'll spend a short amount of time in the week leading up refreshing the basics of what they learnt the year before so that they're ready to go when the new year starts, such as times tables, how to read a clock, etc.

What tips do you have for helping your child get the most out of school all year round?

Help to inspire excitement and interest in their education. If they're learning about history, bring it to life through a movie, or inspire love of science through the horrible science books.

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?

I don't care at all! I drop them off a the school gate and just stay in the car so no one sees me. However, it's always on the way to work anyway so I'm usually dressed relatively professionally.

I can really see the benefit in school uniforms as an equaliser, so that you don't constantly get children outdoing each other with who can afford the best clothes etc. Although while my eldest DC has been at school I've really questioned what the point of that is with the amount of non-uniform/dress up days they have throughout the school year!

I've found supermarket uniform to be terrific value - the cardigans tend to last better than the school's logo ones do for example and are much cheaper.

In terms of confidence, I suppose I feel that if my daughter is smartly presented then she will feel better about herself. Ironed uniform, tidy hair, clean shoes etc go a long way for this! I don't think that what they're actually wearing has to be the most popular style as long as they're presented well.

I think a school uniform is great because it eliminates the difference between 'being cool, fashion and popular' and 'having unfashionable cheap clothes and being unpopular'. I don't think a uniform plays a part in confidence for children at infant school, because they don't really know about being fashionable or having the best clothes/brands at that age. It does however make it easier and less expensive for parents, and stops their nice clothes getting worn out or ruined.

My 5 year old started school in September 2016 and he only learned to dress himself in the first term because I just always did it for him, but I don't have time to now I have to get him to school every morning. The tip I can give to other parents when their child is learning to get dressed is to be patient!!!

I hate my son's school jumper as it has a horrible logo on and they're quite expensive, so we just buy him the plain royal blue jumpers which are great. I hate most school trousers because although they say they're slim fit, they're not skinny and the legs are always too long and wide. The best proper skinny trousers we had were from Tesco.

Myself and my husband are quite trendy and like fashion brands and keeping up to date with the latest fashions. Although we're not so bothered about expensive brands for children (there's just no point when you can get decent clothes from Next, Matalan or Tesco for 1/4 of the price!), we always like our children to look smart and clean so we make sure we style my sons hair before school every morning, that his uniform is clean and ironed and that he looks good and smells good.

Football uniform is different because he's a boy and my husband is a massive supporter of Newcastle United. So when our son said he wanted to start football, my hubby was thrilled and went out and bought him 3 different Newcastle strips and expensive football boots - probably because he's our only boy!

I have secondary DC: boys. I have eventually decided to spend on better quality I.e. Next for trousers. We need slim fit and adjustability. Apart from the football playing years, 3 pairs lasted to hand down. Other uniform is all school specific and even if it wasn't I would get Fruit of the Loom or a commercial brand as they last much better than £2 sweatshirts. Yes i know, indestructible polyester. I think the price war on uniform is worrying as to supply chain, nobody expects other kids clothing to be so cheap and it gets worn 5 days a week. It's throwaway culture.

However I do generally think that the current fashion for having every single thing logo embroidered is wasteful and makes it hard to recycle or donate used clothes, supply far exceeds demand of used uniform here. Also the single biggest spoiler of uniform is drywipe pens/ sharpie, they should be banned.

Tons of uniform is lost due to not naming, uniforms should all have a writable (not satin) label with space for several names.

I would also like to propose the "uniform onesie". This would be a whole uniform stitched together to be put on in one piece including socks. Would avoid losing parts and make it much easier for both teenagers to put on gaining precious minutes in bed.

I like school trousers to come in various fits as my oldest son needs a generous fit and my youngest needs slim fit, I would also like boys white polo shirts to come with a little pocket on the chest as it makes they look a little nicer as girls polo shirts come with scalloped collars and added features to make them nicer but the boys polo shirts tend to be very plain.

I like uniform as it makes it so much easier cost wise for primary school, secondary school for my eldest is a lot more expensive and specific. I like reinforced knees on trousers and easy to wash and preferably non iron and my favourite adjustable waists.

I think it makes life a lot easier and cheaper