Mumsnet users share their back to school tips with Tesco F&F

[EllieMumsnet]

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We know many of you are currently on your knees with end of term shenanigans, and the summer hols are looming ahead....but in the spirit of being organised way ahead of time we would love to know your tips on being prepared when the back to school period comes. With the return of routine comes the return of 6am starts and mornings spent throwing together lunches while throwing the right uniform on the right child - so Tesco would like to hear your tips for ensuring your family are prepared for school each day.

Tesco F&F say: "All kids come home with stains - it's the sign of an active day. But thanks to Tesco school uniforms special stain-repel technology and 100 day guarantee you can be rest assured that your kids will look as good on the first day everyday."

How do you save yourself time and unnecessary stress during the week? Do you have a go-to routine to ensure you’re prepared the night before? Or maybe you rely on a handful of hacks to keep your mornings running smoothly? Are your children’s uniforms kept in good nick for the whole year thanks to a perfect after school formula?

Whatever tips you follow, Tesco F&F want to hear them. Share them below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Tesco voucher for a store.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

edited by MNHQ

Have at least five of everything.

Pack bags and lunches the night before

Wash and iron all uniform the first week of the holidays ready to go back! Super organised here....

Don’t order new uniform or shoes too soon in case they grow over the summer!

Lunches made the night before
Plenty of uniform if you can afford it
And a written check list for each child of what they are expected to do each morning. They tick it off I don’t need to say it for the eleventy billionth time!

Every household is different, but in ours the things that help are

• ask them to eat breakfast before they get dressed - otherwise you end up trying to find another load of uniform when they spill something
• go with school dinners so you aren’t faffing about making lunches
• check book bags as soon as you pick them up, so you find all letters etc ASAP

Main tip is to train the kids to do as much prep as possible. So, even 4-year-olds can lay out their uniform the night before. Ensure they always put their shoes and bags away - there's nothing worse than playing hunt the shoes and bag as you are trying to leave.

Lay breakfast table the night before. Boom!

I already have most of ds1’s school uniform bought and put away so I don’t have to think about it later on, we have a lot going on beginning of sept. Just have to buy school shoes nearer the time.

We also get things ready the night before.

Baths/showered for everyone the night before and getting us much laid out in the evening as possible: clothes, school bag, some parts of breakfast.

I buy good quality uniform with spares (especially ties!), some from the school second-hand shop. I have also now made sure I have a good system for washing and drying clothes (tumble dryer/heated airer) which means all uniform can be easily and quickly washed and dried. Well worth the investment! As well as looking smarter the better quality trousers etc. are more durable. The shirts/blouses have to be non-iron, which you can pick up more cheaply after the autumn term has started - assuming you have last year's for them to wear for the first few weeks. If uniforms are sorted, that's half the battle.

Sort everything the night before and get up beforevthem so that you’re not trying to get ready at the same time as getting them ready.
Get annoyed with dh who is last minute at everything.

Everyone has their own 'box' where book bags, school shoes, sun hats etc go each day so that everything is in one place for the next morning/week.

Meal prep in the freezer, reorganise DCs rooms and get uniform ready washed

Get everything ready the night before - always check book bags and do homework as soon as possible and have book bags, uniform, drinks and food etc ready the night before just to pick up!

I try to stop the awful "sword of Damocles" feeling that will descend on the kids when taking them to buy their school uniforms for the next term. Don't wait till last minute, when it's 7.00 pm, the Saturday evening before they're due to start back at school on the Monday, when all that's left is a dusty pair of burgundy boy's school trousers, for a 17 year old! I You manically think, fine, they'll grow into those, (she's 6 and her uniform is blue) Start buying now, when you are all in a good mood, and are holiday shopping, sneakily tell DC that we'll buy your stuff now so we are all ready for September, I buy a bit bigger, as invariably she'll grow about 15 inches in the space of 6 weeks. Buy two of everything, Then my DD always feels used to seeing the uniform and actually looks forward to wearing it! Well this works for me anyway! :)

We haven't broken up yet so stop it?! Top tip is enjoy your summer first!

Quite simple; I'd just advise people not to leave it until the last minute. A little bit each week over the summer hols - uniform, stationery, shoes etc..

Pretty straightforward really:

• Get kids to leave shoes at the front door so that they know where they are the next morning
• Leave uniform out ready for the morning
• Get up before you get the children up and get showered, dressed etc so you can focus on making sure they are ready to be out the door on time

Use a weekly planner that lists what equipment is needed on what day.
Have loads of cheap polo shirts, don’t buy logoed ones.

Over buy uniform and see their name in. Buy a size bigger wellies and send them in thick socks.

My children are in nearly the same shoe size now, so I buy a bulk load of navy ankle socks that they share - less laundry hassle and because I buy so many pairs, it doesn't matter if one goes missing or gets a hole in the toe.

Stick in name labels - I don't iron!

Lunches and bags are sorted out the night before. Sometimes we get them to make their own lunch, which normally goes down well and saves us a job!

Letters are photographed and stored on my phone in case they go missing.

My tip is to label everything at the start of the holidays.

A simple after school routine, before bed routine, and morning routine setting everything up so we wre always ahead rather than behind

We always buy uniform early as I know the feeling when there’s nothing left in the size you want at the end of August.
I get everything washed and ready at the beginning of the holiday except for shoes so I’m not thinking about it.
Bags and uniform are ready the night before (lots of nagging involved), homework done when they get it as often as possible, letters actioned as soon as I receive them, lunches done in the morning.
I wake up before everyone so I can sit and have a coffee before the chaos starts.

I waited until the final weekend before the return to school before buying shoes, They are costly and my children grow like weeds so wanted to get them at the last possible moment to maximise how long they could be worn for. It was a disaster - overcrowded shop, hardly any sizes / styles left. We ended up getting supermarket cheapies and once they had worn out, bought "proper" shoes in the middle of term when things were less crazy.

Urgh, agree F&F, stop with 'back to school' before they've even broken up for the summer!

It's fucking annoying that I have to second guess now how much my DCs will have grown over the summer to stock pile uniform as you'll be selling it all now, only have a few sizes left by mid/late-august, when normal people want to start thinking about 'back to school'.

My 'back to school' advise, this week, iron those shirts that aren't stained so you aren't doing it first weekend in September.

Don't get school shoes yet, they always grow over the summer.

Buy 5 of everything and think about what will be easy for your DCs to dress themselves. Also shirts get stained on the cuffs, so if they also have to wear a jumper over the top, only put them in long sleeved shirts for the deepths of winter, short sleeved shirts with a jumper will last longer !

If you have an option of girls skirts/pinafores with pockets, that will make life easier.

Buy more socks than you think you could every possibly need.

We're on week 4 of our holidays already as are much of the UK, not every MN'er is based in England 🙄

Anyway, my top tip is to have a spare FULL set of uniform stashed away for emergencies! I've learnt this the hard way having a clumsy son who rips through even the most reinforced of knees and/or loses stuff all the time. This year he's moving up to secondary so that means a spare tie too.

Get as much as possible done the night before, even something as simple as laying the table for breakfast makes the morning seem easier, even though it only takes a minute.

Have a set place for shoes, bags etc so that they don't get lost

Have separate bags for different things if possible (swimming, pe, after school club etc) so that when swimming comes home it can be washed and go straight back in the bag, and the hat/goggles can be left in there