Teaching assistant outfit help!

[tigereyes10]

Hello! I've just been offered a job as a learning support assistant in a secondary school. I've read their staff 'uniform' policy and it says 'formal/office wear, no denim, nothing too short, nothing low cut, no sports wear, no leggings, nothing satin or sheer" etc... Basically everything in my wardrobe is inappropriate 😂. Because I'm going to have to now buy a whole new wardrobe just for work, where's the best budget friendly place to be looking? Some lovely bits on new look but at £35 for a shirt dress..it's not really doable considering I'm going to need atleast five to seven new outfits to rotate. If there's any teaching assistants on here - what do you all wear?

Maxi skirts with tee and then a cardi in colder months

Stretchy trousers (M&S and tesco sell these) with tops, tees or jumpers.

Shirt dresses with tights and boots or pumps

You basically need to not show boobs and bum. You will spend a lot of time waking around and leaning near kids.

So t-shirts are okay? I assumed formal/office meant more shirt style tops instead of t-shirts. X

Would jumpsuits / culottes work then? I'm going from working as an activities coordinator in a care home where it's my own clothes but more relaxed (still no boobs or bum but not formal in any way) so I've built my wardrobe around that over the years😂 and now I've got to be formal! I'm not used to this kind of styling.

I do wear leggings with long tunic tops - helps keep warm on playground duty, I work with younger children. Pinafores are helpful, warm and comfy whilst looking presentable. Culotttes or wide legged trousers work as well.

I have some pinafore dresses..a dark green one & a burgundy one - but they are probably about 5/6cm above knee...I'm assuming that would be too short?! With very thick black tights maybe not though.

It's an academy so I think they're super strict with professional wear. I don't want to get told off for wearing something too short in my first week 😂

Try charity shops and Vinted for pinafore dresses and shirt dresses.

Everything five pounds has this https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Midi-Dresses/Delicate-Floral-Silky-Tea-Dress/p/738619

and this

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Mini-Dresses/Cowl-Neck-Knitted-Jumper-Dress/p/728014

and this

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Mini-Dresses/Collared-Swing-Plain-Dress/p/738170

I actually really like all three of them!

This https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Midi-Dresses/Floral-Pleated-Panel-Dress/p/737780

This

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Mini-Dresses/Knitted-Pattern-High-Neck-Dress/p/728236

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Midi-Dresses/Monochrome-Printed-Shirt-Midi-Dress/p/738743

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Shirt-Dresses/Link-Chain-Print-Shirt-Dress/p/738740

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Christmas-Collection/Bow-Front-Knitted-Swing-Dress/p/722723

Another one https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Christmas-Collection/Bow-Front-Knitted-Swing-Dress/p/722723

https://www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Mini-Dresses/Plum-Skater-Long-Sleeve-Dress/p/727802

Congratulations on your new job!

I wouldn't necessarily try to buy a whole new wardrobe before you start - wait and see what other staff have on. There's a (very very good) secondary near me where the female staff wear a huge range of gear - e.g. shoes vary from 4" stilettos to Converse. There may well be some wiggle room in that dress code. Main thing is cover boobs and bum - check leaning-forward. Also avoid vpl etc. Young people can sometimes be incredibly judgemental about staff appearance.

Oh, and check out the uniform. You don't want to accidentally dress the same as the kids!

I'm in primary, similar dress code, although leggings are OK for us.

Matalan, tesco and sainsburys were my best friends when I bought my work wardrobe a few years back. Also matalan have a sale on atm that's great for grabbing some summer dresses that can be "wintered up"
Mid length dresses that you can add tights and a cardie to for winter and wear with sandals in the summer.
Knee length skirts with plain teeshirts.
Straight leg stretchy trousers (tesco have some excellent ones in at the moment) with a loose blouse/teeshirt
I tend to wear a lot of loose fit oversized jumpers with long cami tops and leggings.

I have some dungaree dresses that I wear in winter with leggings or thick coloured tights, turtle neck jumpers and boots, not sure if you'd maybe get away with leggings in that instance?

Everything5pounds.com is an excellent suggestion from pp, I used to buy a lot from there years ago and the quality is pretty fair.

I've just text my ex husbands mum (random but we get along very well) as she works there & she said I will be surprised as their policies etc sound very strict but as long as you look presentable & smart it's fine. She said they like you to wear a smart jacket..I'm assuming that's a blazer. I've not owned a blazer since I was at school myself 😆

My advice is not to spend too much when you might want to quit one week in the term 😜.

M&S are good for blazers which wash easily but look on vinted for them if you are on a budget.

This is good advice 😂 first time working with secondary age students...I might get eaten alive and never return after the Christmas holidays!

Thank you for all the recommendations x

You might love it. Don’t take any shit off teachers though is my advice. Some of them talk to LSAs like shit. Know your worth and have fun. Young people really are so much fun and you will not be bored.

Get an outfit or two for the the first week and see what other people are wearing. Also check on the leggings front, is that no leggings as trousers or would they be ok under a dress/tunic dress?

That's my uniform as a TA but I'm in primary. Leggings and a dress /tunic/long line tshirt.

Look and ebay/amazon for fleece tights . They're brilliant for the cold months, especially if doing playground duty, and work great under dresses. Plus they're not actually leggings so not against the dress code.

I regularly do both as I work for a teaching agency and it’s definitely less formal in primary. I wouldn’t wear leggings to secondary even with a long tunic type top but I would in primary.

Thank you so much! I have some dungaree dresses that are really nice, but they're above knee so I was unsure. I'll check out what everyone else wears in my first week & if anyone else is wearing above knee then that's a couple of outfits I've already got! Are jumpsuits okay? Like culotte style ones so not tight fitted. X