Parents complaining about school unform costs

mspig

KatP wrote: »

If everyone who is unhappy writes formal letters of complaint to the board of governors then things may get changed - get campaigning. Tell everyone in the playground to do the same!!! PEOPLE POWER!!!!

Unfortunately its a high school so they don't have parents waiting in the playground(actually their not allowed near the school to pick up their children as its down a country lane), they have school buses which take the kids home, so no parents to protest with.

Katie-Kat-Kins

mspig wrote: »

Unfortunately its a high school so they don't have parents waiting in the playground(actually their not allowed near the school to pick up their children as its down a country lane), they have school buses which take the kids home, so no parents to protest with.

Well write your own letter to the governors and mention it to any parents you know.

Write to your local paper(and BBC local radio) about it too they could raise awareness and campaign for change.

You don't have to just live with this. It would be easy for the school to make a sew on patch available so parents could customise cheaper uniform to match, or to say that branded sports weaar is only required for those children on school teams.

Good Luck!

jellyhead

KatP wrote: »

Don't they have their names sewn into the kit and in the bags????????

Yes, everything was named and the bag also had his class and my phone number on it. It never got handed in to lost property, so the names made no difference. He hasn't noticed anyone wearing the kit (I told him to check next time they played rugby, because the name tags show when they turn their shirt inside out to be the opposing team).

Someone probably just hid it for a laugh, or threw it away. If they'd taken it by accident (unlikely, with the name on the bag) they'd have handed it back in.

I wrote to his teacher and also the PE teacher, explaining that for the next month or so he'd be doing PE in whatever I could find, because I couldn't afford to replace his kit and I hoped it might still turn up. It didn't, and after 4 months he was threatened with detention for not having the logo polo (I'd replaced other things bit by bit).

Spendless

divadee wrote: »

thanks xxx

she said to me once we could all go on holiday for that!!! not just me.

also maybe its just me, but a holiday to new zealand is way to much overkill for kids this age!! if we were to go i would want us to go as a family not on a school trip.

the kids i know have been seem to spend all the time in there hostel and not do that much really.

Oh gosh. I thought you were exaggerating! I thought our local secondary was bad enough with £1k+ footballs trips to Florida. When and why did secondary school trips start getting more exotic anyway. The furthest the same school went to when I was there was France.

My friend was on about the secondary school uniform last night. The black logo'd jumper is only available from the school and my mate says its poor quality and you are also limited in how many you get. Another friend guessed at her sons size, found its too long and the school won't change it, she can't order another till late Sept but it's compulsory it's worn. Friend1 was helping her out with an outgrown one. The uniform has changed several times, last year it went to clip-on ties but you are given no time to 'use up' what you've already got, you have to have the new stuff. The rugby shirts for boys are embroidered with child's first and second name -assumming to stop theft but my friend has 3 boys and the last 2 have the same initial so she could never 'hand-me-down'.

What IS the legislation on logo'd stuff does anyone know?

Ellie67

I have 3 girls at 3 different schools and it is a nightmare as only 1 of the uniforms can be bought in Asda. I have just spent a few days going round the shops looking for the regulation brown shoes for 1 of the girls. That's after I have spent 370 quid on uniforms. I have to save all year round for this and when I haven't had the money I've had to go to the Credit Union and take a small loan. I think uniforms are a good idea but things are getting out of hand!!!

Katie-Kat-Kins

You all need to get a letter writing campaign going, you can change things at your child's school, it does work. You need to get as many like minded parents as possible to write to the chairman of the governors and also to your local newspapers and radio stations, even you local tv news programe. This is quite a hot topic at the moment so they will be interested.

Explain logically to the governors the problems with the uniform and what REALISTIC changes could be made, either immediately or in future.

jellyhead

I suppose I should be grateful that our school's giving a year where kids already at school are allowed to wear their 'old' uniform. new kids must buy the new design though.

I remember campaign s in the local paper and a lot of parent power when the high school introduced their rule about non-logo jumpers must be removed before you enter the building, but the parents were ultimately powerless and couldn't persuade anyone to change the rule

Jet

I kitted my son out for his first year at secondary school for around £80 including the sports kit. Some bought from official suppliers and some from George at Asda. However, the shoes I need to buy him came to over £90 and I've bought the bare minimum and then there's all the stationery and calculators etc, not to mention a £200 per term bus ticket. :eek: It's not the uniform that's the issue, it's everything else.

courteener

I get my child benefit now to help me learn how to manage money and big chunks of it go on school uniform. My school stopped being Ok about blouses with no top button under the tie and gave us a term to get blouses with top buttons. Mine had to come from Long Tall Sally otherwise there's a gap between the bottom of my shirt and my trousers even though i wear embarassingly high waisted Simon Cowell ones and they cost almost 2 months child benefit.

I had to buy new shoes because walking to school in all the rain and snow had ruined mine and wellies are not permitted on school ground because there's nowhere to keep them. The shoes were £40 plus it cost us £8 in train fare to go to the only Clarks shop that stocks them in our area. At least my feet seem to have stopped growing now.

I've gone up another bra size, and bras cost a fortune! I need new school trousers too but I'll try and hang on until the school holidays as my 35 inch inside leg can be hard to fit, and it's always expensive.

GobbledyGook

I'll join the uniform moans. Since Christmas 3 jumpers have gone missing from my daughter despite having her name in them! The school don't insist on many things except for the sweatshirts and they are £23 a time. Wouldn't be so bad if they were decent quality, but they don't last most than 2 months of washing. It's causing all sorts of complaints, but they won't budge on them (parent power did make them relent over the poloshirts as they had been charging £11 for a white polo shirt with the school initials on it in burgundy). The price of ties has gone up to £17 - £17 for a child's tie!! basically they want all the kids in sweatshirts and this is their way of forcing parents' hands.