Parents complaining about school unform costs

myothercarisaferrari

tesco are doing pants/skirts, shirts, polo shirts and a coat for £15:D

jellyhead

I thought that offer finished yesterday? Even earlier in some stores because the discounts weren't working.

The offer was a coat, socks, skirt/trousers 2 pack, polo shirts (but not shirts) and some shoes (not leather, £3.50 price tag). This offer won't suit everyone - those who need a shirt instead of a polo etc - and the shoes are no good for lots of people so a cheap jumper would have been nicer instead.

JoolzS

There is one thing that parents could do about restrictive uniform policies - refuse to conform. If your child is strong enough to stand up for h/irself then let them go to school in clothes that you can afford. I don't mean breaking the uniform code completely, but simply don't buy the stuff that is extortionate.

It can be a bit difficult on the kid. However, I do still get a huge amount of pleasure in remembering that my mum once sent me to school (junior - around 9 or 10 years old) wearing a pair of dungarees(!) when it was absolutely not allowed for girls to wear trousers. It was in the middle of winter, we were a bit late, and I think she just didn't care about the rules. I was slightly late into class and I can still remember the tiny gasps of breath because I was daring to wear trousers (this would have been around 1976). My mum had already told me what to say to the teacher (can't remember what, but it would have been polite) and very soon after girls were officially allowed to wear trousers to my school. At the time I was mortified, but looking back it was pretty great.

I doubt that any school, even over-subscribed ones, would want the media reporting that they were expelling children for wearing clothes that were in the correct colours, but not bought from the correct shop with logos.

My senior school, as I mentioned in an earlier post, did have rules about uniform colours and anyone breaking them got sent home to change. However that rule breaking was very rare because we had so much opportunity to express ourselves within the rules.

I really liked having a uniform because my widowed mum was short of cash and when I got to around 13/14 and was earning a little money of my own I liked being able to buy some fashionable (but within the colour range allowed) clothes of my own for school.

(edited to add) I absolutely hate the idea of forcing girls to wear polo shirts. Very few girls look good in them and, therefore, feel bad about the way they look. Standard sweatshirts are pretty much the same. I cannot see any good coming from making girls feel bad about themselves when they look in the mirror.

Julie

xmaslolly76

I have to praise my daughter new school the uniform is very generic and can be bought from anywhere you choose as long as it is in the school colours. Also there is no mass of sports equipment to buy the only thing they stipulate is if they have trainers they must have a seperate pair for indoor use only to save the floors. The only other rule i can think of off the top of my head is the school shoes have to be totally black they can have no marking or logos on them which is fair enough to me.

Seems completely ridiculas in this day and age to force parents to pay extourtionate prices for things from a single source. there is rather a famous school off j1 of the m6 that has a very strict uniform policy (its a public school) and to be honest after the first 4 weeks of term they all look like they have been dragged through a hedge backwards if you ask me and their washing standards are terrible to but being boarders i dont suppose they have much guidence when it comes to washing clothes.

(appologise for the spelling its never been my strong point )

Sarah_Joanne

jellyhead wrote: »

ELC staff cheerfully informed me yesterday that there are only 3 paydays until christmas! (I think it's 4 though?)

Glad I don't work there! I have 5 paydays til Christmas - August, September, October, November and December!!!!!

kannun

Aviva are offering free life insurance for parents with kids, until their 1st birthday. I guess if they were born on the 29th of feb thats 4 years.

First time on forum, so sorry if im in the wrong place!

jellyhead

Sarah_Joanne wrote: »

Glad I don't work there! I have 5 paydays til Christmas - August, September, October, November and December!!!!!

So does my husband, although the December payday comes early, so in theory he should spend any of it before christmas. I don't know why they said 3, because if the december pay is after christmas that means the august payday hasn't happened yet.

Unless they meant that the august payday is for buying the extortionate school uniform, leaving the other 3 paydays for christmas :rotfl:

Katie-Kat-Kins

JoolzS wrote: »

There is one thing that parents could do about restrictive uniform policies - refuse to conform. If your child is strong enough to stand up for h/irself then let them go to school in clothes that you can afford. I don't mean breaking the uniform code completely, but simply don't buy the stuff that is extortionate.

It can be a bit difficult on the kid. However, I do still get a huge amount of pleasure in remembering that my mum once sent me to school (junior - around 9 or 10 years old) wearing a pair of dungarees(!) when it was absolutely not allowed for girls to wear trousers. It was in the middle of winter, we were a bit late, and I think she just didn't care about the rules. I was slightly late into class and I can still remember the tiny gasps of breath because I was daring to wear trousers (this would have been around 1976). My mum had already told me what to say to the teacher (can't remember what, but it would have been polite) and very soon after girls were officially allowed to wear trousers to my school. At the time I was mortified, but looking back it was pretty great.

I doubt that any school, even over-subscribed ones, would want the media reporting that they were expelling children for wearing clothes that were in the correct colours, but not bought from the correct shop with logos.

My senior school, as I mentioned in an earlier post, did have rules about uniform colours and anyone breaking them got sent home to change. However that rule breaking was very rare because we had so much opportunity to express ourselves within the rules.

I really liked having a uniform because my widowed mum was short of cash and when I got to around 13/14 and was earning a little money of my own I liked being able to buy some fashionable (but within the colour range allowed) clothes of my own for school.

(edited to add) I absolutely hate the idea of forcing girls to wear polo shirts. Very few girls look good in them and, therefore, feel bad about the way they look. Standard sweatshirts are pretty much the same. I cannot see any good coming from making girls feel bad about themselves when they look in the mirror.

Julie

Yep I'd agree with that if the kid isn't the sort that will get upset by this. I recall having many a fun arguement with senior management of our school over their interpretation of the revised uniform policy and the rules they seemingly made up to suit themselves as they went along. No co-incidence that I am now a lawyer..........

onlyroz

I'm just buying uniform for the first time, for my little boy. A pair of black shoes from Clarkes cost £30, and I've bought two badged sweatshirts at £9 each, and two badged t-shirts at £5 each. I'm going to get the rest from Tesco. Seems like a fairly reasonable cost to me, but it'll be interesting to see how long the sweatshirts last before they become completely trashed...

galvanizersbaby

onlyroz wrote: »

I'm just buying uniform for the first time, for my little boy. A pair of black shoes from Clarkes cost £30, and I've bought two badged sweatshirts at £9 each, and two badged t-shirts at £5 each. I'm going to get the rest from Tesco. Seems like a fairly reasonable cost to me, but it'll be interesting to see how long the sweatshirts last before they become completely trashed...

I think it's a bit of a money savers nightmare that so many primary schools have gone for these sweatshirts.

My sisters boys have to wear them and they don't last long before they look all faded and old - I think it's mainly down to the washing of them.

My kids have to wear the old acrylic type jumpers and though they are double the price of the sweatshirts they last ages
a) they wash better
b) they are so unappealing/formal to wear the kids don't keep them on long