School Uniform questions

silvercar

Your not going to like this, but I think you should have bought the school uniform. You knew your daughter would be embarrassed to not have the correct uniform, so why cause her all this worry. Kids just want to fit in, especially if they are embarrassed about their size/ shape.

Scarlett1

looby could you not buy 1 trutex blouse for school photograph and uniform inspection days, a sort of 'for show' blouse ?

If its a white blouse and it has the logo on it I dont see the problem, £13 is a lot of money for a blouse especially when you need 5 of them

bestpud

Hiya

I can't offer any advive on the leglities etc of school uniform but I do think you've done the right thing by telling your daughter to politely ask the teacher to contact you. That's what I would do in those circumstances anyway. Are you in contact the other parents involved?

IMO making children stand in front of the school to have their uniform 'inspected' is humiliating and I'm sure it must also be discriminatory to those with a lower income?

Personally I think £13 per blouse is ridiculous. Not everyone has the facilities to wash and dry uniforms every night so you need at least two of them - £26!!! Education is about learning and encouraging children, not forcing children to feel humiliated because their parents struggle to buy the 'perfect' uniform.

Sorry, like I said, I'm not much help but I can see why you're annoyed - I'd be fuming! Hope you get it sorted without the school embarassing your daughter anymore.

Best wishes,

Bestpud

Zziggi

How old is your daughter? Is she in primary school or secondary school?

I know for a fact that schools CANNOT make primary aged children wear the uniform and if children do not wear the correct uniform then there is absolutely sod all the school can do so force the parents to make the child wear the uniform. This is why you will generally see the subtle use of language in primary schools on the matter of uniforms. Things like "the Head and Govenors expect the appropriate uniform to be worn" And not that children HAVE to wear the uniform.

I know the situation is slightly different with secondary school children but i am not familiar with it. However it is not as cut&dried as schools try to make it.

Zziggi

ruthyjo

Looby:

the following link is the official line on uniforms for state schools. When I was a governor in a state school some of us used this policy to head off a faction that wanted to introduce much stricter rules:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/SchoolLife/SchoolLifeArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4016078&chk=nMFEvS

I hate the school uniform issue.

My ten year old son started an independent school this year. We had a letter at the weekend from his new head saying he had to get his shoulder length hair cut. He has already been in trouble because his black swimming trunks were adidas (and hence had white stripes on the side) and I have had to go and buy some nasty cheap looking (but actually mega expensive) ones with the school logo on. Also his rugby boots (nike total 90 football boots) have not made the grade despite the uniform list just saying football/rugby boots, as the studs are wrong. It's an independent school so they can make me jump through whatever hoops they like but what annoys me is I had checked with the school on all three issues before term started.

My little girl has just started school this morning at a local primary. I've come home from dropping her off there in tears for various reasons but partly because her outdoor shoes are pink and girly and everyone elses are black and boring, every other child has black pumps for indoor and she has pink lelli kelly ones (properly fitted - as if I'd let her wear smelly plimsolls with no support all day) and despite the gorgeous weather she's the only child in the summer uniform.

I just don't understand this urge to get children all identical as if they're in the military but I'm scared my dd will be gutted to be so distinctively different. It's not the school my boys attended and we don't know anyone there so we weren't party to whatever unwritten rules are in operation but I wish everyone else didn't follow them like sheep.

Sorry to be hijacking your thread. I think your daughter's school is well out of order. Offer them a donation of £1.30 to school funds if their commision is a big issue - that should shut them up and let them know you're aware of what's going on. I hope the link above helps. If they do contact you I'd ask them to explain how their policy fits with government strategy and emphasise how marginalised/excluded they could make you feel if you had less strength of character.

Zziggi

ruthyjo wrote:

Looby:

the following link is the official line on uniforms for state schools. When I was a governor in a state school some of us used this policy to head off a faction that wanted to introduce much stricter rules:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/SchoolLife/SchoolLifeArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=4016078&chk=nMFEvS

this link was very useful. My DS has started school this year and my DD will start next year. Since i now have Ds in school I am a little concerned at the PE dress code for girls for when DD starts (i.e. insist they wear a close fitting leotard while boys wear the much looser and less revealing t-shirt and shorts). A concern i would have for my DD at the upper end of primary school as girls start to develop and get self conscious of their body shape even in primary school.

I know it's a battle to have in future years but at least i know now from reading the link that there may be grounds to ask the governing body to consider adapting their PE uniform in order to avoid sex and race discrimination.

looby75

silvercar wrote:

Your not going to like this, but I think you should have bought the school uniform. You knew your daughter would be embarrassed to not have the correct uniform, so why cause her all this worry. Kids just want to fit in, especially if they are embarrassed about their size/ shape.

The gap in the trutex blouse was causing my dd a lot of embarrassment she was the one who requested that she didn't have those "useless stretchy things" again. She is only 13 and already in a 34 DD bra size (big boobs run in the family unfortunately) I bought her the biggest size they have with do with the correct colour logo on it (they have gold for years 7-11 and black for six form) and it still pulled on the bust area, it's the design of the shirt and the material it's made from (very fitted stretchy cotton) as well as the fact that the sleeves have to be 3/4 and on the bigger sizes they were right down over her hands, also the neckline was too low because of way the bigger sizes are cut. It looked terrible and was totally unsuitable for school!

Scarlett1 wrote:

looby could you not buy 1 trutex blouse for school photograph and uniform inspection days, a sort of 'for show' blouse ?

Even if I could get one to fit I doubt that the school would take this as a compromise, they are being so pedantic about it.

bestpud wrote:

Education is about learning and encouraging children, not forcing children to feel humiliated because their parents struggle to buy the 'perfect' uniform.

:T :T :T My dd is a model student, polite quite and in the top sets for all her classes, surely that's what's important, not where her school blouse came from.

Zziggi wrote:

How old is your daughter? Is she in primary school or secondary school?

She's in secondary school, and they only changed to this uniform after the first year of her being there, so I didn't "sign up" for having to pay £13 for a totally unsuitable blouse, it was dropped on all the parents without any consultation in June 05

ruthyjo, thank you for that link, it is very helpful and there are some good points there which I can raise with the school.

As for you dd, I'm sure she will have a great day and all her new little friends will go home this afternoon and ask their mams for pink shoes and pumps instead of boring black ones You may well have started a trend.

The school has been on the phone, but I wasn't here to answer it so they left a message (I was at the docs I've got tonsillitis and and ear infection again so I really don't need this stress at the moment) I've spoken my dd's friends mam who has spoken to the LEA and they have offered to talk to the head of the school, from what she said it seems the LEA isn't impressed with the schools stance on uniform. So for now I'm not going to return the call to the school, I'll wait until either I feel better or I hear what the LEA say.

Zziggi

looby75 wrote:

:T :T :T My dd is a model student, polite quite and in the top sets for all her classes, surely that's what's important, not where her school blouse came from.

You really would hope that those characteristics were more important than her uniform. I mean at least she is wearing the uniform, albeit slightly off the authorised one. You would think the school would be more bothered about her education, progress, attitude to learning and manners.:mad:

P.S. i would go fr!ggin mad if this happened to me too.

looby75

Zziggi wrote:

I mean at least she is wearing the uniform, albeit slightly off the authorised one.

That's the most maddening thing though, it's so close to the trutex one, all they are complaining about is that's it's a different fabric, still totally suitable and in my dd's case MORE suitable than the trutex design.

They are never happy, towards the end of last year I got a letter home about the fact the top button on her blouse kept popping open (again because of the design of the shirt not being compatible with having boobs!) and it was unsuitable for the school environment. What do they want me to do, make her have a breast reduction!

kate1976

Zziggi wrote:

You would think the school would be more bothered about her education, progress, attitude to learning and manners.:mad:

This is exactly what I think, I'm sick of schools harping on about 'proper' uniforms and 'proper' haircuts etc. So long as the uniform isn't that different then I don't see the problem! My DS started secondary school last week and the cost of the uniform was outrageous as you had to buy from the school! Schools need to change their attitude on uniforms, it's not the end of the world just because somebody has a different blouse on! I wish you luck looby, take your complaint to the top and don't let the barstewards grind you down!

looby75 wrote:

(I was at the docs I've got tonsillitis and and ear infection again so I really don't need this stress at the moment)

Hope you feel better soon!