School Uniform questions

ruthyjo

There was recently a report which got quite a bit of publicity but I can't remember what body it was by (might have been a C of E thing or it might just have been C of E schools coming in for criticism). It basically said that some schools discriminated against poorer children by having expensive uniforms and trips and that this was putting people off applying for them so they were exercising unofficial selection policies on the basis of class/income.

If you feel strongly on the issue you could write to the chair of governors of the school saying that you feel the school is guilty of this and asking for their comments. I would expect any governing body to take this sort of complaint seriously as they will be very anxious not to be seen to discriminate against those with low incomes.

The dfes website says no child should be excluded from school for failing to wear the uniform unless it is part of a pattern of bad behaviour. However there is a constant string of stories in the media about children being excluded for offences such as wearing a headscarf, earring, wrong haircut etc so you might want to avoid this unless you're prepared to be the parent who fights this through the courts.

If you're just looking for ways to cut the cost I've brought my costs down by

buying m and s blazers and sewing the school badge on (£17 and on 3 for 2 plus a fiver for the badge rather than £35 from the official supplier)

buying generic rugby shorts, pe shorts, school shorts and shirts (again from m and s and on 3 for 2)

picked up some secondhand uniform for spares at the school summer fair (you should check if your son's new school ever has a second hand uniform stall at any event. I think most schools do.)

inheriting hand me down uniform from two friends' children

My sons are going to an independent school where the uniform is more expensive but I have to say the biggest cost is still the branded trainers etc they want to go with it and the uniform itself doesn't cost as much as the stuff they wear out of school although it is a shock after their primary school's less stringent requirements.

You've got a couple of months so you can spread the cost a bit and maybe hold off buying a coat, new shoes for a bit after that.

Good luck!

shays_mum

Have the same problem here , but asked the school what the alternatives were & they pointed me in the direction of a mother who sells second hand uniforms for the whole school. I got £300 worth of uniform for £26!!. HTH, goodluck

KathrynPenguin

Speaking as someone who has to try and deal with the uniform quagmire on a daily basis I have seen our school introduce MORE school branded stuff to try and force the kids into proper uniform. Jumpers were getting silly, even black was being misinterperated by both kids and parents, V necks were specified but often round necks crept in and cardigans became hoodies. A school jumper was introduced as the ONLY jumper option to iron out these issues.

Summer uniform has just been introduced in the form of a polo shirt, with school logo an year group colours on collar and cuff, another school branded item. Blazers must be worn or carried but parents can buy a blazer and sew on a school badge, teenage girls arrive in fitted jackets with a badge pinned on, so maybe they will be next on the school list.

Male teachers can have a particularly difficult time in dealing with girls dressed like Britney without being accused of being pervs by these same girls. School shirts are supposed to be shirts but parents buy their girls short, tight fitted shirts that do not meet their hipster trousers so that when they sit down and remove their blazer you are left with a view of their thongs. It wouldn't be acceptable in the workplace and isn't in school, again introducing a shirt or trousers that have to be purchased from the school puts the kids in a specific type and gets rid of these issues. Boys are less difficult but they do like to get their trainers on instead of their school shoes and seem incapable of tying a tie correctly or tucking a shirt in.

Outside of school the way kids look in their uniform is noticed, schools get phone calls when incidents happen locally or on public transport and often comments are made about "not surprised, when I saw the state of them" or "kids from your school are always scruffy" and again the school takes the rap for kids bad behaviour and inability to dress smartly. Enforcing their uniform code in the classroom is one way of gently asserting your authority, reminding them on the way in that it is YOUR classroom and that you have standards you adhere to can make for a better lesson all round, kids do respond positivly to clear boundaries and oddly have more respect if they see a teacher as a bit strict on some things.

Reading this I sound like a bit of a harridan but its just how I see things from the inside. My classes really are loads of fun and we've used this forum on more than one occasion (ICT lessons)

KathrynPenguin

ruthyjo wrote:

There was recently a report which got quite a bit of publicity but I can't remember what body it was by (might have been a C of E thing or it might just have been C of E schools coming in for criticism). It basically said that some schools discriminated against poorer children by having expensive uniforms and trips and that this was putting people off applying for them so they were exercising unofficial selection policies on the basis of class/income.

Going slightly off topic here, schools are not supposed to make payment for educational trips compulsory. Our school standard letter makes it quite clear that no child will be denied the chance to go on the trip if they are unable to pay. Unfortunately this does get abused by parents who are perfectly able to pay but aware that they can simply say they are not paying but want their child to attend. Rather selfish really as it means that other parents are paying, the trip won't be run at a loss when the initial charge was defined it will have accounted for the percentage who cant/wont pay before splitting the cost between the required number. Parents who complain that they are paying for teachers to go on a trip should really be complaining they are paying for other children to go on the trip!

annie-c

Someone posted on my local freecycle group recently, asking for secondhand uniform for a particular school and stating the size she needed. Might be worth a try to get started with a few things.

bargainaddict

At my daughters school we can pay for the uniforn weekly/monthly. Manyof the parents had a payment card, some pid a deposit and paid the balance when they collected the uniform when it arrived in August.

Also, check with the school what your child actually needs. My daughters list said football socks (£5) apron (£3) and these were not needed. it also said black tracksuit but the kids dont wear them and they are allowed to wear their own tracksuit bottoms. Mine have only ever had 1 sweatshirt and pair of trousers. They have always had 5 shirts/polos because they used to get quite dirty, but I can wash the sweatshirt if it comes home dirty, hang it up and its dry by the morning.

Good luck

Counting_Pennies_2

My son is due to start nursery in September and all his clothes need naming.

I would sooner have a name tag that I can peel or cut out of his clothes again as opposed to marker pen as I intend to sell them on Ebay when he grows out of them and I think it will keep the label looking neater.

Can anyone let me know if the iron on or sew on ones are best and where I can get them the cheapest?

Thanks

Spendless

Counting_Pennies wrote:

My son is due to start nursery in September and all his clothes need naming.

I would sooner have a name tag that I can peel or cut out of his clothes again as opposed to marker pen as I intend to sell them on Ebay when he grows out of them and I think it will keep the label looking neater.

Can anyone let me know if the iron on or sew on ones are best and where I can get them the cheapest?

Thanks

I've always used marker pens. My experience of school uniform is that they get it covered in paint, drop their dinner down it and manage to go thru the knees of trousers :rolleyes: . You might be able to re-sell some of the clothes he wears for nursery since they are only there a limited amount of time but after that not as much. I have a daughter and always thought she would be able to wear sons outgrown shirts and jumpers, but he has had clothes in different sizes for the 3 years he has been at school and it is very limited what I have been able to pass on.

hardpressed

If you have two children, you can save money by ordering one set of name tags . You are usually allowed a certain number of letters so order them with one initial or name in front and the other after the surname e.g. Janet Brown Peter or J Brown P. You can then fold under or cut off the name you dont need. Hope this makes sense.

Alikay

I agree with Spendless, School clothes get worn out and I've hardly passed anything down to my younger kids coz they're usually wrecked. Maybe a few bits may do for emergencies, but certainly nothing saleable! I did buy sew-in name tapes for the eldest child, but stuff still went missing at school, and the toe-rags who nick other kids sweatshirts etc just rip the nametapes out! With the youngest ones I just used a marker which was quicker and cheaper.
I'm talking about supermarket and chainstore schoolwera by the way, if your child goes to a school with expensive clothes from specialist suppliers, then I guess it would be worth trying to sell stuff on afterwards.