Legal action against School due to the cost of School uniforms, Please advise

neverdespairgirl

moomoomama27 wrote: »

£150 for a blazer!! Where does he go Eton? OMG I cannot believe that any school could charge that, even fee paying schools cap theirs at £90!

When I went to boarding school, in 1989, the entire uniform new cost about £2,000. Mine was all second-hand.

lika_86

Ah the danger of a little legal knowledge. OP, you'll find if you ever go on to practise law that one the first questions asked of a client looking for help with a legal dispute is 'what have you done already to try and solve this?'. Just because there is a way to take legal action, doesn't mean it's always the most appropriate mechanism. In this case I can't see what action you could take. However, I can see that there are two issues:

1. When to buy the uniform - it's unclear but are they trying to suggest that you buy a new set of uniform for the few weeks of term left before the holidays? If so, I can see how parents may be upset about this if their children then grow over summer and require new uniforms for September.

2. The exclusive tying of supplier - whilst I don't think the prices are extortionate, I can see how it's annoying that everything is school badged up and so you have to buy from them as opposed to buying plain polo shirts from a supermarket.

I would suggest speaking to other parents to gauge their feelings and then writing a letter to the school to suggest that there is either a uniform overlap period or that the new rules only start in September and that maybe they consider whether polo shirts and book/pe bags really do need to be school brranded.

LondonDiva

This may also be a good time to proactively contact the PTA to ask them to set up a second hand uniform shop. The PTA can get a cut (or all) towards funds and parents a good deal. Why not offer to join the PTA / governors to take this forward.

Most of the kids I know who went to private schools had something like this but, interestingly, it was the 'less well off' families who did not want 'cast offs' for their kids.

barbarawright

kafkathecat wrote: »

Unless clothes have a fairtrade mark there is no evidence that any of the extra cost goes to the people that make them. In the past there has been a lot of publicity about expensive brands exploiting workers too.

That's a good point but there's no way a £1 shirt can be made my decently paid workers. At least there's a chance of a trickle down effect with slightly more expensive clothes. Anyway, if the OP is looking for a campaign, surely lobbying for the school to be using good quality, ethically sourced uniform would be a better cause than this?

Gloomendoom

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

When I went to boarding school, in 1989, the entire uniform new cost about £2,000. Mine was all second-hand.

When I went to school, the only 'branded' items were a cap, tie and blazer. All available from one approved supplier. However, the school did provide separate badges if parents wanted to source blazers elsewhere.

Mind you, that was back when something as simple as buying a pair of school trousers took over a week... a visit to the local gentlemans' outfitter to be measured and choose the style and cloth. Another visit the following week for a fitting and then, two days later, the trousers were ready for collection after, of course, a final fitting just to make sure. It sounds like something from the Victorian era but it was only the early 1970's.

megela

I'm in support of the logo'd t-shirts & sweaters. My DD2s primary just 'downgraded' to plain white polos & navy sweaters/cardigans. They now have no school identity and could go to any school.

gingin_2

MarilynMonroe wrote: »

On a side note I think uniform full stop for those under 7 is IMO is abit sad.(And I never wore uniform untill I was 11) I was just reading a website for a local preschool, primary and no bright shoes are allowed, I mean no individuallity whatsoever! Seeing a 4 year old trotting off for a full day at school in a drab bland navy uniform makes me feel sad for them. Are we making just work drones for the future who are all conditioned the same? I am thinking so.

I get you to some extent.

My daughter is very quiet, very reserved but she has always been confident in what she wears and I have encouraged that ( I don't mean in a designer sense, I mean she sometimes puts wacky outfits together and wears them confidently and considering how quiet she is, I think it's fantastic that she has the confidence to do that ).

I sent her to a school with a no uniform policy and then a new head came along and started one, just a colour rather than a full outfit and we followed it to the letter bar a pair of tights - you can get really cute flowery ones and stripy ones and she picked them out herself, even the teachers would tell her they loved her tights and then one day the Killjoy head pulled her out of assembly to tell her that she was breaking the school rules, so it's back to drab grey ones now.

She's never put a flowery foot wrong in that school, has glowing reports, has done everything there that they have ever asked of her and yet he had to pick on a sweet 8 year old for a bloomin' pair of flowery tights.

OP, I too think the uniform is a fair deal. Those seem to be standard uniform prices. Great suggestion about setting up a second hand uniform shop, ours charges only £1 and item and is run by the PTA. I only have to pay £11 for a polo shirt for my son at High school, otherwise they can just about wear what they like, so I consider myself very lucky there.

where.do.i.stand

Our school uniform for our 4 year old is of a very similar value, and I thought how cheap it was, even though currently we will struggle to afford it, I would always say buy from the school it should be better quality than Asda etc and for not much more cost in this case.

pigpen

gingin wrote: »

I sent her to a school with a no uniform policy and then a new head came along and started one, just a colour rather than a full outfit and we followed it to the letter bar a pair of tights - you can get really cute flowery ones and stripy ones and she picked them out herself, even the teachers would tell her they loved her tights and then one day the Killjoy head pulled her out of assembly to tell her that she was breaking the school rules, so it's back to drab grey ones now

You are aware that in state primary schools a uniform is not enforceable.. so you are within your rights to send her to school in whatever you like and if the head doesn't like it.. tough!!!

gingin_2

pigpen wrote: »

You are aware that in state primary schools a uniform is not enforceable.. so you are within your rights to send her to school in whatever you like and if the head doesn't like it.. tough!!!

I do but she's fearful now of doing the wrong thing, so she's the one who won't rebel, whereas her mother will