school uniform rip off

[accymel]

Originally Posted by katex

Just a matter of prioratizing; we all sat in front of our expensive computers whinging about the cost of our childrens everyday school wear, sorry, one of my pet subjects.

Er Erm! Im sat in front of an old basic 10gig harddrive old 17" monitor & cost oo all told £50 dead expensive is that. You pick Pc's up for next to nowt these days as broadband charges are cheaper!! Least having a pc in the home is educational too

Originally Posted by katex

Discipline in schools should be zero rated, and this has to start with the uniform. My son went into school one day with a new pair of Clarke's shoes, they had brown laces (never noticed) .. took 5 mins. before it was spotted ..and told to change them the next day ... good stuff I say.

As long as child is wearing jumper/shirt/skirt/pants/ blazer ok has to have crest on - but really all this school logoing everywhere is that really necessary!! I went to school with only the jumper logo'd with school, least the pe kit was plain basic & very affordable again no logo, i still looked very smart & presentable without the school tattooed everywhere & still was regonisable to all what school i was at. These days its a bloody long list of un necessary - then you have the peer pressure on parents to get the designer/latest thing & we all know that hasn't changed over the decades - so knowing this they make it even more tough & expensive on parents, again worse still for those that cant afford thus being bullied on top

Education policy within schools is mainly based on 'inclusion' so basically this unform palavour is going to exclude the less well off & bottom income bracket children which Hyndburn has a lot that fall into this category, so they are going against their main basic policy which is ludicrous, also verging on discriminatory. There should be a basic unform set that can be got affordable & accessible to all!!

Discipline in school - erm please enlighten me??? cos the only thing the school can have a hold on is uniform when serious stuff goes un challenged ah like being bullied for not having this or that or not being able to afford & other serious instances you can think of!!! I think this is making some matters even worse than when i was at school.

[accymel]

Originally Posted by Madhatter

I haven't got children. I'm whinging about single parents of three being expected to pay silly costs for designer uniforms that they shouldn't be wearing anyway. As you say, the uniform should be designer free for that very reason, it puts all on a level playing field, standard uniform for all, but it should be designer free at a cost that all can afford.
I'm whinging because I can see it's wrong. I see it as these kids should be well looked after well taught disiplined in the right way, when needed, and shown that people care. They'll be loooking after us when we're old.

Quite agree hatter my very concern to & is hot debate within Hyndburn's Gingerbread group at the moment & a complaint already has gone to one of the councillors already about this issue albeit fobbed of already!!

[those were the days]

i totally agree!! yes, have a school uniform, that way everyone is the same and no arguments over fashion etc.. But the overpricing is just so unfair to the normal people, not just single mothers, or unemployed, as i guess many working families find it a struggle to.
My lad is year 5 so i`ve got it all to come yet, and dreading the cost!

Why can`t they just have a uniform that could be bought anywhere, the chain stores etc.. a easily accessable colour sweater, p.e. tops, etc, and sell sew on school badges (didn`t they used to have them many a moon ago), that way everyone can get the items within their price range for if people are lucky enough to be in a posistion to pick and choose for price and quality, and those who are short - like me- can still send their child in the correct uniform without the children being stigmatised and face bullying and name calling for the financial situation of their parents.
School is hard enough, and kids will pick on each other for anything and the schools by overinflated prices are making these poor kids targets, which can in turn affect their education and ultimatly their future, all for the sake of a certain sweater from a certain shop at a certain price. Poor Kid`s.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Madhatter

II'm whinging because I can see it's wrong.

That makes a change, you usually whinge just because you like doing.

[cherokee]

As i said earlier , i completely agree with the school uniform, I agree that dicipline should start with the uniform, i also think that if these so called schools stopped ripping the parents off and trying to dredge the bottom of parents pockets they way they are doing and allow more reasonably priced outlets to sell the entire uniform at a price that people can afford then maybe more families can afford a computer and more children would be able to benifit from out of school educational research like the government would prefer..

[Debbie J]

My 8 year old's school has decided to change their school uniform for september. Unfortunately my son is dyspraxic, which means anything he eats he 'wears'. He therefore needs at least 3 of everything for school. In the past I have mixed old with new uniforms, this year I will have to buy the lot 3 jumpers with logo £30+ 3 polo shirts with logo £25 + trousers I can get cheap as there is no logo, School shoes £12 & plain black socks! This is only primary school I dread to think what it will cost when he goes to secondary!!!!

[steeljack]

"there would only be two shops we could buy the £30 jumpers from"

Guess Mothers and Grandmas no longer know how to use knitting needles

[those were the days]

My mum used to knit my sweaters / cardigans.. I`m guessing (no idea for certain) that they arn`t allowed knitted ones anymore, not being regulation expensive issue lol!

[katex]

Sorry Cherokee, think I may owe a slight apology here, misunderstood your original post, didn't realise the schools were going for an 'all out' logo'd uniform, which yes, I think is quite silly as, could always have the choice of where to buy the other items.

Thought the issue was that the school's were taking over the stocking of the items such as the badges,sweat shirts, blazers, ties, sports wear, etc. this made sense as persuading retailers (like Grays in Blackburn) to take on this franchaise can be difficult due to the layout of stock.

My mum also used to knit the jumpers too for me and sometimes make the skirts, dresses and shirts after having to visit Isobel Winters for the badges, berets and school ties. As long as the guidelines of black shoes, navy skirts, gingham dresses were followed they didn't mind.

Once again, sorry for misunderstanding.

[yerself]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbelle

Stationary has to be the latest fashion

How long has standing still been fashionable?

[chav1]

one school in the area has a new headmistress whos favourite colour is purple so she has insisted the school uniform is changed to purple to suit her and everyone now has to buy new jumpers wether they can afford it or not

i think uniforms in junior school is disgusting and just plain snobbery on the schools part , when i was growing up it was everyday clothes at juniour school then you wore a uniform at secondary school as you were older and had a better understanding on how to look after clothing especialy more expensive clothing

it is claimed that uniforms are put in place so that the less fortunate kids dont get picked on because they dont have the desighner lables and they all look the same but lets face it there are many parents who supposedly cant afford quite a lot of things yet send their kids in top brand named cloths , also even when the kids all look the same the way their parents send them to school can distiguish them from others simply because some parents either let them wear the same uniform all week without washing it or dont even bother to iron when they do wash the uniforms

scrap uniforms in juniour school its simply a waste of time and an un-needed expense to the parents i wouldnt mind my kids coming home in a ripped pair of £3 jeans from asda because they fell over but constantly replacing the more expensive uniform pants set out by the school can get costly especialy if teh grants are been scrapped

[katex]

Well, Chav .. can't agree on some of these points. When my daughter was at All Saints, no uniform then and by the time she reached 7, stubborn personality was emerging and demanded to look good most mornings, and the clothes I laid out for her were a fight every morning and tantrums prevailed. Thank Gawd when my son came along 17 years later, they had adopted a uniform .. much cheaper in the long run. Aren't ripped jeans designer now anyway ? , and believe me, before you answer, no good getting a pair of scissors to standard makes, just doesn't wash with 'em.

I would give anything for a uniform at work; having to try and look smart everyday is stessful and what is the first thing on my mind ?..'what shall I wear for work today' and causes no amount of hassle.

[SPUGGIE J]

My daughters uniform is basic so it is not too costly but when she hits the high school I reckon the cost will treble. At the mo hers is for the warm weather white blouse tie white socks black shoes and a pinnifore. In cold weather its a jumper and trousers instead of the pinnifore. To me it does as kate says work out cheaper and as they are all dressed the same it dosnt matter how much or little money the parents have as the uniform is standard. She is not into designer gear as yet and its uniform at the high school as well and it is standard. I would note give in and have even if she could wear designer gear at school as it is costly to replace if damaged.

[shillelagh]

[quote=accymel]Even worse is when the school uniform allowance for 1st uniform for secondary [year 7] has been scrapped so those on very low incomes have been shafted on top of hiked fussy logo prices so how are they supposed to afford it - a nightmare i have to face next year where i will have to get a loan shark to get a school unform

Instead of going to a loan shark mel join the credit union. If you save for 13 weeks or longer you can get a cheap loan based on your savings. You have to pay it back in a year but its only 1% interest a month and its on the falling amount not on the total amount. You just have to save at the same time when you are paying your loan back. That is cheaper than a loan shark. I'm a member and also a volunteer at HHH Credit Union. It used to be Haslingden & Helmshore Credit Union but now its HHH - Haslingden, Helmshore & Hyndburn. If you work or live within the boundary of any of those you can join the credit union. Clayton has a branch set up they joined with Haslingden & Helmshore and extended the boundary.

[shillelagh]

I'm a school governor of a primary school and yes we do have a school uniform. The school sells it - a sweatshirt and a polo shirt. We also ask for them to wear grey trousers or skirt or pinafore. During the summer the girls can wear a gingham dress in the school colours. When the kids have gone on school trips to blackpool or chester zoo we can pick them out easily enough because they all have a uniform. If they didnt then we could easily lose one of them. It also looks nicer for the school. Also there is no nike, adidas or the latest fashions everyone looks the same no matter what.

When you get to secondary school though it's different because they are older and more keep up with the others. When I was at secondary school the uniform was a navy skirt, navy jumper, pale blue or white blouse and school tie. You bought the tie at school on your first day. If you wanted to you could wear the blazer but no one ever did it was too expensive. Now, the same school and my nephews go to it - blazer, shirt, tie, trousers. You must wear a blazer to and during school hours. Also PE is a tshirt with the logo of the school on it. The blazer you buy from school. It's expensive but you pay for the quality. Theirs are good ones and they last. Mind you it is handy the eldest cares for his clothes - if it had been the other way round it would be different.