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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
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Ranty Friday : School Uniform

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10 Comments

This week's Ranty Friday post is based on proposed action by the government. I am not getting all political (its not really my style) and in fact I am in support of the proposals by the Lib Dem's that schools in England need to take action to cut the cost of uniforms for parents. It is ludicrous that some schools still insist on uniforms being bought from one single outlet, giving parents on different household incomes no option but to shop there. You can see the article from the BBC here.

I totally understand that schools want their children to be smart and a good representative of that establishment but surely that can be done by wearing a branded jumper or a supermarket one? Isn't the behaviour and appearance of the children the responsibility of the parents, rather than the clothes on their backs?

I was looking at the uniforms from our schools "single use supplier" and they have a variety of uniforms available but one thing that did strike me with other schools was that you had the option to buy a sew on emblem, meaning that you didn't necessarily have to buy the branded clothing but you could buy elsewhere and just sew on the logo. (hopefully in the right place and not at all wonky)

 

Brands v Supermarket

There will always be those that are for and against this move. I like my children having a uniform and I wouldn't support any decision to get rid of it completely but I do think that there are lots of families that want their children to go to the best schools but being forced to shop in one specific place just simply isn't right!

For the sake of parents pockets,

For the right to have a choice,

For those children that regularly lose uniform,

I support these changes, do you?

MummyBarrow

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Comments

  1. I actually didn't know that some schools still insisted on buying uniforms from one place. I think that's ludicrous. As long as they are in the samish colours i really don't think it matter at all.

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  2. I totally agree. A school jumper with a logo on it costs me £17 = postage as we have to buy them from an internet shop, and it takes 3 weeks to arrive, whereas I can go to Tesco or M&S and get the same one, no logo for less than £11. Madness! How do parents with a few kids and limited budget manage? Needs to be changed!

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  3. I don't see why they can't just have plain jumpers - they lose them half the time anyway. I do agree with having a uniform though.

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  4. Wholeheartedly yes! I think parents should have a choice with general guidelines but no set shop to buy it from. The blazers I just bought for my two daughters (Secondary School) were £45! Many parents simply can't afford that. I too am very pleased to see that school dinners will be free to all infant children. About time!

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  5. I think that school uniform is a good thing, but schools can raise money in other ways whereby the parents that can afford to can contribute, but those that can't aren't forced to buy expensive blazers etc. Our school is happy with supermarket stuff, thank goodness.

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  6. Although not a great at sewing myself, I love the idea of sew on emblems, the cardigans etc are so expensive and we have to buy them from the school and with more than one child to buy for the cost just keeps on rising x

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  7. Definitely think it's a good idea. The uniforms around ehre are so expensive for secondary school with the blazer. As long as children look smart and are in the right colours and style what does it matter where they buy it?

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  8. They want you to by set, identical stuff from one store so they can all look like little clones. I nearly cried putting my 4 year old in school uniform and seeing the individuality stamped out, but at least they aren't very rigid at our school and there's still a small element of personal style and character that creeps out - maybe a different skirt, or a decorative zip pull...whatever, just something which allows them to say "I'm unique".

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  9. I'd love to see sew on emblems for plain uniform!

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  10. What annoys me is that the school gets a kick back on these sales which I think is a bloody cheek. And why are they so damned expensive?! My daughter's skirt (only available from teh school) is £35. I have never paid £35 for a skirt for me so why on earth do I have to do it every year for school uniform? Totally agree on this rant

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