Our approach to school uniforms at Race Leys Junior
By Sue-Ellen Lamb, Head of School
School uniforms have the power to give children a sense of belonging to a group with similar values and goals. When done right, they help foster a positive learning environment and promote the school. Furthermore, they create equality amongst children â with every child arriving at the school in the same attire, ready to learn, widen their horizons, achieve greatness, and aspire for more.
However, uniforms can be another source of worry for parents, with school demands creating additional costs for families. And while one would assume school uniforms in the UK do now not allow fashion trends to infiltrate, itâs amazing how creative children can be to make their uniform their own. However, this can lead to inequality, as children differentiate based on brand of clothing (specifically shoes) and official versus non-official attire.
For us, and how we have designed our approach, uniforms help showcase a clear sense of equality. This is a core tenant of Race Leys Junior School, which is part of the Griffin Schools Trust. We aim to widen horizons, whilst keeping proud traditions, and our unform helps achieve this.
In 2020, we made a change to the uniform, introducing branded blazers, shirts, rather than polo shirts, and ties. For a state primary school, this is quite different, yet it wouldnât be in a public school. Why should it be that privately educated children can have a nice uniform to be proud of, while state schools may not?
The elephant in the room is cost. A blazer costs more than a jumper, and ties are completely additional to the usual uniform you see across the country. Yet formal black trousers cost no more than the standard grey, and a childrenâs white shirt can be purchased for the same price as a white polo. So, we came up with a plan.
Firstly, we made a decision to allow the uniform change to happen after the summer. so parents could budget as they would for a new school year, as this is when new trousers, skirts, and shirts would be bought anyway.
As our focus was to be considerate the household’s budgets and think of the cost of living even before the current crisis hit, we chose to go a step further in our support for families.
As such, we chose to fund the blazers and ties. Blazers are more expensive than jumpers, and while we could have funded just the difference, we believed paying for them in full would allow families to have more money to provide great experiences for their children over the summer. This was affordable for us since blazers would be for Year 6 only.
Furthermore, as ties were completely new, we felt the burden of cost should sit with ourselves and not the parents. Through the uniform policy, we ensure that the parents can use basic pieces of clothing that can be bought at low prices to complete the uniform.
In addition, our children receive a free book bag on induction to the school which includes a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book. Again, this provides an essential piece of kit without burden to families.
We do this because we believe parents should not have to consider the cost of a school uniform when choosing which school to apply to. We ensure our choices will not break the bank for our families. Race Leys also assists in other ways. For example, we ensure our uniform policy is available on our website and easy to follow and understand. We also offer a âmarket-placeâ for âlike-newâ second-hand school uniforms, not only reducing costs, but promoting sustainability and environmental awareness. Because we care about inclusion and value equality between everyone, we have a flexible policy when it comes to people’s religion, beliefs, and/or disability or any other specific circumstances. Our uniform policy is made to be followed, but it can be adapted to meet these different needs.
After introducing the uniform, we saw more united children; it gave them an increased sense of belonging. The âprivate-likeâ unform instils a sense of pride, supporting childrenâs learning and bonding experience.
All these benefits came at very little cost for the school. We can afford to pay for blazers and ties because we focus on sustainability â just as we do with uniforms â elsewhere in the school. Furniture is upcycled, the usual suppliers are compared against second-hand alternatives, and costs are greatly reduced in areas which other schools simply donât consider to reduce the bill on.
The result? Our school looks incredible, much like a public school, and find ourselves in a position where we can afford to support parents in partially funding the school uniform, which also have a public school feel about it.
Of course, nothing is always perfect, and the individuality I mentioned earlier has been a concern for some parents. Some felt that the uniform is restrictive and doesn’t allow the children to express themselves through clothing. While this may be true, it is nothing new â the old uniform, and uniforms across the country, have the same issue. And, on balance, uniforms have more benefits since they instil a sense of pride, they reduce bullying due to fashion trends or family income, and they help create equality between the pupils.
We would encourage other schools to consider an alternative approach to school uniforms, which, like ours, elevate the sense of belonging for children, creates pride in representing their school, and, most importantly, doesnât result in increased costs for families. This can all be achieved on a state school budget â we are proof. The difference is the desire to make a difference, to support families, and to take on the responsibility of finding a way to fund the initiative, rather than handing it over.
Since the uniforms introduction, the cost of living crisis has hit. We had no idea such an event was looming in the distance, but weâre very glad we made the decisions â and stick by them.
