Towards the end of the summer break, a number of parents report feeling pressured to make purchases of embroidered school gear for their children, such as gym bags, hoodies, and blazers.
Mhairi, a mother of two, tells me that the school “likes it when you have the logo.”
She claims that she has purchased some inexpensive products from supermarkets and that she has received some hand-me-down stuff for her children, who are in elementary school.
Mhairi explains, “I still managed to spend about $100 at the official school store merely to purchase a cardigan, four polo shirts, and the PE equipment.”
Because someone was kind enough to gift me a blazer this year, I won’t have to shell out the $80 or $90 that some other people are spending for a similar item.
The decision to wear school uniforms is left up to individual schools and their respective local authorities in Scotland, where it is not required by law for students to do so.
According to Mhairi, parents report feeling forced into purchasing goods imprinted with the school emblem.
But Mhairi, who lives in West Dunbartonshire, adds that parents still feel coerced into purchasing goods embroidered with the school insignia from vendors chosen by the schools.
“As a parent, it makes me feel a little bit scared that someone could critique my parenting style or condemn my kid for not seeming quite as clever as everyone else,” she adds. “It makes me feel a little bit anxious.”
“I know from experience when my kid has gone in with the yellow supermarket polo shirt with no logo on it, and I think it does seem a little bit shoddy,” the parent said. “I believe it does look a little bit shabby.”
Mhairi claims that she can get eight unbranded polo shirts for the same price as one that has an embroidered logo on it, which costs twelve pounds.
She believes that it is difficult to resist the urge to choose the more affordable options.
“As a parent, it’s extremely terrible if you spend twenty pounds on a jumper and it disappears within the first week,” Mhairi adds. “If you spent twenty pounds on a jumper.”
“Such a thing has occurred in the past.”
Child Poverty Action Group representative Sara Spencer urged all schools to carefully assess the financial implications of wearing branded uniforms.
Those with the lowest incomes may apply for assistance to help cover the cost of school apparel via the local councils in Scotland.
This amounts to at least £120 and £150 respectively for each kid of primary school age and secondary school age respectively.
Those who are eligible for certain benefits may also be eligible to receive a Best Start Grant School Age Payment in the amount of £294.70 to assist with the expenses associated with sending a child to primary 1 for the first time.
According to Sara Spencer, who works with the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG), this is a big assistance for some people, but there are a lot of low-income families who are not qualified for this program and still struggle to afford the expenditures involved with school apparel.
“Parents say that if the school is asking you to buy anything, they are going to go to the ends of the world to be able to do that,” she adds. “Parents say that they are going to go to the ends of the earth to be able to do that.”
They economize on other things that are vital.
According to Ms. Spencer, a lot of schools are aware of the difficulties that parents are now dealing with.
She claims that they are attempting to make the school uniform more inexpensive and that some schools are doing away with the need totally for branded things.
According to Hashim Ahmed, most parents want their children to dress well and present themselves in a professional manner when they go to school.
Hashim Ahmed and his family have operated shops in East Kilbride and Newton Means for the better part of three decades, during which time they have supplied the Greater Glasgow region with branded school uniforms.
“We often get grandparents to come in to purchase uniforms for their grandkids at the same place that they bought their own children’s uniforms,” he adds. “This is the same business that they shopped at when their own children were in school.”
The proprietor of Blossoms School Wear asserts that despite the fact that his wares are more costly, they are more durable.
“We do make it a priority to make sure that our school uniform is durable enough to survive the whole year so that parents do not have to come in, for example, during the holidays and buy more.”
The manufacturer sews school logos onto a variety of goods, such as jumpers, sweatshirts, polo shirts, and school bags, using an embroidery machine in-house.
“The schools are placing a great deal of stress on the fact that they would want the uniform to be worn by the students.
“A significant number of parents do make the decision to get it because they want their children to be a part of an educational setting in which they are the same as the person who is sitting next to them.
When their children go to school, the parents want them to present a neat and put-together appearance.
When it comes to dressing their children, Izzie Eriksen from Apparel Xchange encourages parents to consider doing so in a sustainable manner.
There are a variety of programs available around the nation that are designed to assist with the financial burden of returning to school. These programs include lending out blazers and uniforms, renting out blazers, and sharing second-hand things with others.
Apparel Xchange is a not-for-profit organization that operates a large warehouse in the middle of Glasgow that is filled to the rafters with pre-owned children’s apparel.
This organization encourages people to repurpose, mend, and recycle clothes of all kinds, especially school uniforms.
According to Izzie Eriksen, general director of the company, “They sell like hot cakes.”
They may be purchased at a significant discount when compared to the cost of brand-new items, which contributes to their widespread demand.
The organization, much like CPAG, is a member of the working group on school uniforms established by the Scottish government.
The Scottish government has announced that it would provide updated recommendations for educational institutions prior to the beginning of the new academic year in August of the following year.
A spokeswoman said that “We recognize that many families are suffering serious difficulty as a consequence of the cost of living issue and that there has to be more done to make uniforms more accessible.”
“Because of this, we will be presenting new recommendations on school uniforms based on what we have heard during a recent consultation,” you can read. “We are very grateful for your feedback.”