Uniform at Westerhope Primary School

Our aims are to ensure:

• Value for money - Set out our approach to requiring a uniform that is of reasonable cost and offers the best value for money for parents and carers.
• We avoid discrimination in line with our legal duties under the Equality Act 2010.
• Clarification around our expectations for school uniform.
• The opinions of pupils have been taken into account.

(Year 5 and 6 pupils have helped to agree the school uniform and have read the policy in advance of it being shared with the wider school community).

Why do we have a school uniform?

• To create a sense of unity and belonging – it is valuable to feel like we belong and are a member of a team, uniform helps to create this. By keeping to a school uniform, it avoids peer pressure as all children can come to school on an equal footing.
• To be prepared for a school day with a sense of purpose – It is important that when coming to school children are ready to learn and feel differently to being at home doing their own thing. Putting on uniform each day helps the children feel ready and prepared for a purposeful school day. It also means when children get home and put on their own clothes, there is a marked difference between their school day and their own time.
• To keep children safe - There are significant safety concerns to not adopting a uniform in school. With their school colours on, children can immediately be recognised at a distance as a member of that school. In a situation where someone who isn’t a member of the school is on-site, they can be easily identified as not part of the school by their lack of uniform.

This can be extended to days outside of school grounds. On day trips away, children can easily be spotted among crowds thanks to their uniform. This can be especially helpful when making school trips at the same time as other schools, where large crowds of children mix with one another.

• Easy mornings for parents and children– Mornings can be very busy for any household. Children knowing what they need to wear each day avoids any distraction around deciding what to wear and can make it easier for the whole family to leave the house on time.
• Preparing for the future world of work – in almost all areas of work life a uniform is required and there are expectations about how you are presented for a working day. Uniform at school can help to instill this principle therefore better preparing children for their future careers.

Expectations for school uniform

• Black or grey school trousers, school skirt or school dress (not tracksuit bottoms)
• Black leggings, with no branding, may be worn as an alternative
• A plain yellow polo shirt OR a yellow polo shirt with the school logo
• A purple sweatshirt or cardigan with the school logo on
• Black school shoes, black trainers or plain black, flat ankle boots
• If tights are worn, they should be opaque.

Summer Options:

• Black or grey school shorts
• Purple or yellow check summer dress or playsuit
• Sandals may be worn but they must be closed in at the toes for safety.

PE Kit:

• Plain black tracksuit bottoms, leggings or shorts in the summer with no obvious branding
• Black school PE hoodie or the purple school sweatshirt or cardigan
• A plain white crew neck T-Shirt (no branding) or the yellow or white school PE T-Shirt
• PE trainers should be practical sports trainers, not fashion trainers. They should be dark with no obvious branding or bright colours.

Children may come into school in their PE kit on their PE days therefore it is important the children maintain the same high standards for their PE kit as they do for the rest of their school uniform.

Makeup and Hair:

• Makeup or nail varnish should not be worn in school.
• Hair should be appropriate for school which is at the discretion of the Headteacher. Long hair should be tied back appropriately.

Jewellery

• Only small studs in ears can be worn and these should be removed before coming to school on PE days.
• Watches may be worn but smart watches should not receive notifications during the school day.
• School do not accept responsibility for the safety of watches or jewellery worn at school.

Coats and Bags

• Appropriate coats for school which the children can comfortably wear to play outside and are sufficiently appropriate for the weather. We recommend cheaper, non-branded coats are worn for school as it is not the responsibility of the school to replace any coats or uniform which is damaged while at school.
• All children in Reception will receive a book bag with our school logo on at the start of the year which can continue with them through school.