The Many Benefit's of School Uniform
School uniforms are a key way of developing a sense of togetherness among students and staff, but the topic is still one of the most widely debated outside of schools.
Article Contents:
Create cohesionReduce the potential for bullying
Improve study ethic
Increase safety
Fairer dress codes
Remove peer pressure
Prepare for the outside world
Easy mornings for students and parents
Encourage professionalism
Reduce Distractions
Focus on character
Easier economics for parents
Enjoy weekend style
Create cohesion
When students all wear the same clothing every day at school, it levels out the playing field.
Any expectations on what to wear are removed and children develop a greater sense of equality.
Children of all social and economic backgrounds begin from the same starting point.
Without uniforms, children from poorer backgrounds could feel isolated if their parents are unable to afford the latest styles of clothing.
Creating a standard promotes the idea that we are all the same.
Children come together from diverse backgrounds and can immediately identify a fellow member of their team from the clothes that they wear, breeding a sense of unity and commonality that is lost when school uniforms are removed.
Reduce the potential for bullying
Without school uniforms, the potential for children to tease and make fun of one another is increased.
People use clothing to express themselves; children are no different in this regard.
Sadly, when a child expresses themselves in a distinctive way to everyone else, it can create a point of difference between one child and another.
Again, these differences can be amplified by social and economic disparities between one child's family and another.
Rather than build a sense of community and equality with a school uniform, allowing children to wear what they like can create divisions between them.
Improve study ethic
If a child feels like they do not fit in, or they do not have the latest and best clothing, it can be damaging to their confidence.
A lack of confidence can be one of the most significant barriers to academic growth.
Introducing a school uniform removes this possibility, meaning your child has less to worry about and more reason to be confident in class.
Increase safety
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 is not 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 or tours away, children can easily be spotted among crowds thanks to their uniform.
This can be especially helpful when making school trips or tours at the same time as other schools, where large crowds of children mix with one another.
Fairer dress codes
When a school adopts a uniform, it creates a simple and standardised dress code.
When children are allowed to wear what they like, innumerable variations mean schools must adopt a lengthy list of dos and don'ts to formulate their dress code.
These dress codes are often harsher on girls too, making for an unfair and unequal community.
By bringing in a uniform, schools can avoid complicated issues around modesty, offensive symbols, and text, and remove any need for teachers to monitor what children are wearing against this dress code.
Remove peer pressure
Children are often under an immense form of peer pressure but by adopting a school uniform one form of it can be removed.
Without a uniform, children can develop expectations about what should be worn to fit into a certain group.
Children divide themselves into cliques and the sense of togetherness that a uniform brings is lost.
Prepare for the outside world
School uniforms prepare children for formal scenarios that we all encounter in our lives.
Depending on the situation, we are expected to dress and look a certain way.
Job interviews are a good example.
Dressing professionally in working environments is expected in adulthood, and this is something your child will understand thanks to a school uniform.
Easy mornings for students and parents
As any parent knows, weekday mornings can be chaotic.
It can be tricky enough to get yourself ready for work without having to worry about how your child is getting on too.
That problem is amplified if your child does not have a school uniform to put on each morning, as they take their time to decide what to wear.
In the end, it could take away from what is important that is your child’s studies.
Uniforms remove one more thing from the ‘to-do’ list of mums and dads every day.
Encourage professionalism
Most people believe that school uniforms contribute positively to a child’s behaviour in school.
Their uniform develops an affinity with learning.
Once they put it on, their purpose is to work hard at their studies.
A sense of professionalism develops within each child, leading to more focus in the classroom.
Reduce Distractions
Uniforms make for one less distraction during school.
By wearing what they like, children can become more focused on their school status rather than their studies.
Fashion trends and owning the latest styles become the priority, and it could lead to a downturn in that child’s progress at school.
Focus on character
Without a uniform, what they wear can end up defining your child rather than the content of their character.
Children should be prioritising the development of their personality, having the confidence to be who they are and not be defined by material things like the clothes they wear.
With a school uniform, your child can express themselves in more meaningful ways, which helps to develop their creativity.
Easier economics for parents
Children can be very demanding when they notice their friends have something that they do not.
Without a uniform, the potential for this to happen with clothing increases.
Children may put their parents under pressure to buy them a new wardrobe every season or capitalise on every new trend that sweeps through the school.
With school uniforms, economics is made easier for parents.
You know exactly what to buy and when to buy it, and often uniform can be used for more than one school year.
School uniforms are robust and designed for longevity.
They will last much longer than your child’s other clothing, helping you save money by not having to replace them as often.
Enjoy weekend style
We should still try to allow our children to express themselves with their clothing.
Without a uniform, the potential for this to happen with clothing increases.
It feels good to wear something we like, helping to build confidence in who we are.
Without a uniform, the potential for this to happen with clothing increases.
After wearing their uniform five days a week, children can develop a greater sense of appreciation for their other clothes that they can wear on weekends and evenings.
Without a uniform, the potential for this to happen with clothing increases.
At RAM Leisure, we strive to create togetherness and belonging among all our schools in ways that stretch far beyond the clothes your child wears every day.