Opinion

Tom Collins: It’s time we binned the ‘old school tie’

Tom Collins

Tom Collins

Tom Collins is an Irish News columnist and former editor of the newspaper.

This year finding money for school uniforms is a bigger problem than ever
This year finding money for school uniforms is a bigger problem than ever This year finding money for school uniforms is a bigger problem than ever

The shops are full of ‘Back to School’ stuff at the moment: Post-It notes in more colours than exist in nature; three-packs of Sharpie markers; jotters; ring binders; backpacks featuring the latest film franchise superheroes… enough ‘stuff’ to drive parents to the edge.

And that’s before they confront the biggest-priced items of all – the dreaded school uniform.

Every year, finding the money is a problem for many. This year, it’s a bigger problem than ever. Nobody needed the Office of National Statistics to tell us that we are getting poorer. But this week it revealed that in June wages fell at the fastest rate for 20 years.

For some wages are going up – but not as much as runaway inflation unleashed by a government of unprecedented incompetence. On average we are three per cent worse off. But averages disguise things – the grim reality is that many are worse off by significantly more than three per cent.

For some – a lucky few - it doesn’t much matter. The rich can absorb the costs. But the system is rigged to ensure that the poorest in society pay the most for their food, their energy, and other living costs.

In normal circumstances you would expect a government to be at crisis stations. But Boris Johnson is on his second holiday of the summer; his colleagues are fighting for his hollow crown; and ministers have gone into hiding.

Closer to home, the DUP is modelling itself on the Tory Party – the D in DUP stands for dysfunctional. Its refusal to live up to its responsibilities is a disgrace. The sight of DUP MLAs pocketing salaries while their constituents are seeking out foodbanks is a scandal.

While the blame for the current impasse here rests with the DUP, opposition leader Matthew O’Toole was right to call out the current caretaker executive for failing to take a lead on the unfolding crisis.

Caretaker ministers have little room for manoeuvre, but they have some, and they should be doing everything they can to deploy their departmental resources to help people who are struggling.

We need a bit of leadership – and if we cannot get that from those elected to represent us, we are in a very sorry state.

There is no constitutional issue more important than dealing with a population struggling to provide security for their families – food on the table, heat in the hearth, and support for their health and well-being from a state which is among the richest in the world.

And that brings us back to school uniforms – the straw which threatens to break the camel’s back over the next few weeks.

Many schools are sensitive to the harsh financial realities that impact on their pupils and their parents. But too many insist on school uniform policies which put parents into debt, and which reinforce divisions between the haves and the have-nots in their classrooms.

I buy the argument that a uniform avoids ‘brand wars’ in the playground – but I do not see the need for bespoke uniforms bought from a small number of specialist retailers, often at inflated prices.

Yes, a sense of community is important for our young people – and uniforms help tick that box. But no student did better in their exams because of the piping round the collar of their blazer, the elaborately embroidered badge on their breast pocket, or the length of their skirt.

I’m not going to get into the issue of the fashion-sense of some heads who seem determined to make their pupils look as ridiculous as possible; or the lengths they go to in enforcing uniform discipline. But let’s get real.

Dump the lists of ‘essentials’ and ‘recommended’ items.

Dump the fancy designs.

Ban restrictions on suppliers.

There’s nothing wrong with generic uniforms – and parents should not be expected to shop in specialist or ‘approved’ retailers for blazers and the like.

Uniform designs should be rethought with comfort in mind – if a Chancellor can be pictured in a hoodie why can’t a schoolchild wear one too? And there should be enforced standards for quality and sustainability.

This is a market where the normal rules of capitalism should not apply. Education is a right, and the current approach to dressing our children for school increases poverty, makes many feel second class alongside their schoolmates, and undermines their educational attainment.

This is not a new issue. But if ever there were a time to fix it, it is now.