At The Howard we impress upon our children the value of looking neat and smart at school. Our expectations are that all children will wear clothing that is in keeping with a purposeful learning ethos. Our expectations are based on the belief that a school uniform:
- promotes a sense of pride in our school
- engenders a feeling of belonging
- is practical and distinctive
- identifies the children with the school
- is not distracting in class
- makes children feel equal to one another in terms of appearance
- is affordable
- is flexible and offers choice
The uniform is listed below. While the blazer (KS2 only) and jumper are branded, if need be these can be purchased without branding. All other items of uniform can be purchased at a variety of supermarkets, online shops or high street stores.
We appreciate that the cost of school uniform can sometimes be high, and so the school will hold second hand uniform sales throughout the year, particularly in the Summer Term. We also ask departing students if they have any good quality uniform which can be donated back to the school.
If you are having difficulty with any aspect of the school uniform, please contact the school to discuss this.
We follow the DfE guidance on uniforms.
There are two uniform suppliers for the branded items:
White Lodge, based in Lichfield - www.whitelodgegroup.co.uk
Global Trading, based in Walton on Trent. www.wbglobaltrading.co.uk
Summer Uniform |
Winter Uniform |
| Nursery & Reception | |
| Black skirt, shorts, pinafore dress, culottes or trousers | Black skirt, pinafore dress, culottes or trousers |
| White polo shirt | White polo shirt |
| Embroidered school jumper | School jumper or cardigan |
| Plain black socks | Plain black socks or black tights |
| Red gingham dress | Plain black shoes |
| Plain black shoes | |
| Key Stage One | |
| Black skirt, shorts, culottes, pinafore dress or trousers | Black skirt, culottes, pinafore dress or trousers |
| White formal shirt/blouse | White formal shirt/blouse |
| Embroidered school jumper | Embroidered school jumper |
| School tie | School tie |
| Plain black socks | Plain black socks/tights |
| Red gingham dress | Plain black shoes |
| Plain black shoes | |
| Key Stage Two | |
| Black skirt, shorts, culottes, pinafore dress or trousers | Black skirt, culottes, pinafore dress or trousers |
| White formal shirt/blouse | White formal shirt/blouse |
| Embroidered school jumper | School jumper or cardigan |
| Embroidered school blazer | Embroidered school blazer |
| School tie | School tie |
| Plain black socks | Plain black socks/tights |
| Red gingham dress | Plain black shoes |
| Plain black shoes | |
| PE Kit (Not Nursery) PLEASE NOTE NO BRANDED OR PATTERNED CLOTHING | |
| Plain black shorts | |
| Plain black tracksuit bottoms or Howard tracksuit | |
| Plain white t-shirt | |
| Plain black jumper | |
| Plain black trainers | |
JEWELLERY
The only jewellery that children are permitted to wear are watches, (from year 2 onwards), and safety studs for children with pierced ears. For safety reasons, earrings must be removed for PE and swimming, therefore we would advise ear piercing to be done at the start of the summer holiday. Staff are not allowed to remove earrings from pupils.
The wearing of make-up and unconventional hairstyles is discouraged and children are asked to wear black or red hair bobbles. Children with long hair must wear their hair tied back in a ponytail, plait or pigtails. This is for health and safety reasons and to prevent the spread of head lice. No headbands or other hair decorations should be worn.
Forest School
All children will take part in Forest School, which takes place outside and, as the old saying goes:
‘There’s no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing.’
Alfred Wainright
So, it is extremely helpful if the children can be provided with warm waterproof clothing for their time outside. For children who have specific outdoor learning sessions during the term it is extremely important they have the correct clothing or unfortunately they will not be able to take part in these sessions.
The more layers the children can have on the better as this allows them to regulate their own temperature and put layers on and off depending on how they are feeling. As they already have their uniform on it can be helpful to provide them with jumpers/zip up fleeces to go over their school jumper and then on really cold days a pair of loose joggers to go over school trousers or tights.
The next layer they need is waterproof clothing. There are several styles available from all-in-ones that are fleece lined for winter, (which negates the need for the zip up fleece and joggers), or thin all-in-one suits that do still require extra layers underneath. For the older children separate waterproof trousers and coats are advisable. Insulated snowboard trousers are also very effective and allow the children to sit down on the log seating and stay warm and dry for a whole session even if it is raining.
It will be the children’s extremities that feel the cold the most so extra warm socks/welly socks and hats and gloves will be vital during the colder months.
Finally their footwear needs to be waterproof so outdoor trainers will not be effective at keeping their feet dry and as you can imagine with a mud pit and heavy rain trainers can be impossible to clean down and dry out for the next day’s lessons. So, wellies or snow boots are the best option this time of year.
As mentioned there is a lot of water and mud during the wetter months so the clothing the children wear for outdoor learning will get very dirty from time to time. They learn so much through hands on investigation of the natural world that we do not want to have to deny them this valuable opportunity.
Please could all the clothing be labelled and kept in a labelled bag on their peg. Their wellies are also to be clearly named with a waterproof pen or name label.
Children will be asked to bring old outdoor clothes to school when participating in Forest School activities.
ALL UNIFORM SHOULD BE NAMED WITH A SEWN-IN OR IRON-ON NAME LABEL.
All items of clothing lost property at the end of each term will be recycled.
