Children across the UK are celebrating their schools today by doing something they have not done since the coronavirus pandemic forced primaries and secondaries to close their doors to most pupils in March: they are putting on their school uniform.
The idea - which this morning received the backing of Scotland’s education secretary, John Swinney - started when Scottish six-year-old Daniel Park appeared from his bedroom after the Easter break with his uniform on, prompting his dad to share a photo with his Edinburgh school.
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That picture got the school, Wardie Primary, thinking about the need for children to continue to feel connected to school, and the concept of holding a “uniform day” was born.
Now the school’s “wee idea” has been seized upon by schools from Aberdeenshire to South Lanarkshire, and has also inspired pupils and schools in England. Schools and families are sharing photos on social media using the hashtag #SchoolUniformDay, and the school has today appeared on national radio and television.
Wardie Primary acting principal teacher, Maria Conway, told BBC Radio Scotland this morning: “When we saw the tweet that Daniel’s dad had put up on our school Twitter it made us all feel really emotional, actually. We know that pupils are missing school and missing staff but as a staff member - and I know I can speak on behalf of Wardie Primary School and teachers all across Scotland - we are missing normality, and we are missing our classrooms, and our pupils.
“So it made us feel really emotional and it made us realise there was maybe a need for some children to feel connected to their school more. So that’s how the idea of having a school uniform day event [came about], where children from Wardie Primary can put on their school uniform, feel connected to their school and just have a fun day.”
