Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering more support to families on low incomes with school uniform costs.

Schools must regard the statutory guidance when they are developing and implementing their uniform policy. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to keeping the cost of school uniform reasonable. The Department will monitor the impact of the guidance on an ongoing basis.

It is important that schools carefully consider the cost of their uniform and comply with the guidance, which is designed to ensure the cost of uniforms is reasonable and secures best value for money for parents.

Headteachers know their school communities best and can make decisions on the branded items that are most appropriate to their school. Branded items create a sense of common identity and prevent pupils from competing against one another in the latest fashion trends. The guidance requires headteachers to carefully consider the overall cost implications of their chosen approach, including whether requiring a branded item is the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired result for their uniform. To ensure that school uniform acts as a social leveller, optional branded items should be kept to a minimum.

Schools should be compliant with the majority of the guidance by September 2022, except where this would mean breaching a pre-existing contract, or where they need time to put a contract in place.

There are currently no plans to review the statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, published in November 2021, in the context of current increases in the cost of living. The guidance comes into force this month and requires schools to ensure their uniform is affordable.