Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the publication on 19 November 2021 of statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms, what measures his Department has put in place to support a parent or parents who consider the cost of their children's uniform is neither reasonable nor affordable at the start of the new school year in September 2022.

The department published new statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms in November 2021 to ensure the cost is reasonable and secures the best value for money for parents. The department expects governing boards to be compliant with much of the guidance by September 2022 and fully compliant by Summer 2023. The department’s statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms.

The guidance is clear that disputes around school uniform are to be resolved locally and pursued in accordance with a school’s complaints policy. In law, governing boards must have a complaints procedure in place to deal with issues such as a complaint about school uniforms.

Parents should be able to lodge their complaints or objections easily. The department expects the governing board to consult and work closely with parents to arrive at a mutually acceptable outcome.

If, having gone through the school’s complaints process, a parent is not satisfied by the way the school has addressed their concerns, they can complain to the department.